RIP Princess Leia: Alberta fans mourn death of Carrie Fisher

Alberta fans are mourning the loss of famed Star Wars actress Carrie Fisher, best known for playing the fearless Princess Leia.

Fisher died Tuesday. She was 60 years old.

The acclaimed actress had been listed in critical condition since suffering a cardiac episode on Friday during a flight from London to Los Angeles.

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News of her death prompted an outpouring of condolences across the world, and Alberta was no exception.

The reigning queen of sci-fi was a powerful figure in Monica Andersen's childhood. Like so many women of her generation, she grew up idolizing Leia.

"I was the only girl in five kids growing up in a Star Wars family, and she was the princess who could fight back with the boys," said Andersen, who lives in Red Deer.

Andersen finally had the chance to meet Fisher in September when the actress and author was in the Alberta capitalfor the Edmonton Comic and Entertainment Expo, signing autographs and meeting her fans.

Andersen brought her four-year-old daughterto the convention, andFisher had an important message for the little girl.

"She said, 'Anyone can be a princess, but if you're going to be a general you've got to work hard," said Andersen."She told her she could be both a princess and general, if she wanted to."

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Fisher first took on the mantle ofLeiainStars Wars released in 1977. She later reprised it inThe Empire Strikes Back in 1980, inReturn of theJediin 1983 and last year'sThe Force Awakens, where she played the role of General Leia Organa.

News of Fisher's death hitAndersen and her daughter hard.

"It took me about twohours before I could figure how to tell my daughter without bursting into tears," she said."My four year old is pretty upset."

But it isn't onlygirls and women who have been inspiredby the sci-fi trailblazer.

A lifelong Star Wars fan, Ian Seggieof Fort McMurray met Fisher exactly three months ago at the Edmonton expo, where he was first in line to meet Princess Leia and get a photo.

"There she was sitting on the sofa with her (bulldog)Gary," he recalled. "The first thing she says: 'Come on over let's have a hug, let's take a picture, snuggle right in.' "

Seggie, 41, said he had a bad feeling on Friday when news reports revealedFisherhad a massive heart attack.

"I thought in 2016, you cannot take our princess from us, no this can't happen," he said.

Others admire Fisher for her witty writing,includingthe owner of the BearclawGallery inEdmonton, JackieBugera.Fisher had published five books prior to the release of her most recent work called The Princess Diarist.

"I knew she was a brilliant writer," Bugera said. "She was just very funny and very talented in her writing, so I knew her for that."

When the actress and art lover walked into Bugera's gallery in September, both discovered they had a special common interest bulldogs. Bugera has a personal collection of 60 paintings, sketches, carvings, masks and other craft items all depicting her late bulldog pet Zsu Zsi, most of them done by Indigenous artists.

Edmonton art gallery owner recalls meeting Carrie Fisher

8 years ago

Duration 1:01

In this interview done before Carrie Fisher's death, Bearclaw Gallery owner Jackie Bugera remembers the time the Star Wars actress walked into her Edmonton shop.

"In our first meeting when she came into the gallery and we were talking about bulldogs, she didn't have Gary with her," Bugera remembered. "So the next morning at 10 o'clock ... the door opened and in walked Gary. She brought Gary in to meet me."

Bugera said Fisher's death is "going to make a lot of people very, very sad." She added:"It just seems like she had so much more to give and to offer, so that, to me, is a little hard to take."

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Fisher, whoseother film credits include roles in The Blues Brothers and When Harry Met Sally, has spoken publicly and written candidly about her struggles with addiction and mental health issues. It's that unwavering honesty which endears her to many fans.

"She's been through so much," Andersen said. "She was the poster child for Hollywood, the poster childfor so much stress and anxiety and the factthat she could talk about what she was going through so honestly and laugh at herself about it.

"It made it easier to talk about it, because if Princess Leia can talk about it, anybody can."