Unbreakable bond. When Debbie Reynolds, who died at age 84 on Wednesday, December 28, received the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award back in 2015, it was her daughter, Carrie Fisher, who was there to present it with a heartfelt — and often hilarious — speech.
The famously witty Fisher, who passed away one day before her mother on December 27, began her speech, “Not only was my grandmother her mother, she is the grandmother to my alleged daughter. It also turns out that we’re neighbors. And, as if all this weren’t enough, she’s also my mother.”
The Star Wars actress continued, “She has been more than a mother to me — not much, but definitely more. She’s been an unsolicited stylist, interior decorator and marriage counselor. …”
Fisher (who was also joined by her daughter, Billie Lourd, at the event) then listed her mom’s many accomplishments, including being a successful actress, a bestselling author, a Broadway performer and the cofounder of the Thalians, “a group that has raised more than $30 million for mental heath … and four and a half million of that money is allocated just for me.” (Fisher was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in her twenties.)
Fisher also spoke of the Singin’ in the Rain star’s big heart: “This is an extraordinarily kind, generous, gifted, funny woman who would give you the shirt off her back — if Vivian Leigh hadn’t once worn it in Gone With the Wind.”
After a reel of her greatest film roles played, Reynolds took the stage — and teased Fisher right back: “I had a big bun [on the set of Singin’ in the Rain],” Reynolds noted. “So I warned my daughter, Carrie — who just got a part as Princess Leia in Star Wars — I said, ‘Be careful of any weird hairdos.’ So, luckily, George [Lucas] gave her two buns.”
As Us Weekly previously reported, Fisher suffered a massive heart attack on Friday, December 23, while flying home to L.A. from London. She died four days later on December 27. One day after that, Reynolds suffered a medical emergency — reportedly a stroke — and died hours later. According to her son, Todd Fisher, Reynolds’ last words were “I miss her so much. I want to be with Carrie.”
Watch the SAG Awards video above.
