Billie Lourd Honors Her Late Mother Carrie Fisher with Heartfelt Tribute
Billie Lourd expressed her mixed emotions as she commemorated the eighth anniversary of her mother Carrie Fisher’s passing, stating she feels “griefy but grateful.”
Lourd opened her heart about the difficult emotions surrounding the somber day, sharing a heartfelt tribute along with a nostalgic photo of herself with her late mother on Instagram on Friday, December 27.
“Eight years have passed since my mom died. As my son would say, ‘that’s a lot!’ I always dread this day, spending so much time anticipating how terrible I’ll feel,” Lourd, 32, wrote. “My fears typically come true. I woke up today under a dark cloud, but as my kids awakened, that cloud lifted, revealing bright, warm sunshine. The anniversary of her death feels like an emotional tropical storm—rain falls heavily throughout the day, yet between the downpours, the light shines more beautifully than it does on a cloudless day. There can be no rainbows without rain.”
The actress used a powerful simile to articulate her journey through grief.
“There’s a poignant quote from Anne Lamott: grief is ‘like having a broken leg that never heals perfectly – it still hurts when the weather gets cold, yet you learn to dance with the limp’. That captures my feelings today perfectly,” Lourd said.
She added, “Indeed, the grief weather is cold, and I may have a limp, but I am truly dancing through life (oops, did I quote Wicked?). My limp has made me a better dancer. My grief has granted me a deeper appreciation for life’s small moments. Today I am griefful (griefy but grateful). Watching the enchanting presence of my son and daughter reminds me that she is a part of that magic. I am embracing all my emotions: grief, joy, longing, magic, emptiness, and fullness coexist profoundly. Sending love to everyone who needs it. ❤️”
Since Fisher’s passing, Billie has welcomed a son named Kingston, 4, and a daughter named Jackson Joanne, 2, with her partner Austen Rydell.
Fisher passed away in December 2016 at the age of 60 due to a heart attack. Just one day later, her mother, Debbie Reynolds, succumbed to a stroke at the age of 84.
In the years following her mother and grandmother’s deaths, Lourd has frequently opened up about her grief.
Last year, she honored her mother’s death anniversary with another moving post.
“It has been 7 years since my mom died (but who’s counting?? Me I guess?),” Lourd shared in December 2023. “Each anniversary brings a unique iteration of my grief. Some fill me with anger, some lead to tears, some feel dissociative and empty, while others evoke guilt for feeling nothing, and sometimes I experience all of these emotions simultaneously.”
The Scream Queens alum also acknowledged in December 2021 that navigating grief can be “complex.”
“I experience different stages of grief at each moment of every day,” Lourd noted on Instagram. “My grief resembles a multi-course meal, with varied, intricate ingredients. It starts with an amuse bouche of bargaining, transitions into an anger appetizer, includes a side of depression, entails acceptance for the entree, and, naturally, a hint of denial for dessert.”
She concluded, “And that’s how grief should be—it should encompass everything at once. There is no prescribed path for grief; it simply exists as it is for you, and that’s how it ‘should be.’”
