--- description: Actor Carrie Fisher left a legacy as an advocate for mental health who changed minds by opening up about her own struggles with depression title: Carrie Fisher Didn’t Just Break Boundaries Onscreen. She Also Fought the Stigma of Mental Illness image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt969865a6fa18d2a7/6988b40f524fc03f6edfa981/carrie-fisher-mental-health.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [carrie fisher](/tag/carrie-fisher/) ## carrie fisher Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Carrie Fisher Didn’t Just Break Boundaries Onscreen. She Also Fought the Stigma of Mental Illness  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Dec 27, 2016 7:17 PM CUT  Carrie Fisher attends the 2011 Silver Hill Hospital gala at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City on Nov. 3, 2011. Carrie Fisher attends the 2011 Silver Hill Hospital gala at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City on Nov. 3, 2011.Ilya S. Savenok—FilmMagic/Getty Images  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Dec 27, 2016 7:17 PM CUT Actor [Carrie Fisher](http://time.com/4618460/carrie-fisher-dead-star-wars/ "undefined") was best known for [playing Princess Leia in _Star Wars_](http://time.com/4354232/carrie-fisher-princess-leia-wax-figure-photos/ "undefined"), but she also left a legacy as an advocate for removing the stigma surrounding mental illness, changing minds by opening up about her own struggle with depression and bipolar disorder. Fisher, who [died Tuesday](http://time.com/4618441/carrie-fisher-dead/?xid=homepage "undefined") after suffering a heart attack days earlier, had a long history of drug abuse in the 1970s and 1980s. She turned that experience into the comic novel _Postcards From the Edge._ In the 1990s, she opened up about her diagnosis with bipolar disorder and her experiences with depression. “I used to think I was a drug addict, pure and simple — just someone who could not stop taking drugs willfully,” Fisher [told](http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=132315&page=1 "undefined") Diane Sawyer in 1995\. “And I was that. But it turns out that I am severely manic depressive.” Many have credited Fisher’s openness with breaking down stigma over mental health issues, and the topic was on the top of the minds of many of her admirers following her death. > [](https://twitter.com/SaraJBenincasa/status/813807926716596225) > [](https://twitter.com/halsey/status/813816240737308673) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4618486/carrie-fisher-dead-mental-health-legacy/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4618486/carrie-fisher-dead-mental-health-legacy/"},"headline":"Carrie Fisher Didn’t Just Break Boundaries Onscreen. 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