Star Wars actress Carrie Fisher says focus in Hollywood on appearances is ‘messed up’

The actress said she is in an industry where weight and appearance take precedence
'Insane': Carrie Fisher said she had to lose weight for Star Wars
Emma Powell1 December 2015
The Weekender

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Actress Carrie Fisher has hit out at the constant focus in Hollywood on an actress’s appearance, branding it “so messed up”.

Fisher, 59, revealed she had to shed the pounds in order to reprise her role as Princes Leia in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Speaking to Good Housekeeping about losing 35lb for the latest instalment in the sci-fi franchise she said: “They don’t want to hire all of me – only about three-quarters! Nothing changes, it’s an appearance-driven thing. I’m in a business where the only thing that matters is weight and appearance.

"That is so messed up. They might as well say get younger, because that’s how easy it is.”

'Insane': Carrie Fisher opens up about Hollywood's obsession with appearances Brian Bowen Smith/Good Housekeeping Magazine/PA
Brian Bowen Smith/Good Housekeeping Magazine/PA

Fisher said she lost the weight through exercising and eating less – something she found tricky.

Best friend: Carrie Fisher poses with her dog Gary Brian Bowen Smith/Good Housekeeping Magazine/PA
Brian Bowen Smith/Good Housekeeping Magazine/PA

“I did it the same way everybody has to – don’t eat and exercise more!” she told the publication. “There is no other way to do it. I have a harder time eating properly than I do exercising. It’s easier for me to add an activity than to deny myself something.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Teaser Trailer 3

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“When I do lose the weight I don’t like that it makes me feel good about myself. It’s not who I am. My problem is they talk to me like an actress but I hear them like a writer.”

She continued: “We treat beauty like an accomplishment and that is insane. Everyone in LA says, ‘Oh you look good,’ and you listen for them to say you’ve lost weight. It’s never ‘How are you?’ or ‘You seem happy!’”

Fisher - who was married to musician Paul Simon from 1983-4 - said she would like to marry again, but said it is difficult.

"I’d like to in theory, but it’s very hard for women in show business," she said. "I don’t want to make someone Mr Fisher. The most important things in my life now are my mother, my daughter, my friends and my dog, Gary. He travels everywhere with me! I love that saying: Make me become the person my animal thinks I am. If I am who Gary thinks I am, I’m fantastic!"

Cover star: Carrie Fisher on the cover of Good Housekeeping  ​Brian Bowen Smith/Good Housekeeping Magazine/PA
Brian Bowen Smith/Good Housekeeping Magazine/PA

Read the full Carrie Fisher interview in the January 2016 issue of Good Housekeeping, on sale December 1. Also available as a digital edition. For further exclusive content go to GoodHousekeeping.com.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is released on December 17.

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