A theory for why Carrie Fisher couldn't become a real A-list film superstar after Star Wars

Instead, she was more or less, a character actress after Star Wars:
https://www.quora.com/Why-did-Harrison-Ford-become-such-a-movie-superstar-post-Star-Wars-despite-limited-acting-range-while-co-stars-Hamill-and-Fisher-simply-faded-away/answer/Andrew-Crumb-4

In regards to Carrie Fisher I believe her difficulty in becoming a superstar had a lot to do with the way she comes across.

In Star Wars Fisher is only 20 years old. However, she comes across much older. You would not place her age at 20. Probably closer to thirty. It has to do with the way she carries herself and her voice. She has an authoritative voice.

She is about 32. But now she seems to be in the right role for her appearance. A mother and wife. Not a damsel in distress or a love interst. Just a mom and wife. This is the type of role she plays well.

Here she is again in 1991. Drop Dead Fred. She is about 34. Again she seems to fit the role. She’s a friend to the main character.

Other actresses during this same time period who have similar demeanors were, Jamie Lee Curtis and Sigourney Weaver.

These type of female leads filled a niche during the 80s. Ladies who came across as authoritative, tough if need be, and possibly heroines in tough situations.

But in Fisher’s case, she couldn’t really crossover into the romantic comedy genre, which boomed in the late 80, 90s and early 2000s. She was partially type casted as Princess Leia.

Romantic comedies needed women who were a little gentler. Plus Fisher was in her mid thirties when these films started to surge. She was on the tail end of the track for those films. The actresses picked for those roles tended to be in their mid twenties, or at least had to look like they were in their mid twenties. Fisher always came across as older even at 20.

Sometimes actresses just fit better in roles as they get older. That happened to Tea Leoni.

She is a bit younger than Fisher. Fisher was a Boomer. Leoni is an Xer. But she nailed the role in Madam Secretary. As a more mature female lead, she had the same type of qualities Fisher, Weaver, and Curtis had. But the right role came to her at the right time at the right age.

That never happened for Fisher. She always came across a bit older than she was. Then big female roles went to women who were younger with a firm feminine demeanor. Fisher had already moved out of that group, plus she was more like a Madam Secretary leading lady, not a Pretty Woman leading lady.