'She wanted to be with Carrie': Actress Debbie Reynolds dead at 84
Reynolds' famous daughter, Carrie Fisher, passed away a day earlier
Legendary actress Debbie Reynolds has died, just a day after her famous daughter Carrie Fisher passed away.
Reynolds, the star of such movies as Singin' in the Rain and The Unsinkable Molly Brown, was 84.
It was reported earlier Wednesday that Reynolds had been rushed to a Los Angeles hospital, suffering a stroke. Her son, Todd Fisher, confirmed her death Wednesday evening.
"She wanted to be with Carrie," Fisher told Variety magazine.
'My movie mom'
Many celebrities reacted to the news on Twitter, including Albert Brooks, her co-star in the 1996 movie Mother, who called her "a brilliantly funny, talented woman" and expressed condolences to Reynolds' granddaughter, and Carrie Fisher's daughter, Billie.
Debbie Reynolds, a legend and my movie mom. I can't believe this happened one day after Carrie. My heart goes out to Billie.
—@AlbertBrooksTruly heartbroken to hear <a href="https://twitter.com/DebbieReynolds1">@DebbieReynolds1</a> has died. She was a wonderfully warm friend and colleague. Praying for Todd & Billie. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RIPDebbie?src=hash">#RIPDebbie</a> <a href="https://t.co/P85OVsMBUt">pic.twitter.com/P85OVsMBUt</a>
—@JoancollinsdbeDebbie Reynolds was one of the last of Hollywood Royalty. It breaks my heart that she is gone. I'd hoped that my grieving was done for 2016.
—@WilliamShatnerActress Joely Fisher, the daughter of Eddie Fisher, half-sister of Carrie and Todd Fisher, said she was "inconsolable."
Some of the magic people have left the tribe...for the moment I am inconsolable...💔💔💔
—@MsJoelyFisherMiss Burbank 1948
Reynolds was born Mary Frances Reynolds on April 1, 1932, in El Paso, Texas, and moved to California with her parents when she was six years old.
At age 16, she won the Miss Burbank beauty contest, which helped launch a film career that would span more than 60 years. She most recently appeared in the 2013 Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra.
Like many of her generation, Reynolds was a multidisciplinary performer.
Her singing earned her a No. 1 spot on the singles charts for "Tammy," from her 1957 film Tammy and the Bachelor. That year, she became a regular on The Eddie Fisher Show on NBC. She performed in nightclubs, hosted TV specials, and in 1968 had her first TV series, the NBC sitcom The Debbie Reynolds Show.Â
Reynolds also dabbled in live theatre, debuting on Broadway in 1973 in the musical Irene, for which she earned a Tony nomination.
She would go on to be nominated for several Golden Globes, Emmys and one Oscar for The Unsinkable Molly Brown. In 2015, the Screen Actors Guild presented her with a Life Achievement Award.
A documentary about Reynolds and Fisher, titled Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, debuted at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year and is slated to air on HBO in March 2017.
Reynolds was also an entrepreneur and a film historian. She displayed her movie memorabilia collection first at the Vegas hotel and casino she used to own and later in a museum in Los Angeles. She regularly auctioned off items from the collection.
Reynolds' first marriage was to singer Eddie Fisher in 1955, with whom she had Carrie and Todd, before they split in 1959 over his affair with Elizabeth Taylor. She was married to millionaire businessman Harry Karl from 1960 to 1973, and to real estate developer Richard Hamlett from 1984 to 1996.
After Carrie Fisher was hospitalized last Friday, Reynolds said in a statement on Christmas Day that her daughter's condition had stabilized. But Carrie Fisher died two days later.
With files from The Associated Press, Reuters