**i wrote about this on tumblr, and i'm just gonna copy and paste most of it here**

there’s been an outpouring of love for carrie fisher over the past few days that, quite rightly, isn’t only focused on her work and the iconic character she played but who she was as a person and the strength she inspired in people. it makes me sad that i've only seen debbie reynolds celebrated for being one of the last few actresses of hollywood's golden age. or carrie's mother.

it's understandable – she was of a very different generation, and most of us are probably less familiar with her life and work. but i want to talk about how debbie reynolds was an incredible woman in her own right.

debbie was a survivor of childhood abuse. she was also a mental health advocate for most of her life. in 1955 she became a founding member of the thalians, an organization dedicated to mental health causes, which she went on to lead for almost 60 years.

debbie was also a valuable and fierce ally to the lgbt+ community. she hosted aids benefits years before reagan would even publicly acknowledge the disease, and she "bearded" for gay men to protect them from homophobia and discrimination that would prevent them from getting film roles.

on top of raising her own two children, with no help from their father, debbie raised the three children of her second husband by his late ex-wife, even after he gambled away all of her money and left her flat broke.

so here’s to debbie reynolds, a kind, compassionate and incredibly strong woman. her legacy, like her daughter’s, is more than just who she was on camera. i am full of gratitude for the things she did to make this world a better place. and it is a better place for all she left behind.

rip, space grandma.