‘The day I met Carrie Fisher’
Northglen News recently caught up with Durban North resident and Star Wars fan, Lakota Schultz, who met Fisher in London at Star Wars Celebration Europe in June last year.
ACTRESS Carrie Fisher, was loved and adored by many across the globe. She was best known for her portrayal of Princess Leia in the ‘Star Wars’ movies. However, what set her apart from celebrities was her down-to-earth personality. Fisher’s fans took to social media to share how the actress, who spoke candidly about her experience living with bipolar disorder and addiction, changed their lives.
Northglen News recently caught up with Durban North resident and Star Wars fan, Lakota Schultz, who met Fisher in London at Star Wars Celebration Europe in June last year.
“It was the first time the Star Wars Celebration was held in London in 10 years. I’ve been a fan of the movies for 35 years and I didn’t want to miss out. Carrie was confirmed as one of the cast members attending the convention. I remember excitedly queuing to get a photo with her, but due to a delay we were told to come back in an hour. Now most celebs would cancel the photo opportunities because of the delay but Carrie stayed there till well after the allocated time.
“When it came to my turn, I just remember beaming from one side of my face to the next. As I stood next to her for the photo, she was on a swivel stool, the stool swivelled away from me. She laughed out loud and said, ‘oh my God, how rude is my stool’. I told her I had a tattoo of storm troopers on my leg a week before going to the convention. When I showed it to her, she just said ‘wow’. I told her what a huge fan I was, she just radiated warmth and gave me a hug. What I remember most about her was she engaged with every person she met, she was so considerate and listened to each of them. She was just awesome,” she said.
Schultz said she became a lifelong fan after watching A New Hope at the age of five.
“I just loved the story and her character. For a young girl growing up in the 80s, Princess Leia, was my one of biggest role models. She may have been a character in a galaxy far, far away, but she was so kick-ass. Women in that era were portrayed as eye-candy, weak-minded and always needing rescue from a male protagonist. Leia challenged that notion, she was powerful, confident, beautiful and strong. My brother and I would even have competitions to see who could remember the lines in the films.
“She taught me that women can be strong, can fight, can kick ass and still get the guy without losing any credibility. If I had another opportunity to speak to her I would say, thank you for teaching little girls that it was okay to want to play with ‘boys toys’ and to want to be fighter pilots. Her death was heartbreaking for me, but I will always hold dear my memories of her,” she said.
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