Carrie Fisher

Actress 

Multitalented actress, author and screenwriter, Carrie Fisher is a true survivor whose victory over substance abuse, outspoken activism on behalf of the mentally ill, and hilarious takes on Hollywood and motherhood have made her a perennially popular figure on the lecture circuit.

Carrie has been a compelling force in American culture for decades. From her feature film debut opposite Warren Beatty in Shampoo while still a teenager, to her meteoric rise to fame as Princess Leia in Star Wars, she had seen and done it all by her early twenties. The pressures of superstardom, however, soon drove her to alcohol and substance abuse-an experience that she turned to account in 1987 in her outrageously funny first novel, Postcards from the Edge. Postcards rocketed up The New York Times bestseller list and garnered the Los Angeles Pen Award for Best First Novel, and Carrie's screen adaptation of the book earned her a BAFTA nomination. Virtually overnight, she had launched a new career as a novelist, journalist, screenwriter and script doctor.

Since overcoming a harrowing battle with depression in the early 1990s, Carrie has become a passionate speaker on behalf of the mentally ill. She has appeared on the Senate floor to urge legislators to increase government spending for mental health programs, and served as keynote speaker at Community Alliance and American Psychiatric Association gatherings. She has also courageously publicized her own struggles with depression in an effort to destigmatize the illness.

From the lecture stage Carrie regales audiences with anecdotes from her life in Hollywood, candidly discusses the trials and joys of single motherhood and the pitfalls of celebrity, teaches budding screenwriters the elements of a successful script, and speaks eloquently to the needs and rights of the mentally ill-all with the grace, courage and acerbic wit that have made her one of Hollywood's most beloved figures.