'Star Wars' actress Carrie Fisher dies aged 60

New York: American actress Carrie Fisher, best known for her role as Princess Leia in the Star Wars series, has died at the age of 60, after suffering a heart attack, media reports said.

Family spokesman Simon Halls released a statement to People magazine on behalf of Fisher's daughter, Billie Lourd, which read: "It is with a very deep sadness that Billie Lourd confirms that her beloved mother Carrie Fisher passed away at 8:55 this morning."

Fisher was flying from London to Los Angeles on December 23, when she went into cardiac arrest. Paramedics removed her from the flight and rushed her to a nearby hospital, where she was being treated. She later died in the hospital.

Besides starring in other films such as "The Blues Brothers" and "When Harry Met Sally", Fisher also wrote four novels and three memoirs.

The daughter of the pop singer Eddie Fisher and the actress Debbie Reynolds, Fisher is survived by her mom, daughter Lourd, brother Todd Fisher, half-sisters Joely Fisher and Tricia Leigh Fisher.