Hollywood icon Debbie Reynolds died Wednesday at a Los Angeles hospital hours after suffering a possible stroke — one day after the passing of her daughter, “Star Wars” actress Carrie Fisher.
“She’s now with Carrie and we’re all heartbroken,” Reynolds’ son, Todd Fisher, told Variety following the death of his 84-year-old mother, a screen legend whose remarkable career spanned more than six decades.
Her son said the shock of his sister’s death on Tuesday — four days after suffering a massive heart attack — “was too much” for Reynolds.
“She said, ‘I want to be with Carrie,’” Todd said. “And then she was gone.”
Reynolds — best known for her roles on stage and screen, including the 1952 movie musical classic “Singin’ in the Rain” — was rushed to the hospital from her son’s Beverly Hills home, where they were discussing funeral arrangements for Fisher, TMZ reported.
A short time after her daughter died, Reynolds penned a heartfelt Facebook post honoring the troubled actress and author.
“Thank you to everyone who has embraced the gifts and talents of my beloved and amazing daughter,” she said. “I am grateful for your thoughts and prayers that are now guiding her to her next stop. Love Carrie’s Mother.”
Reynolds led the quintessential Hollywood life, starring in musicals on the silver screen as well as television shows. She had three high-profile marriages, suffered through devastating divorces, and even cultivated a substantial cache of iconic Tinseltown memorabilia.
Reynolds hoped to one day open a museum devoted to classic objects such as Charlie Chaplin’s signature comic hat, Frank Sinatra’s suave tuxedo, and Marilyn Monroe’s slinky white dress from “The Seven Year Itch.”
She eventually had to sell the items at auction for financial reasons after her dream crashed. The last batch sold in May 2014.
Remembering her role in “Singin’ in the Rain,” Reynolds said during a 1999 interview that “Gene Kelly was hard on me, but I think he had to be.”
She added: “I had to learn everything in three to six months. Donald O’Connor had been dancing since he was 3 months old, Gene Kelly since he was 2 years old.”
Reynolds married singer Eddie Fisher, who dumped her for Elizabeth Taylor in 1959. Two other Reynolds marriages — to shoe store owner and gambler Harry Karl and real estate developer Richard Hamlett — led to financial ruin.
She earned an Oscar nomination for the 1964 musical “The Unsinkable Molly Brown” and had a short-lived NBC sitcom, “The Debbie Reynolds Show.”
“A long time ago … I realized that I loved to sing, dance, and make people laugh,” Reynolds said in 2002. “The trick is finding something that you like and sticking with it.”
Reynolds and Fisher, 60, had darkly similar paths to success, including addiction, mental illness and tragedy.
But, in the end, what defined the pair was their perseverance and steely durability.
In a tribute to her mother’s seemingly immortal beauty, Fisher posted an image of the pair on social media in 2015.
“How freakishly beautiful is my 83 yr-old alleged mother?” Fisher wrote in her signature sardonic style. “She must drink bats blood & smear bugs brains on her skin.”
Meanwhile, Princess Leia toys and Fisher’s books have been flying off the shelves since her death.
Remembering Debbie Reynolds through the years:
