Billie Lourd says mom Carrie Fisher couldn't 'escape her addiction' before her death
Billie Lourd is remembering her late mom Carrie Fisher on what would have been her 68th birthday.
To mark the occasion on Monday, the "Scream Queens" actress posted on her Instagram a throwback photo of Fisher appearing to be celebrating her birthday by blowing out candles on a cake while Lourd sat next to her at a table.
Alongside the photo, Lourd, who is the "Star Wars" legend's only child, wrote a lengthy note in the caption to reflect on her loss.
"Ⓜ️🅾️Ⓜ️ My mom would've been 68 today," she began. "Dead person birthdays are weird to say the least. On my mom's birthday every year, I try to celebrate her as much as possible, but today I really wanted to celebrate her with her."
Lourd went to write about the effect of grief on her when celebrating her mom's birthday after her death.
Fisher died unexpectedly at 60 years old on Dec. 27, 2016, after suffering cardiac arrest. Her mother, actress Debbie Reynolds, died the next day from a stroke.
"Some years my grief makes me feel the warmth of her love, some years it makes me angry, some years I feel numb but today when I woke up I just felt sad. I didn't want to celebrate, I just wanted my mom," she continued.
Lourd said the "sadness" prompted her to do research on "average death age woman" which she wrote that "google said it was 80.2" years.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported similar numbers for the life expectancy for women.
"My mom died when she was 60. 60 is too damn young to die," she wrote, adding that she also did her research on "drug overdose deaths" and found out "it is over 100 thousand people per year."
Preliminary data from the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics estimate that there were about 107,543 drug overdose deaths in the U.S. in 2023.
In the emotional tribute, Lourd wrote that she "did everything in my power to help my mom get sober but sadly my mom couldn't ever escape her addiction."
"But while she was alive she always shared the ups and downs of that struggle with others in hopes it would help them escape their own addiction," she added. "As an addict, being open about the struggle is the only way through. And same goes for those of us affected by that struggle. Sending my love to anyone out there who has lost someone to drug addiction. You are not alone. ❤️."
Last year, on May 4, which is celebrated as Star Wars Day, Fisher was posthumously honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Lourd attended the ceremony to accept the honor on her behalf.
