Billie Lourd believes she can "own [her] life" following the death of her mother Carrie Fisher and grandmother Debbie Reynolds.
The 25-year-old actress lost her closest loved ones in December 2016 within one day of each other, tragedies that devastated her.
Billie accepts that she "always" seemed to be living in the shadows of her ‘Star Wars’ actress mother Carrie and Hollywood icon grandparent Debbie but now, for the "first time", she can "stand" on her own as a person.
Speaking to Town & Country magazine’s September issue, the ‘Scream Queens’ star said: "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."
Although Billie knows she was out-shined by Carrie, she "loves" being known as the daughter of Princess Leia.
She added: "I love being my mother’s daughter, and it’s something I always will be, but now I get to be just Billie."
However, Billie feels there is "a lot of pressure" on her to continue Carrie’s "incredible legacy".
She said: "It’s a lot of pressure, because she had such an incredible legacy, and now I have to uphold that and make it evolve in my own way."
But Billie has revealed her mother encouraged her to pursue a career in the entertainment industry because she instantly looked "so comfortable" in front of the camera.
Billie – who appeared in ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ alongside her late mother – said: "[On set] my mother would pull me aside and be like, ‘It’s weird that you’re so comfortable here. This is the most uncomfortable environment in the world. If you’re comfortable here, you should do this.’ "
Meanwhile, Billie has revealed she was able to cope with the two losses because she could imagine Carrie’s reaction to Debbie’s passing just hours later.
Billie explained: "If life’s not funny, then it’s just true – and that would be unacceptable. Even when she [Fisher] died, that was what got me through that whole thing. When Debbie died the next day, I could just picture her saying, ‘Well, she’s upstaging me once again, of course – she had to.’ "
Billie Lourd ready to ‘own’ her life
