"It was really cathartic"— Billie Lourd says Last Showgirl's script reminded her of her late mother Carrie Fisher and grandmother

Billie Lourd said that reading the script of The Last Showgirl reminded her of both her late mom Carrie Fisher and grandma Debbie Reynolds.

During the Toronto International Film Festival premiere of her latest movie on Friday, September 6, Lourd said that she "100 percent" related to the film. She said that it's "about Vegas and mothers and daughters," adding:

"It was really cathartic and incredible to get to be in this movie and play this role. It was really cool."

The young actress explained how excited she was to be part of the movie because it reminded her of her mom and grandma. She said:

'When Gia [Coppola] sent me the script for the first time, I was so excited to get to be involved in it because it reminded me so much of my mom and grandma."

Lourd further explained that her grandmother "was a showgirl in her own right," and that her character in The Last Showgirl is "a little bit" like her mom.

Per the film's synopsis, The Last Showgirl follows a seasoned showgirl who has to plan her future after her show closes after its 30-year run. The film also stars Pamela Anderson, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Dave Bautista,

---

Billie Lourd said that "she gets to be [her] mom" in The Last Showgirl

After taking the stage with her co-stars at the film festival premiere of The Last Showgirl, Billie Lourd explained how watching the movie made her emotional. She admitted to "sobbing backstage" before she explained how the "deeply meaningful" movie relate to her relationship with her mom and grandma.

"This movie was deeply meaningful to me. When I met with Gia, I spoke about my mom and grandma's relationship. Getting to play this character was extremely cathartic for me because it felt like Shelly was my grandma and I got to be my mom."

The young actress further explained that playing Shelly's daughter in the film allowed her to "understand [her] mom on a deeper level," calling the experience "beautiful."

Billie Lourd previously talked about how she missed her mother, who died in December 2016, so much. In her 2021 interview with Claire Bidwell Smith, who is a grief therapist and the podcast host of New Day, she got candid about how "brutal" it was to grieve publicly. She also opened up about how she distanced herself from her mom and grandma because she wanted people to know her "separately" from them. However, now, she "tries to reconnect" to them because she misses them.

Meanwhile, Billie Lourd has high praises for her co-star Pamela Anderson, who plays Shelly, while onstage at the film festival. Lourd said that working on Coppola's film with Anderson "was an absolute gift." She added that Anderson is a "wonderful mother" and was also a "beautiful mother" to her in the film, which she said had made her "feel so lucky."

---