What Made Carrie Fisher Tell Daughter Billie Lourd ‘You Should Act’

Billie Lourd — who has starred in American Horror Story, Scream Queens, and Booksmart — comes from a line of Hollywood royalty. Her mother is Carrie Fisher, and her grandmother is Debbie Reynolds. Though Lourd is climbing the ladder as an actor, her parents didn’t initially want her to go into showbiz. Both her parents were well aware of childhood stardom’s drawbacks and what the industry can do to a person (for better and for worse). 

While on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Lourd spoke about her career and what led her to become an actor. She told DeGeneres, “They did not want me to act at all, my dad and my mom, because they were both in the industry and saw that it’s not really the best place to want your child to go into.” So, what changed? 

Billie Lourd read for the lead in ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’

Though Lorde only boasted a small role in the Star Wars franchise, she had a shot at the leading character. She told DeGeneres: 

“J.J. Abrams called me to come in for Star Wars because he couldn’t find someone for the lead. He ended up finding Daisy Ridley who’s an incredible actress, is so talented. But, I went in and he ended up giving me this small role with a couple lines, and I was super excited, didn’t know what was going to happen…fell in love with it. Was like weirdly singing Jersey Boys on set.”

Lorde enjoyed her time on the set of Star Wars, and she immediately made herself at home in the behind-the-scenes environment, leading Fisher to have a change of heart. 

What Carrie Fisher told Billie Lourd after watching her on the ‘Star Wars’ set 

After enjoying herself on the set of Star Wars, Lourd came home to Reynolds, who told her daughter: 

“You know, this is really weird that you’re comfortable here. This is one of the most uncomfortable environments in the world. If you’re comfortable here, you should do this.” 

Lourd | The Ellen DeGeneres Show

Lourd went on to explain that she asked her mother, “what are you talking about,?” to which her mother replied, “you should act.” And, soon after, Lourd was reading lines to be in Ryan Murphy’s Scream Queens. Lourd explained that she was “laughing out loud” when she came in to read for Murphy, and she was “in New Orleans a week later playing Chanel Number 3.”