Wishful Drinking

Carrie Fisher

Wishful Drinking

Carrie Fisher
48 pages1-hour read
Nonfiction
Autobiography / Memoir
Adult
Published in 2008

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Character List

Meet the key characters, with insights into their roles, motivations, and relationships—spoiler-free.

Major Characters

Carrie is a 52-year-old actress and author attempting to reclaim her memories following psychiatric treatments that damaged her recall. Born to famous parents, she achieved global fame at 19 as Princess Leia in the Star Wars franchise. She manages her bipolar disorder and addiction issues through dark comedy and radical public disclosure, choosing to volunteer her secrets rather than hide them.

Key Relationships

Daughter of Debbie Reynolds

Daughter of Eddie Fisher

Mother of Billie Lourd

Sister of Todd Fisher

Former wife of Paul Simon

Former partner of Bryan Lourd

Actress for George Lucas

Close friend of Greg Stevens

Patient of Beatriz Foster

Debbie is Carrie's mother and a celebrated actress famous for her role in *Singin' in the Rain*. Known in the press as "America's Sweetheart," she lives next door to Carrie and exhibits eccentric behavior, such as suggesting Carrie act as a surrogate mother for her and her third husband. She works tirelessly to maintain her constructed public image while quietly supporting her children.

Key Relationships

Mother of Carrie Fisher

Former wife of Eddie Fisher

Former wife of Harry Karl

Mother of Todd Fisher

Former friend of Elizabeth Taylor

Daughter of Maxine

Eddie is Carrie's father, a pop singer who left Debbie Reynolds for Elizabeth Taylor when Carrie was a toddler. He maintains a cheerful but detached presence in Carrie's life. He regularly smokes marijuana, leading Carrie to affectionately call him "Puff Daddy," and publishes self-mythologizing autobiographies detailing his various romantic conquests.

Key Relationships

Father of Carrie Fisher

Former husband of Debbie Reynolds

Former husband of Elizabeth Taylor

Father of Todd Fisher

Best friend of Mike Todd

Supporting Characters

Billie is a straight-A student raised in a deeply unconventional Hollywood environment. She considers studying neurology to specialize in schizophrenia before eventually expressing an interest in comedy. She learns to adopt her mother's ability to find humor in their family's chaotic history rather than hiding from it.

Key Relationships

Daughter of Carrie Fisher

Daughter of Bryan Lourd

Granddaughter of Debbie Reynolds

George is the visionary filmmaker behind the Star Wars franchise. He holds the merchandising rights to the films, allowing him to turn Carrie's likeness into a massive array of commercial products. He enforces strict, sometimes absurd rules during filming, including prohibiting Carrie from wearing a bra beneath her costume.

Key Relationships

Employer of Carrie Fisher

Paul is a celebrated American singer-songwriter and Carrie's former husband. Their relationship spans over a decade of dating, marriage, and divorce. He writes multiple songs about Carrie, translating their private domestic clashes and shared experiences into public art.

Key Relationships

Former husband of Carrie Fisher

Elizabeth is a legendary Hollywood actress who inadvertently ruptures the Reynolds-Fisher family. Following the sudden death of her husband, she begins an affair with Eddie, creating a global tabloid scandal that defines Carrie's early childhood environment.

Key Relationships

Former wife of Mike Todd

Former wife of Eddie Fisher

Former friend of Debbie Reynolds

Greg is a gay Republican media strategist who runs political campaigns. He frequently accompanies Carrie to Hollywood events. His sudden death from a combination of sleep apnea and drug use forces Carrie to use dark comedy to process her grief and avoid sinking into tragedy.

Key Relationships

Close friend of Carrie Fisher

Harry is an executive who becomes Carrie's stepfather. He represents the strange excesses of mid-century wealth, squandering both his fortune and Debbie's money. He maintains a bizarre domestic routine that includes a barber chair installed in the home exercise room.

Key Relationships

Former husband of Debbie Reynolds

Former stepfather of Carrie Fisher

Bryan is a powerful Hollywood talent agent and Carrie's former partner. He provides deeply nurturing care during their relationship, bathing Carrie like a child and serving as an excellent co-parent. Their romantic relationship ends abruptly, adding another layer of complication to Carrie's personal history.

Key Relationships

Former partner of Carrie Fisher

Father of Billie Lourd

Mike is an American film producer and Elizabeth Taylor's husband. His unexpected death in a plane crash acts as the catalyst for the major romantic realignment in Carrie's family, prompting Eddie to leave Debbie to console his widow.

Key Relationships

Former husband of Elizabeth Taylor

Best friend of Eddie Fisher

Todd is Carrie's sibling, sharing the exact same chaotic upbringing in their home known as "the Embassy." Unlike Carrie, he does not develop addiction issues and instead turns to religion. He remains a steady, supportive presence during Carrie's severe psychiatric episodes.

Key Relationships

Maxine is Carrie's maternal grandmother from Texas. She provides a practical, pragmatic counterweight to the eccentricity of her daughter's Hollywood lifestyle, occasionally clashing with Debbie over appropriate behavior and household discipline.

Key Relationships

Mother of Debbie Reynolds

Grandmother of Carrie Fisher

Beatriz is Carrie's third therapist, taking her on as a patient after Carrie achieves a year of sobriety. She helps Carrie recognize and treat her bipolar disorder once drugs are no longer masking the severe mood swings.

Key Relationships

Therapist of Carrie Fisher