there’s been a huge 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 that 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 posts about debbie reynolds that celebrate her for being carrie fisher’s mother, and an actress of hollywood’s golden age. 

while those are totally great and valid reasons to appreciate her, (and understandable — she was of a much different generation and most of us are less familiar with her) i want to talk about how debbie was also an incredible woman in her own right.

debbie reynolds was a survivor of childhood abuse. she was 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 led for almost 60 years. 

she was a valuable and fierce ally to the lgbt community. she hosted AIDs benefits years before reagan publicly acknowledged the disease. she bearded for gay men to protect them from homophobia and discrimination that would prevent them from getting roles.

she was a strong, compassionate woman who, on top of raising her own two children with no help from their father, 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. her legacy — like her daughter’s — is more than just who she was on camera. i’m full of gratitude. the world is better place for all that she left behind.