UPDATE: 12/28, 8:48 p.m. ― Debbie Reynolds died Wednesday at 84 years old at Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles, her son, Todd, confirmed to Variety.
“She wanted to be with Carrie,” he said.
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Debbie Reynolds reportedly suffered a stroke on Wednesday, one day after the death of her daughter, actress and author Carrie Fisher.
TMZ was the first to report on Reynolds’ hospitalization. The 84-year-old was allegedly at her son Todd Fisher’s home in Beverly Hills making plans for Carrie’s funeral when the emergency occurred. E! News confirmed she was transported to the hospital in fair to serious condition.
A rep for the actress could not immediately be reached, but Carrie’s sister, Joely Fisher, tweeted a message to Reynolds.
Fisher, who was famous for portraying Princess Leia Organa in the “Star Wars” franchise, died Tuesday after suffering a heart attack aboard an 11-hour flight from London to Los Angeles Friday. Reynolds shared a heartbreaking Facebook post confirming her daughter’s death, and thanked everyone for their outpouring of support.
While Reynolds and Fisher’s relationship had its ups and downs, through Fisher’s drug addiction and bipolar diagnosis, their bond was strong in the years before Fisher’s death. Previously, the mother and daughter were estranged for almost 10 years.
“My lowest point in Carrie and my relationship was probably when we discovered that she was ill, or that she had this mental health problem, and that it was going to be with her forever,” Reynolds told Oprah Winfrey during a 2011 interview. “That was very hard. How is she going to get along in life? How can I help her in life? All I could do is love her, and always shall.”
“I would say that Carrie and I have finally found happiness,” she added. “I admire her strength and survival. I admire that she is alive, that she has chosen to make it. It would have been easy to give up and give in and to keep doing drugs. I always feel, as a mother does, that I protect her. I want happiness for my daughter — I want Carrie to be happy.”
Reynolds began her acting career in the 1940s and is best known for her roles in films like “Singin’ in the Rain,” “Charlotte’s Web” and “The Unsinkable Molly Brown.”
Correction: This post previously said Joely Fisher was Debbie Reynolds’ daughter. In fact, Joely is Carrie Fisher’s half-sister from their dad Eddie Fisher’s third marriage to Connie Stevens.
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