Carrie Fisher’s Daughter, Billie Lourd, Has Shared a Photo of Her Children Watching Leia in ‘Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope’ To Celebrate May the 4th
Every year, Star Wars Day lands with a different emotional weight depending on what the galaxy far, far away means to you personally. For most fans, May the 4th is a day of rewatches, lightsaber memes, and themed merchandise drops. But for Billie Lourd, the occasion carries something no other fan can quite claim, a direct, living connection to the woman who made Princess Leia one of the most iconic characters in cinema history.
Lourd, the only child of the late Carrie Fisher, has carried her mother’s legacy with a quiet, consistent grace since Fisher’s passing in 2016. She followed her mother into the ‘Star Wars’ universe by portraying Lieutenant Connix in the sequel trilogy, even working opposite Fisher herself in ‘The Force Awakens’ and ‘The Last Jedi’ before her mother’s death. That shared chapter of their lives made the franchise something far more personal than a film franchise for Lourd, it became a living archive of her mother’s presence.
This Star Wars Day, Lourd brought that archive home in the most tender way imaginable. The actress posted a photo to Instagram on May 4 showing her son Kingston, 5, and daughter Jackson, 3, watching ‘Star Wars: A New Hope’ on a television.
The image, captured during one of Carrie Fisher’s earliest scenes as Princess Leia, showed the two children silhouetted against the glow of the screen, completely transfixed. Alongside the post, Lourd wrote on her Instagram Stories that “Kingston and Jackson are officially even bigger Star Wars nerds than me and nothing brings me more joy.”
The moment clearly struck a nerve with fans worldwide, who flooded the comments with emotional responses. One long-time fan wrote that Fisher had shown her as a young girl “watching a princess saving herself that we are our own heroes,” adding that her strength made her “the true force for so many of us.” Another described the image as proof that Fisher’s mother “inspired generations,” noting that her grandchildren now get to see her shine.
The tribute fits a pattern Lourd has quietly built year after year, one of intentional remembrance through film. In an exclusive interview with E! News, Lourd opened up about the first time she showed the children ‘Return of the Jedi’, describing a moment of sweet confusion as they tried to reconcile the woman on screen with the grandmother they knew only through stories.
According to Lourd, they asked her, “Wait, that’s my grandma?” and she had to explain, “No, that’s Princess Leia, your grandma’s Carrie, but that’s Princess Leia.” She recalled sitting behind them and crying as they watched, completely enthralled.
Lourd has also described the ‘Star Wars’ films as “the ultimate high-budget home movie,” saying that being able to show her children their grandmother in those movies is something she considers deeply special.
Both Kingston and Jackson have since named Princess Leia as their favorite ‘Star Wars’ character, which Lourd has spoken about with unmistakable pride. The Force, it seems, is very much a family matter in the Lourd-Rydell household.
Carrie Fisher passed away in December 2016, and while her grandchildren never had the chance to meet her, Lourd has said she wants them to know that Fisher was “a brilliant magical human,” and makes a point of celebrating her on meaningful dates by telling her kids funny stories, watching her films, and eating her favorite foods. Moments like this year’s May the 4th post make it clear she is doing exactly that, and doing it beautifully.
Share your thoughts in the comments below — what does Billie Lourd’s annual ‘Star Wars’ Day tribute mean to you as a fan?
