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“Star Wars�� actress Carrie Fisher passed away on Tuesday after suffering a massive heart attack on a flight from London to California last week. The actress, author and champion of mental health died at 60 in Los Angeles. Family spokesman Simon Halls released a statement on behalf of Fisher’s daughter, Billie Lourd. “It is with a very deep sadness that Billie Lourd confirms that her beloved mother Carrie Fisher passed away at 8:55 this morning,�� the statement said. “She was loved by the world and she will be missed profoundly. Our entire family thanks you for your thoughts and prayers.�� Fisher’s most popular role was Princess Leia in the “Star Wars�� trilogy. She also played roles in films “Shampoo,�� “The Blues Brothers�� and “Hannah and Her Sisters.�� In 1987, Fisher published semi-autobiographical novel “Postcards From the Edge.�� The best-selling title was turned into a film three years later. Last month, Fisher released “The Princess Diarist,�� a retelling of her experiences on the set of “Star Wars: A New Hope�� in 1977. It was named People Magazine’s Best Book of Fall 2016. Fisher was a champion of mental health issues. The actress frequently discussed her bipolar disorder diagnosis and addictions to cocaine and prescription medications. “I have a chemical imbalance that, in its most extreme state, will lead me to a mental hospital,�� Fisher said in a 1995 interview. "I used to think I was a drug addict, pure and simple �� just someone who could not stop taking drugs willfully. And I was that. But it turns out that I am severely manic depressive.�� The actress' mother, Debbie Reynolds, was the last to update the world on Fisher’s condition. The two women were close, and Fisher recently spoke of her admiration for her mother's work ethic in a November interview. “She's an immensely powerful woman, and I just admire my mother very much. She also annoys me sometimes when she's mad at the nurses, but she's an extraordinary woman. Extraordinary. There's very few women from her generation who worked like that, who just kept a career going all her life, and raised children, and had horrible relationships, and lost all her money, and got it back again. I mean, she's had an amazing life, and she's someone to admire,�� she told NPR last month. Fisher reprised her role as Princess Leia in 2015’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.��