Billie Lourd says she learned from mom Carrie Fisher certain things not to do as a parent
Billie Lourd says she learned a lot about what not to do as a parent from her own mother, late "Star Wars" franchise star Carrie Fisher.
In an interview about generational trauma on the "New Day" podcast, new mom Lourd, 29, said she won't try to make her 1-year-old son, Kingston, her "best friend" as her mom did with her.
The former "Scream Queens" star said as a child she was expected to be a source of support to Fisher, who was candid about suffering with mental health issues and addiction throughout her life.
"My main job when she was alive was taking care of her and making sure she was OK," Lourd told host Claire Bidwell Smith.
She later continued, "I was (Fisher's) main support, and I was 7, for a lot of the time, and that was really hard and that’s why I grew up really fast, because I was her best friend."
She added, "I was her mother, I was her kid, I was her everything. And that’s one of the things I’m learning not to do with my kid."
Lourd, who shares Kingston with fiancé Austen Rydell, said Fisher's parenting style was rife with examples of mistakes she never wants to repeat.
"There’s a lot of things that my mom taught me to do and then there’s a lot that is, honestly, it might be more valuable, of what not to do," she explained. "And that’s one of the things that I will not do to my son, is put this pressure on him that I had on me."
Lourd revealed that when she was a youngster, several of her friends' parents were hesitant to allow them to visit Lourd's home because they "knew who my mom was and did not trust her."
Throughout the interview, Lourd also praised the famously witty Fisher for being resilient and for providing Lourd with "the greatest sense of humor."
"We laughed every single day, and she made my life so much fun," she said.
Fisher died in December 2016 at age 60 after suffering a heart attack during a flight from London to Los Angeles days before. Toxicology results later revealed that Fisher had cocaine and heroin in her system at the time of her death.
Just one day after Fisher's death, Fisher's own mother, Hollywood legend Debbie Reynolds, suffered a stroke and died at age 84.
Lourd revealed she'd become a mom in a surprise announcement in September 2020. Welcoming Kingston, whom she called "the greatest light in my life," has been "wonderful," the "Booksmart" star told Smith.
"Being a mother is the greatest thing that's ever happened to me," she said.