Carrie Fisher suffers a heart attack
Reuters

Carrie Fisher, who played Princess Leia in the Star Wars franchise has died, aged 60.

Simon Halls, a spokesman for the family said Fisher died at  8:55 am PST. She had earlier on Friday suffered a heart attack while on a flight from London to Los Angeles and had been hospitalized in Los Angeles.

Carrie Fisher reveals secret affair with Harrison Ford during Star Wars

Fisher is famous for her role as Princess Leia in the Star Wars films. Her charater was pivotal to the franchise and much-admired as the perfect foil to the rougish Han Solo (Harrison Ford).

The daughter of Hollywood icon Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher, Fisher eventually became a prolific writer with an insight into show business that few could deliver.

Her semi-autobiographical novel, Postcards from the Edge was made into a film directed by Mike Nichols and starring Meryl Streep and Shirley Maclaine. Fisher also starred in When Harry Met Sally and in Woody Allen's Hannah and Her Sisters.

Fisher was to become a sex symbol for millions of fanboys across the globe after the iconic costme she war in 1983's Return of the Jedi, but like her Star Wars character, Fisher was far more than just a pretty face.

Her wit and intellect would see her garner further fame as a writer and as a proponent of many causes across the globe.

Fisher was briefly engaged to comedian Dan Akroyd, whom she met on the sets of The Blues Brothers. More recently she revealed details of a relationship she had with her Star Wars co-star Harrison Ford and documented in a diary.

Fisher was also open about her bipolar disorder and once told Psychology Today in an interview that she used to drugs as a form of self-medication.

LucasFilm said on Tuesday Lucasfilm said on Tuesday that Fisher had completed her work in an as-yet-untitled eighth episode of the main Star Wars franchise, which is scheduled to be released in December 2017.