Joely is the daughter of Carrie’s father Eddie Fisher, from his marriage to Connie Stevens.
Joely Fisher has penned a touching tribute to her late sister Carrie, who passed away on December 27.
Joely, who is also the daughter of singer Eddie Fisher, grew up living next door to her half-sister and Carrie’s mother Debbie Reynolds, who passed away a day after her daughter.
In a column for The Hollywood Reporter, Joely wrote: “During our transcontinental chat before Carrie's fateful flight from London to L.A., we promised we’d spend Christmas together. It’s a promise we kept, although not in a way either of us had anticipated.
“Throughout the holiday, I sat by her side in a hospital room filled with a cacophony of sounds made by the machines keeping her barely alive. Debbie, of course, was there as well,” Joely continued.
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“She told me that she’d been praying for more time. More time for Carrie, for herself and for Connie. I knew if those prayers weren’t answered, Debbie might very well join her daughter.”
Joely described how in 1977 her mother Connie Stevens had bought a house in Malibu, next door to Debbie and Carrie, as well as their brother Todd. “I adored Mama Debbie,” Joely wrote.
“She was such a character. And I got another sister and a brother in the deal, right there on the beach! Eddie even came to see us all together ... once.”
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Joely said that she and her sister Tricia Leigh have vowed to be there for their niece Billie, in memory of Carrie and Debbie. “We will pick up the saber, use the force ... whatever,” she wrote. “We will honor these two magical people who have left the tribe in the way they lived, with grandeur and grace."
“You all lost Princess Leia and Carrie Fisher; I lost my hero, my mentor, my mirror,” Joely concluded. “I want them back but since I know that is not possible, I will soldier on. I have changed my shoes and will keep dancing to honour these magic people.”