Star Wars: Mark Hamill Shares Throwback Photo To Remember Carrie Fisher’s Birthday

Late last year, the Star Wars community tragically lost Carrie Fisher, who would have turned 61 today. Her costar and on-screen brother, Mark Hamill, took to Twitter to share a touching tribute to the actress.

The actor, who’s known for using Twitter to joke with his fans, kept it short and simple with a photo of the two and the caption “#AlwaysWithUs.”

The legacy that the actress left behind can’t be understated, having inspired generations of women by playing the intelligent, resourceful and witty Princess Leia in a world dominated by male heroes. Additionally, Fisher was always candid about her struggles with depression, bipolar disorder and drug addiction.

Fisher’s career in recent years was in no need of a revival, as she accomplished more in her years in Hollywood than others could only dream of achieving, but she still returned to the Star Wars saga to portray Leia Organa once again.

The upcoming The Last Jedi will mark the final time we’ll get to see the character, as Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy has noted there are no plans to digitally inject the character into future films.

Director Rian Johnson recently spoke to Yahoo! about what the actress brought to the sequel.

“She was so conscious of the place that Leia had, not just broadly in the culture, but very specifically in terms of girls who grew up watching Star Wars when Leia was the only female hero on the screen,” Johnson shared. “She really wanted to do right by that, drawing the character forward. That was something that she would always be pulling us back to.”

Johnson noted that her contributions to the film weren’t limited to her acting, as she’d also become an accomplished writer.

“And for me it was fantastic, because besides all the other benefits of having a fantastic writer like Carrie there by my side while we’re making this movie,” Johnson detailed. “Just having a voice that was like a compass needle that would always pull it back in the right direction of ‘this is what this character means and this is what we always have to make sure that she’s serving, with her strength and also with her weaknesses’ — showing a fully realized character who is going to be inspiring to the folks who grew up with Leia.”

We’ll see Fisher’s final performance when The Last Jedi hits theaters December 15.