star wars day

Actress Billie Lourd paid tribute to her late mother Carrie Fisher on Tuesday by sharing a photo of her son Kingston watching Fisher as Princess Leia in 1977's "Star Wars: A New Hope."

Kingston was born last September to Lourd and her fiancé, actor Austen Rydell. The infant is pictured wearing a knitted hat with buns on its side and a Leia-themed onesie.

via PrisetheLourd / Instagram

Unfortunately, Fisher died in December 2016 at the age of 60 after suffering cardiac arrest on a plane. Her mother, actress Debbie Reynolds, tragically died the next day at the age of 84. Fisher played Princess Leia in six "Star Wars" films. Her final, posthumous performance in 2019's "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" was cobbled together using footage of her taken for other films.

Lourd co-starred with Fisher in all three of the films in the Star Wars sequel trilogy in the role of Lieutenant Connix. She auditioned for the lead role of Rey, but it went to Daisy Ridley.

Lourd has also starred in the Fox horror-comedy series "Scream Queens" and the FX horror anthology series "American Horror Story."

The actress got to play her mother's iconic role of Princess Leia in a brief flashback scene in "The Rise of Skywalker." Lourd's face was digitally replaced with an image of Fisher taken from 1983's "Return of the Jedi."

Lourd shared the photo to commemorate "Star Wars" Day, also known as "May the Fourth," a play on words using the films' catchphrase "May the force be with you."

Over the past decade, "Star Wars" fans have celebrated the popular film franchise on May 4. Since 2013, The Walt Disney Company has commemorated the holiday with "Star Wars" events. On May 4, 2021, it premiered an animated series "Star Wars: The Bad Batch" to coincide with the holiday.

Some fans have turned the holiday into a two-day celebration by commemorating "Revenge of the Fifth" or "Revenge of the Sixth" in the days after the fourth. The secondary celebrations are plays on the title of the third film in the series, "Revenge of the Sith."

It's believed that the phrase "May the fourth be with you," was first used in 1979, when the U.K. Conservative Party paid for a newspaper advertisement saying, "May the Fourth Be With You, Maggie. Congratulations!" to celebrate the party's general election victory.

It's unclear whether this was young Kingston's first time seeing his grandmother as Princess Leia, but it probably won't be his last. The child has no idea that he's been born into Hollywood royalty.

"Star Wars" first came out nearly 44 years ago and the film franchise is as popular as ever. There's no doubt that Carrie Fisher will continue to inspire future generations with her portrayal of one of the most memorable strong female characters ever committed to film.