Today, October 21st, 2011, is Carrie Fisher‘s 55th birthday. Happy birthday, Carrie!

Carrie Fisher on the set of Empire Strikes Back

Carrie Fisher is, of course best known to most of us as Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan (born Leia Amidala Skywalker; later Leia Organa Solo) in the original Star Wars trilogy, but has appeared in many interesting roles since then. She had a minor role in When Harry Met Sally…, played an uncredited role in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, as well as doing parts in Scream 3, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle and has had a recurring role on Family Guy.

During the past couple of years, Carrie has been struggling with weight gain, topping out at roughly 180 pounds. This follows a very public confession of her problems with drugs, her struggle with bipolar disorder, and her overcoming an addiction to prescription medication. She has revealed that already during the filming of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, she was struggling with a cocaine addiction, claiming that she “realized I was doing a bit more drugs than other people and losing my choice in the matter”. John Belushi, who died from a cocaine overdose, warned her that she had a problem. Coming from John, that was an eye-opener.

Now clean and sober, she turns to writing as a way to process her past. In her recent 2008 autobiography, Wishful Drinking, she delves deeply into her past, telling us interesting stories ranging from gay men dying in her bed, Hollywood inbreeding, becoming a Pez dispenser, Paul Simon, her struggles with bipolarity and electro-convulsive therapy and – of course - Star Wars.