Debbie Reynolds, Iconic Hollywood Actress, Dead at 84

BEVERLY HILLS, CA — Legendary actress Debbie Reynolds died Wednesday after she was rushed to the hospital with a medical emergency — just one day after her daughter, Carrie Fisher, died of a heart attack, according to media reports.

Reynolds, 84, died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, according to the Associated Press. She was reportedly distraught about the sudden passing of Fisher.

“She wanted to be with Carrie,” her son Todd Fisher told Variety.

Gossip website TMZ reported that Reynolds suffered from a possible stroke at her son's Coldwater Canyon home in Beverly Hills while discussing funeral details for Fisher. Reynolds was rushed to a nearby emergency room.

TMZ posted video of an ambulance leaving the home, and a Los Angeles Fire Department radio transmission from paramedics reporting a person possibly suffering a stroke.

A short time later, actress Joely Fisher, Reynolds' step-daughter and Todd Fisher's half-sister, posted a photo of herself and Reynolds on Twitter, with the message, "God speed mama."

Reynolds' daughter, "Star Wars" actress Carrie Fisher, never recovered after suffering cardiac arrest while on a flight from London to Los Angeles on Friday. She died Tuesday at the age of 60.

Todd Fisher told reporters his mother would always take care of Carrie, and with a history of health problems, the stress of her beloved daughter's death was simply too much.

A Texas native, Reynolds grabbed the attention of talent scouts when she entered a Miss Burbank contest at age 16.

She earned her first screen credit in "Three Little Words," starring Fred Astaire and Red Skelton. She followed that performance with "Two Weeks with Love," featuring the hit song "Aba Daba Honeymoon." That led to her casting as Kathy Selden, a young dancer looking to make it big in Hollywood, opposite Gene Kelly, in "Singin' in the Rain." The role made her a star.

She went on to perform in dozens more films, including "The Unsinkable Molly Brown," which earned her Oscar and Golden Globe nominations. She also appeared in "How the West Was Won," "The Pleasure of His Company," "Divorce American Style" and "The Catered Affair."

Reynolds received Golden Globe nominations for "Three Little Words," "Bundle of Joy" and "Mother." She was nominated for her TV work on "The Debbie Reynolds Show."

She most recently appeared in the award winning HBO movie "Behind the Candelabra," portraying Liberace's mother.

Reynolds received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Screen Actors Guild in January 2015. The honor was presented to her by Carrie Fisher, who will be forever remembered for her "Star Wars" role as Princess Leia.

"My favorite movie was 'Singin' in the Rain,' and I had a good time making that picture, wearing myself out," Reynolds said at the ceremony. "Of course I had a wonderful hairdo in that picture. ... I had a bun. At the back of my head I had a big bun, an ugly bun at the back of my head. So I warned my daughter, Carrie, who had just (received) a part in a picture, Princess Leia in 'Star Wars.' I said, 'Carrie, be careful of any weird hairdos.' So luckily George (Lucas) gave her two buns. Thank you, George."

Reynolds is survived by her son, Todd, and granddaughter, actress Billie Lourd.

Photo credit: Allan Warren/Wikimedia Commons, City News Service contributed to this report.