Carrie Fisher nets Grammy nod in spoken-word category, faces off with Springsteen and Bernie Sanders
Carrie Fisher continues to exhibit the posthumous power of the Force. The actress, who passed away in December 2016, was nominated Tuesday in the spoken-word category for her unflinching 2016 memoir, “The Princess Diarist.”
Though the daughter of Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher was best known as an actress, and specifically for her role as Princess Leia in the “Star Wars” films, Fisher was also an acclaimed author who penned eight books. She was previously nominated in this same category for her 2009 book, “Wishful Drinking.”
Although she had written about her life extensively before, “The Princess Diarist” was notable for its deep dive into Fisher’s time making “Star Wars,” from tales from the make-up chair to the revelation of a brief affair the then-19-year-old actress had with costar Harrison Ford.
In addition to this Grammy nomination, Fisher also received a posthumous Emmy nomination earlier this year for her guest role on the Amazon comedy “Catastrophe.”
Fisher isn’t the only person with a tie to the “Star Wars” universe receiving Grammy recognition. Donald Glover, who will star as Lando Calrissian in the forthcoming “Solo: A Star Wars Movie,” received five nominations for his work as Childish Gambino, his hip-hop/R&B alter ego. (Calrissian, as played by Billy Dee Williams, you may recall, first betrayed, then helped free Princess Leia in “The Empire Strikes Back.”)
Fisher has some formidable competition in the spoken-word category, including Sen. Bernie Sanders and actor Mark Ruffalo for Sanders’ “Our Revolution: A Future to Believe In.”
Then there’s Bruce Springsteen reading his memoir “Born to Run.” Other nominees include astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson, nominated for his book “Astrophysics for People in a Hurry,” and “Confessions of a Serial Songwriter,” by Shelly Peiken, the tunesmith behind hundreds of songs (Christina Aguilera’s “What a Girl Wants” and “Bitch” by Meredith Brooks).