Actor Billie Lourd knows how bittersweet the holidays can be when you’ve lost a loved one.
Lourd’s mom, Carrie Fisher, and grandmother Debbie Reynolds died a day apart after Christmas in 2016. As she’s done in the past, Lourd shared some comforting thoughts about how to deal with grief during the holiday season.
“Happy holidays! (But also sad/emotional/weird/stressful holidays!)” Lourd, 27, wrote in an Instagram post alongside a sweet throwback shot of her with Fisher and Reynolds.
“Sending my love to everyone who has lost someone they loved and is missing them a little extra today,” Lourd wrote. “I see you. It’s okay if everything ain’t all merry and bright. It can be a mix of all of it. And it’s all okay. Feel all the feelings – the good and the not so good. Eat something delish they used to love. Put on one of their favorite songs. Tell a story about them. Cry about them. Call one of their friends you haven’t talked to in a while. Be kind and patient with yourself. Don’t grieve in silence. You’re not alone.”
Lourd, who’s followed in her mother’s footsteps by appearing in the “Star Wars” franchise, often shares memories of Fisher and Reynolds, who were 60 and 84, respectively, when they died.
In October, the “American Horror Story” actor shared a clip on Instagram of herself singing Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ “American Girl,” noting that it was one of Fisher’s favorite songs.
“Today would have been my Momby’s 63rd birthday,” Lourd wrote in the caption. “Not that I’m some kind of grief expert by any means, but on milestones (or whatever you want to call them) like this, I like to celebrate her by doing things that she loved to do. So here’s a little video of me singing one of her favorite songs (‘American Girl’ by Tom Petty) in one of her favorite places (her bathtub of course).”
Fisher died on Dec. 27, a few days after suffering a heart attack while aboard a flight from London to Los Angeles. Fisher’s mom and Lourd’s grandmother, screen icon Reynolds, died after suffering a stroke one day later.
Lourd ― whose father is talent agent Brian Lourd ― has spoken openly about the grief process and what it’s like to uphold her family’s legacy while carving out a space for herself at the same time.
“I’ve always kind of lived in their shadows, and now is the first time in my life when I get to own my life and stand on my own,” Lourd said in an interview in Town & Country. “I love being my mother’s daughter, and it’s something I always will be, but now I get to be just Billie.”