Before Princess Leia, Carrie Fisher Auditioned for Stephen King’s ‘Carrie’ — Here’s What Happened

STAR WARS, (aka STAR WARS: EPISODE IV - A NEW HOPE), Carrie Fisher, 1977 — Lucasfilm Lrd./Everett Collection

Carrie Fisher had a long and successful career but was still gone far too soon. The actress would have turned 70 on October 21, 2026. The daughter of actress Debbie Reynolds and singer Eddie Fisher became a star in her own right when she played Princess Leia in Star Wars (1977). She had made her film debut two years earlier in Shampoo. Before landing Star Wars, she also auditioned for the title role in Brian De Palma‘s adaptation of Stephen King‘s Carrie.

Fisher saw a joke in the possible casting. As she recalled in The Princess Diarist, it would have been “Carrie as Carrie in Carrie.”

Carrie Fisher read for both films

George Lucas and De Palma held joint auditions because both needed an actress between 18 and 22. “I was the right age at the right time, so I read for both George and Brian,” Fisher wrote.

She didn’t get far with Carrie. Fisher said she never advanced to the next round, while Lucas asked her back for another reading.

What about the nudity rumor?

Actress Carrie Fisher as 'Princess Leia' in gold bikini, posing on the beach with an inflatable ball, 1983

Aaron Rapoport/Corbis via Getty Images

Fisher denied rejecting Carrie over nudity in a Premiere interview, as The Independent reported. “I love being nude,” she said. Sissy Spacek played Carrie White in the 1976 film, a bullied high school student who discovers she has telekinetic powers. Piper Laurie played her mother.

Spacek and Laurie received Oscar nominations for their performances, with Spacek nominated for best actress and Laurie for supporting actress.

How Fisher got the part of Princess Leia

Fisher practiced the script with her friend Miguel Ferrer, the son of José Ferrer and Rosemary Clooney. For her audition, she read opposite Harrison Ford. Her agent called with the offer the following week. Fisher recalled dropping the phone and running outside into the rain.

Star Wars opened on May 25, 1977, when Fisher was 20. Years later, Terry Gross asked Fisher on Fresh Air about the downside of being known as Leia. “The downside is the hair and some of the outfits. But I like Princess Leia. I like how she handles things.“