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In Her Own Words: Billie Lourd on Her ‘Incredible’ Mom Carrie Fisher

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Dec 27, 2016
by Anthea

Billie Lourd, the daughter of iconic Star Wars actress Carrie Fisher, told PEOPLE in May that her mother was “incredible.”

Fisher, 60, suffered a massive heart attack aboard an 11-hour flight from London to Los Angeles on Friday when she went into cardiac arrest. She died Tuesday morning.

“It is with a very deep sadness that Billie Lourd confirms that her beloved mother Carrie Fisher passed away at 8:55 this morning,” according to a statement released by family spokesman Simon Halls.

The 24-year-old, who made an appearance in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, spoke to PEOPLE in May about her mother and grandmother Debbie Reynolds, who debuted their documentary, Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, at Cannes earlier this year. (It premieres on HBO in 2017.)

“I’m always proud of my mother, she’s killing it right now. She’s incredible,” she said.

Lourd, whose father is talent agent Bryan Lourd, also opened up about working with her mother on the Star Wars franchise, explaining it’s “really trippy.”

“We’re watching each other. And we’re still being mother-daughter, even though it’s like, actress-actress,” she said.

“She’s awesome,” Lourd continued about working with her mom in the next installment of the film. “And it was even better in this one. She’s great and she looks great. She’s killing it.”

Lourd told Entertainment Tonight at the 2015 premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens that her first memories of the iconic films were of her “kicking and screaming.”

“[Fisher] was begging me to watch it,” she said. “I was like 4 years old.”

Fisher, who was beside her daughter, interrupted: “Do I seem like a beggar? They did not hire me because I was a beggar.”

“She begged me to watch it,” Lourd countered. “I obliged.”

“She was six!” Fisher responded.

“I was like four!” Lourd jokingly shouted back.

Source: People

Message from Ann, webmiss of Billie Lourd Network: I’m very sorry for the loss of your mother. We all admired her. May she find peace in heaven.

Articles & Interviews

Hunger: Billie Lourd is Our Favorite Scream Queen

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Dec 2, 2016
by Anthea

On a weekly basis, Billie Lourd evades murderers for a living. Fictional, of course, but even so you may expect this actress’ fears to be in the realm of masked maniacs, axe-wielding psychopaths or even really sharp knives. But when asked what scares her, Billie’s answer is a much more pragmatic one. “Parking lots,” she deadpans over the phone in LA. “I don’t trust them; how do they hold all those cars up? And I’m the same with really tall hotels – don’t trust them at all.”

Billie’s droll sense of humour is one of the first things that strikes you about her, though given her acting dynasty family tree, it is, she says, one of the last things that people expect. Born in the early 90s to Hollywood agent heavyweight Bryan Lourd and actress Carrie Fisher (yes, the original Princess Leia) – herself the daughter of 50s screen legend Debbie Reynolds – the 24-year-old actress has been dodging misconceptions for most of her life. “People meet me and are surprised when I’m normal and I’m like, ‘yes it’s true I actually am a real human, separate from my parents, shocker,’” she says, with a laugh. “I don’t know what they expect to get!”

But she needn’t worry. This aforementioned sardonic wit is what’s helping Billie carve out a career without any leg-ups from her relatives. Following a chance meeting with television auteur Ryan Murphy at a party (“he maybe had too much wine, I told really inappropriate stories, he laughed”) she was cast in Murphy’s genre-bending Scream Queens, a slasher-comedy series that’s part Scream, part Clueless and completely addictive.

In its debut season, in which a murderer disguised as a red devil stalks a college campus, the series – which stars original scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis as the university dean – became one of social media’s most hyped shows, with Fox announcing that it was the network’s number one new show for the 18-34 age bracket. Billie plays Chanel No. 3, an emotionless bisexual sorority girl whose biological father is Charles Manson. Even her costume, which every week featured a different pair of fluffy earmuffs (Chanel No.3 has a fear of having her ears chopped off) spawned dozens of memes. And with season two on the horizon, it looks like Billie’s just getting started.

“IF YOU START READING ALL THESE COMMENTS ABOUT YOURSELF AND WORRYING ABOUT WHAT PEOPLE THINK OF YOU THEN THAT’S WHEN IT STARTS TO GET HARD. YOU HAVE TO KNOW YOURSELF PRETTY WELL, BUT THE MORE FOLLOWERS YOU GET THE MORE HATERS YOU GET.”

Were you a horror fan before the show?
I’m the girl whose boyfriend took her to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and she stole his popcorn and ran out of the theatre! Saying that, though, I quite like old horror movies – The Exorcist and Rosemary’s Baby – any horror film that’s a little more intellectual than just killing people. I think it’s the music that scares the shit out of me.

Scream Queens has been a runaway success, was that the reaction that you were expecting?
I don’t know what we were expecting really because it’s such a unique genre. We were expecting the fans from American Horror Story and Glee to get it, but it turned out to be so much more than that. Our fans range from 14-year-old girls to 60-year-old gay men. I think people reacted more to the comedy than the horror – we now call it “hysterrifying”. The mystery factor is what brings people back each week, though. The great thing about the horror aspect of the show is that it toughens it up a bit. When you put a little action in a romantic comedy guys feel okay about watching it and with Scream Queens if you put a really scary killer around a bunch of girlie stuff then guys feel okay about watching it. That’s the genius of Ryan Murphy. He’s able to keep people coming back. When else will you catch any guy watching a Lea Michele and Emma Roberts show?

What can you tell us about season two?
It’s set in a hospital for one. Jamie Lee Curtis has continued her feminist crusade and she recruits all of us to work there. Zayday is already a med student, so she’s a shoe in, I’m working in the fertility or jizz clinic – for lack of a better name! – Abi [Breslin] is working in the dentist office and Emma [Roberts] is working in the blood clinic, so it makes some kind of sense that we all get recruited to work in this hospital. John Stamos and Taylor Lautner are our hot doctors, and I end up having a moment with Taylor and Emma gets with John, and the craziness just ensues from there.

Are there any similarities between you and your character, Chanel No.3?
Absolutely! I think all of us have a lot of our real personalities in our characters – Ryan is a genius like that. In real life it’s true that I’m a little bit emotionless, and maybe a bit of a hardened individual – sorry! Better than being overly emotional. I do cry sometimes, but it’s only occasionally; people are very taken aback when it happens.

Scream Queens was one of the first shows you did as an actress, while the rest of the cast are quite established – were you nervous when you joined?
Yeah, it was really intimidating. On my first day I worked with Emma, Abi, Nick Jonas and Jamie Lee Curtis, and then there was little old me. I had one line and I was so nervous about that one line, but everybody is so welcoming and supportive. Because it’s mostly an all-girls show, I was worried about rivalries too, and if you’ve been to high school it’s exactly like that. In the beginning we had to work out the dynamics, but now we’ve fallen into a rhythm, we all can make fun of each other and joke around. It’s like a family; we really are that cliché.

What have you learnt from working with Ryan Murphy?
He keeps you on your toes, you have to be ready for anything. I didn’t even realise that I was going to be a big character on the show at first and he tests you for that – if you do well in one scene he’ll give you more. If you have a good work ethic it’s going to pay off, and that’s a great thing to learn. The show is kind of like Survivor: you can get voted off the island at any point, so you have to stay on the ball!

Your parents didn’t want you to follow in their footsteps – what were their reasons?
They’ve both been in the industry for so long – my mom since she was born! They’ve seen all sides of it and they didn’t want me to be in the public eye and scrutinised to that level if I wasn’t ready for it because it can really damage you. They’d encouraged me to do anything else. My dad was like, “just get a degree in literally anything else and then you can do what you want”, but to his dismay I decided to act! Sorry Dad, I’m doing exactly what you don’t want, like all kids do. It’s my rebellion

Did you have a specific view of the film industry before you got into it? And has that changed now?
I absolutely did. I got a pretty good sense of what it was like from my parents, but it’s a completely different beast when you get into it. I try to stay outside myself a bit and make sure that I’m not sharing too much, then that doesn’t work for me, so I just try and not get too wrapped up in it. If you start reading all these comments about yourself and worrying about what people think of you then that’s when it starts to get hard. You have to know yourself pretty well, but the more followers you get the more haters you get, unfortunately.

Have you ever worried about getting jobs because of who your family are?
It’s a constant struggle, and because of that I’m kind of happy that I don’t have my mom’s last name because I really want to try and do what I can on my own. Even with Scream Queens, I would have loved to get it from an audition instead of a chance meeting. But then again this show in itself has been like an audition! It is hard sometimes, though, I don’t want people hiring me because of my parents. My whole life people have assumed that I’m going to be a certain way and when it’s just me acting normally they’re a bit like, “oh, I wasn’t expecting that”.

Did you watch Star Wars when you were younger?
Weirdly, I wasn’t that interested. My mom put it on one time when I was about six and I was lying in her bed trying to get to sleep so was just like, “Mommy, it’s too loud, turn it off.” So for a while the main issue was that it was too loud! When I got a bit older I thought it was really cool though, you know, “check out my hot mom running with a gun, she’s pretty badass!” Now that I’m in the films of course I’m a bit more into it.

And your part for the second film has been extended?
Yes, Lieutenant Connix is back. Hooked on comics. My favourite thing right now is to make up play on words for Connix [laughs]. We filmed in London for two and a half months and I’m now obsessed with Daisy Ridley. And I’m also a huge fan of Nando’s since being in London – I went like three times a week and now have a huge store of Peri Peri sauce in my cabinet.

You’d fit right in in London then! So, before acting you went to Wesleyan University before switching to NYU – why the switch?
I grew up in LA and always had the idea that I wanted to go to a classic liberal arts school in the middle of nowhere and do the whole sorority thing, blah blah blah. Then when I got to Connecticut, two hours away from New York City, the reality kicked in. None of these people had drunk before, or done anything like that, and so they were doing the classic college thing, which I was over by that point. A girl came into my room one day and threw up and I was like, okay I’m done, this is not my scene. The school was incredible and my teachers were brilliant, but it was too isolated for me. I was going to New York every weekend anyway and going to school in the city made more sense for me because I was able to work at the same time, which really motivated me. I feel like I wouldn’t be where I am now had I not been to NYU.

Among other subjects, you studied psychology – did that help you as an actress?
Absolutely. Psychology plays a huge part in acting. You have to get into the mind of your character and break them down. I mean, it’s hard to get into the mind of a crazy, deadpan, bisexual that’s Charles Manson’s daughter but if anything will help, psychology will.

A lot of actors say that anxiety plays a big role in their life – is that true for you too?
Yes, definitely. I pray for a season three, four, five, every day, because usually with TV there is more consistency, but the problem with this show is that you don’t know if you’re going to come back. I live in fear. Every script we get I turn to the back page to make sure that I’m not dead. So far I’m okay but going forward, who knows? I think I’ll always have figuring out to do, everyone does, but that’s why I got my degree – if this doesn’t work out I have a back-up. There is so much that I’m interested in – I want to write, direct, make music, I want to open a fried chicken restaurant. Maybe even get a Nando’s franchise over to the States, now there’s a plan!

Source: Hunger

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Flaunt: Billie Lourd Has No Time For Pretension

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Sep 22, 2016
by Anthea


“People say, ‘She only got that [role] because of her mom.’ Yeah, yeah I did.” Lourd admits with sincerity, “But what would you have done if you got offered a role in Star Wars? Say ‘no?’ That’s even more pretentious.”

In rural Somerset, where grassy knolls tumble toward the Welsh coastline, there sits a small, flat-topped mesa over six hundred feet tall—Solsbury Hill—it’s on this mound of profundity that eagles fly out of the night, and where fleeting voices may be heard. It’s also the title to actress Billie Lourd’s most recent of obsessions: “I’m really into Peter Gabriel right now. I’m feeling him and ‘Solsbury Hill.’ Is that weird? I wake up to that [song] every morning and it’s like a breath of fresh air.”

It’s a balmy afternoon in Larchmont, L.A., the air less than fresh, and we’ve just walked to a local café to find outdoor seating; a prime people-watching location with a side of conversation. “Like all kids, I grew up wanting to be a neurosurgeon,” Lourd smirks, “But really, genuinely, I found it interesting.”

Obviously and earnestly so, Lourd is not like most kids, as she playfully puts it. The daughter to film icon Carrie Fisher and esteemed Hollywood agent Bryan Lourd, one can assume Lourd’s parents happily welcomed her to the family business. But to assume anything of her and her family would be selling them short.

“I always secretly wanted to act, but my parents didn’t want me to, at all. I went to performing arts camp and lied to them about why I was going. I said I was going to knit,” she laughs. “I made some pretty damn good scarves while being in The Music Man.”

It wasn’t until Billie Lourd was invited onto the set of 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens that her natural talent on-screen—in a minor role as “Lieutenant Connix”—became readily apparent: “I go there [on set] and I’m really comfortable, like my normal self; singing Jersey Boys and acting like a crazy person,” she says between sips from her iced tea straw. “My mom came up to me after the first day and was like, ‘Hey, you had a great day today.’ I told her how fun it was and she said, ‘Most people don’t feel like that. That’s very unique. You should really think about doing this.’”

And “doing” it, she is. Already slated to reprise Connix in Star Wars: Episode VIII, slated fro release next year, Lourd is best known for her role as the peculiar “Chanel #3” in Fox’s hit series, Scream Queens. Donning furry earmuffs as an homage to her mother’s double-bun of Star Wars infamy, Lourd’s ever-indifferent character says exactly what everyone’s thinking—no sugarcoating. These traits don’t seem like too much of a stretch from her natural disposition: “People say, ‘She only got that [role] because of her mom.’ Yeah, yeah I did.” Lourd admits with sincerity, “But what would you have done if you got offered a role in Star Wars? Say ‘no?’ That’s even more pretentious.”

With more success, comes less anonymity, perhaps even more so in Lourd’s case. “I don’t mind [the scrutiny]. As long as I’m a good person, have good morals, and I’m doing the right thing it’s okay if I say ‘shit’ or make little mistakes.” So what’s over the hill for Lourd? “Act, write, direct. I play music, so I’d love to release an album, open a fried chicken restaurant, start a clothing line for short people, and I want some kids. Is that too much?”

Source: Flaunt Magazine

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PaperMag: Billie Lourd Holds Her Own

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Sep 22, 2016
by Anthea


Billie Lourd is one of those actresses that, in the slang of an earlier era, has “moxie” or “spunk.” At just 5’1″, she’s a tiny fireball that instantly fills the room. She laughs warmly while cracking jokes and makes sure everyone around her is at ease. It turns out when your mom is Carrie Fisher, your dad is CAA power agent Bryan Lourd, your grandma is Debbie Reynolds and your grandpa is Eddie Fisher, you learn how to hold your own.

The 24-year-old has made big career moves in a relatively small window of time, appearing alongside her famous mom in a small part in last summer’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens before quickly landing a lead role in Ryan Murphy’s campy primetime bloodfest Scream Queens. Shooting Star Wars was, in fact, her very first time on set and on camera, because her parents had expressly forbidden her from entering the profession until she’d obtained a degree in something else entirely. And so after graduating from NYU’s Gallatin School with a self-designed degree in “Art and Business as Religion,” she nabbed her first role and arrived on the Star Wars set under her mother’s watchful eye. “I walk on set and I’m singing Jersey Boys,” she recalls. “My mom pulled me aside that night and said, ‘You know, it’s really weird that you’re this confident on set. That’s rare. You should do this.'”

With that blessing, she quickly parlayed her way into a meatier reappearance as Lieutenant Connix in Star Wars: Episode VIII, set for release in December 2017, as well as a second season as the droll and deadpan Chanel #3 on Scream Queens. Of this latter role, Lourd says she plans to make her kids watch the show someday, just like her mom once tried to do by placing little Billie on the couch to watch the original Star Wars. “When my kids are pissing me off, I’m gonna be like, ‘Watch Scream Queens,'” she says with a laugh. “Look how cool I was!”

Source: PaperMag

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Murphy Talks to Lourd About Female Representation in Hollywood

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Sep 22, 2016
by Anthea

Scream Queens’ Ryan Murphy Talks to Billie Lourd About Female Representation in Hollywood


Over the years, television maestro Ryan Murphy has brought some of the most compelling female characters to our screens: Rachel Berry in Glee. The Chanels in Scream Queens. All the astonishing iterations of Jessica Lange in American Horror Story. Now his shows celebrate the women who work behind the camera, too. Earlier this year, Ryan created the Half Foundation, whose mission is to ensure that women — as well as minorities — make up at least 50 percent of the directors on his shows. Billie Lourd, who plays Chanel No. 3 on Scream Queens, recently caught up with the visionary to talk about the foundation, feminism, and the power of females on set. Is his mission working? As it turns out, the end result is even better for everyone involved than he’d imagined.

Ryan Murphy: Your mother, Carrie Fisher, is known for portraying the iconic Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy, and she is also a huge feminist. What advice did she give you when you were starting acting?

Billie Lourd: She told me to be true, and kind, and confident in yourself. She raised me to not think of men and women as different. She raised me without gender. It’s kind of the reason she named me Billie. It’s not about being a strong woman — it’s about being a strong person. She once told me, “I never sat you down with a credo. It was more about leading by example.”

RM: You come from a family of rule-breakers. You grew up realizing that you can create your own rules. I love that about you. I didn’t have the same experience growing up.

BL: You’re the number one rule-breaker now! I noticed the effects of the Half Foundation before I realized it was happening: There were more female directors coming around. I ended up Googling it and realizing what you had done.

RM: I’m really proud of it. I think that, like a lot of good things, it came from a moment of shame for me. We were doing an episode of The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story; the female director we had lined up fell through, so I was like, “I’m just going to do it.” I thought, You know, this isn’t right. Why don’t I have a stable of women who can fill in? I should have that. In television and the movie business, the people who are promoted and the people who are mentored always look like the white guys.

BL: It’s so true. And even if a woman director does her thing, it’s like they never come back. It’s like, “Oh, great, she got her directing job. Now she’s done.”

RM: I was embarrassed of myself. What’s the point of having any power if you can’t use it? I met with the head of Fox and said, “I want half of all my crews to be women.” What has it been like for you when the set is 50 percent women?

BL: It feels totally different. When you walk onto any set, it’s usually primarily men. Which can be weird, especially when you’re doing something emotionally challenging. This year, when I made out with John Stamos — which was a dream, thank you for that — I walked in and half the people were women. And that was a really, really nice feeling, and it made me more comfortable. The great thing about women directors is that they’re not only involved in the performances — they can gauge where we all are personally and know how to direct us better because of that.

RM: I just think people do better work when you feel a part of the world. In Scream Queens, the cast is 80 percent women. I find that women are much more comfortable showing their emotion and inviting you into their emotional landscape. Writing female characters is a no-brainer because that’s the world I want to live in. I’m not interested in anything but emotionally driven stories; that’s why almost all of my work is exclusively anchored by women. That’s where my heart goes. Hollywood is stuck in this weird time warp, and I feel like these women and men who love women above all else are rising up right now and taking some of the power back.

Source: Teen Vogue

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