Carrie Fisher suffered a massive heart attack while flying from London to Los Angeles, it is being reported. The star of the Star Wars franchise, and a veritable entertainment icon, has been on a book tour. Fisher went into cardiac arrest, with TMZ reporting that the passengers aboard the plane were administering CPR, with United Airlines saying its crew reported that the actress was "unresponsive" when they landed.
The story is still developing, though TMZ reports that the heart attack occurred with 15 minutes left in the trip, and that paramedics rushed aboard the plane as soon as it landed at LAX. Carrie Fisher, 60, reportedly was transported by paramedics to a nearby hospital, and the L.A. Times reports that Fisher was in "critical condition" after being in serious distress on the flight. TMZ also adds that paramedics worked on Fisher for 15 minutes with CPR before they were able to get a pulse. The actress currently is at UCLA Medical Center, and reportedly is on a ventilator. Her daughter, Billie Lourd, and her dog Gary have reportedly arrived to the hospital.
UPDATE: AP has since heard from Fisher's brother that she is in stable condition.
Prior to paramedics arriving on the scene, an EMT who was on the plane was brought into first class, according to TMZ, and was able to administer life-saving techniques to Fisher while the plane was still in the air. We pray that they acted in time.
Star Wars spoilers are about to follow. Fisher's return to the Star Wars universe has put her right back into the blazing hot spotlight. Like her Star Wars cohorts Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill, she reprised her legendary sci-fi role for J.J. Abrams' Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and is expected to return for Star Wars: Episode VIII in 2017. More recently, Fisher's image was attached to the body of a Norwegian actress for the finale of Gareth Edwards' Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, allowing A New Hope-era Princess Leia to live again on screen, if only for a moment.
Love from the Star Wars community, and Carrie Fisher's devoted fans, was immediate on social media:
But at the moment, we're all just holding out for more details. Updates as they arrive...
