Billie Lourd to Play the Granddaughter of Her Grandma Debbie Reynolds' Character on Will & Grace
Billie Lourd has been cast to play the granddaughter of the character that her real-life grandmother, Debbie Reynolds, portrayed in Will & Grace during the show’s original run, from 1999-2006.
PEOPLE confirmed that Lourd’s character is Fiona, the granddaughter of Reynolds’ Bobbi Adler, who appeared throughout the first seasons of the beloved NBC sitcom.
“The episode is especially meaningful because of Billie’s relationship to the show,” Max Mutchnick, one of the show’s co-creators and executive producers, told Deadline. “We’re thrilled to have Billie. And best of all — she’s really good.”
Reynolds appeared in 12 episodes throughout the first eight seasons, Deadline reported and even earned herself an Emmy nomination in 2000 in the Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series category.
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Reynolds is Carrie Fisher‘s mother, and Fisher is Lourd’s mother, marking three generations of actresses.
This isn’t the first time that Lourd will have a familial relationship to a role: she appeared in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Star Wars: The Last Jedi as Lieutenant Connix. Lourd’s late mom was, of course, famous for portraying Princess Leia in the Star Wars franchise.
The mother-daughter duo even appeared in some scenes together in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker with old footage of Fisher from prior to her death edited into to scenes featuring Lourd. The film is set to premiere on December 20.
“There are moments where they’re talking; there are moments where they’re touching,” said director J.J. Abrams to Vanity Fair back in May. “There are moments in this movie where Carrie is there, and I really do feel there is an element of the uncanny, spiritual, you know, classic Carrie, that it would have happened this way, because somehow it worked.”
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Lourd is also known for starring in Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Story anthology series, which returned to FX on Wednesday.
Reynolds died at age 84 in 2016, one day after Fisher died after suffering a heart attack at age 60.
After its revival premiered with Season 9 in 2017, Will & Grace is set to end with its upcoming Season 11, which will premiere during the 2020 midseason.
