Carrie Fisher, best known for portraying Princess Leia in the original Stars Wars trilogy, is the latest name announced as an honouree at the US-Ireland Alliance 's 10th annual Oscar Wilde Awards.
She joins Stephen Colbert and Irish painter Colin Davidson in receiving the accolade at this year's ceremony, to be held at JJ Abrams’ Bad Robot production company in Santa Monica on February 19.
Fisher says of her Irish ancestry:
"My great, great, fabulous grandfather Burt McReynolds from the county Donegal was wrongfully accused of being a horse thief, a case of mistaken identity. But rather than put his family through the rigors of a trial to clear the family name, he emigrated to America, dropped the Mc in the ocean, became Burt Reynolds and the rest is history...and incredibly boring. Thankfully my mother changed all that and gave our family name a kick in the pants that it might or might not deserve."
She reprising her role of Leia in the forthcoming Stars Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens, which is also being directed by Abrams.
Aside from her acting work – she's had roles in When Harry Met Sally, The Blues Brothers, Sex And The City, 30 Rock and more, and performed a one-woman show on Broadway – Fisher is a best-selling novelist and screenplay writer.