Fans At McKinney Star Wars Collectible Store Remember Carrie Fisher
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McKINNEY (CBS11) - As fans mourn the loss of actress Carrie Fisher, her legacy as a role model for young girls seems to only be getting stronger.
It's common for Order 66 Toys in McKinney to draw fans who weren't even born when Fisher made her debut as Princess Leia in the original Star Wars.
Fourteen-year-old Kaleigh Warrington will tell you new generations continue to find plenty to admire about the classic character.
"I just think that she wanted to achieve her dream, and she did, and I like her. I like her hair," Kaleigh said.
The teen inherited some of her enthusiasm from her dad who grew up with Star Wars and even got to meet Fisher who signed a photo for him at a Dallas Comic Con.
"She put this gold dust on my hand and said it was for good luck, and apparently she doesn't do that for everybody, so I was pretty excited. My wife will tell you that she heard me kind of scream a little bit," Ricky Warrington said.
The store's owner, Jeff Durazzo got to know Fisher when the actress spotted his rare statue of her character at a convention.
"When Carrie saw it, she came straight over to our booth, gave me a big hug, said, oh my God, I haven't seen this in years," Durazzo said.
Durazzo called Fisher a trailblazer who set the stage for future strong female characters in the often male dominated world of science fiction, and even though her work was cut short Tuesday at the age of 60, her impact will live on for generations to come.
"She was an amazing actress, and she... I guess made history," Kaleigh said, "I feel like she was a major focal point in a ton of young girls lives."
One of the actresses from the Star Wars films was in town Wednesday to sign autographs at Order 66.
The appearance was scheduled long before Fisher's death, but it's fitting that actress Nalini Krishan was there to help fans honor the star who paved the way for strong female characters.
The youngest Star Wars fans will recognize Krishan's jedi knight character, Barriss Offee from the 2002 Star Wars film Attack of the Clones, but for the original Star Wars generation, it was Fisher's Princess Leia who set the example of a woman who taught girls they could take on an empire.
Since Fisher died, members of the casts and crews for all the films have consistently spoken about their admiration for the actress. Krishan tells CBS11, Fisher and Star Wars creator George Lucas were able to show audiences something too often unseen in science fiction.
"Her ability to speak her mind, to be strong, and to be able to be feminine at the same time, I think that she did that so well, and she was so funny, and she was so beautiful when she did that, I think that he wanted there to be female jedis and not just male jedis, and to show that women can be very powerful," Krishan said.
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