Before ‘Star Wars’ return, Carrie Fisher to speak at Chicago gala

As her return to the “Star Wars” universe nears, Carrie Fisher is coming to Chicago this week — not to promote the movie, but to discuss her history with addiction and bipolar disorder.

Fisher will be a keynote speaker at a gala at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Hilton Chicago, 720 S. Michigan. It concludes a daylong series of events presented by the Kennedy Forum, a campaign to end the stigma against mental health and substance use disorders.

Also speaking at the dinner will be Danielle Green, a former Notre Dame basketball star and Army veteran who was wounded in Iraq.

Fisher, who reprises her breakout role as Princess Leia in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” opening Dec. 18, has made no secret of her history with mental health issues, recounting them in often lighthearted fashion in a memoir and a one-woman show, both called “Wishful Drinking.”

Tickets for the gala begin at $500 and are available at www.thekennedyforum.org.