Debbie Reynolds: Carrie Fisher will be 'just fine'
Screen legend Debbie Reynolds says her daughter, actress and author CarrieFisher, is recovering following a bipolar episode last week that left her briefly hospitalized.
The "Singin' in the Rain" star told People magazine that Fisher has "had manic depression bipolar since she was 13. It's an illness, and she's doing much better. I'm very proud of her," Reynolds, 80, added, "and she's doing exceptionally well. She'll be just fine, just great, and continue her writing as she always does."
Fisher, in interviews and in her 2008 memoir "Wishful Drinking," has spoken candidly about her depression and bipolarity.
She told Oprah Winfrey in 2011 that she has regular electroconvulsive treatment to "blow apart the cement" in her brain.
Fisher, 56, behaved strangely last week during a singing performance aboard the Holland America Eurodam cruise ship. After a video of the event went viral, her representative said Fisher had visited a hospital to adjust her medication and was better.
Reynolds told an audience Wednesday at the Rancho Mirage Lecture Series at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, Calif., that mental illness is "really dreadful, and you are so alone because you're criticized, and people think you're doing it on purpose, and that you're misbehaving or having a spell because you want attention," reported People. "It's not true. It's extremely difficult for everyone to deal with."
Reynolds appeared in place of Fisher, who had been scheduled to speak but withdrew due to illness, said Susan Rosser, chairwoman of the lecture series.
Rosser told the Palm Springs newspaper The Desert Sun the switch was made over a week ago and was unrelated to Fisher's recent medical issue.