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'If I'm like her in any way, I'm very, very happy': Carrie Fisher describes strong mother-daughter bond with Debbie Reynolds in resurfaced joint interview

Published: 05:07 EST, 29 December 2016 | Updated: 07:11 EST, 29 December 2016

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Carrie Fisher once said that it made her 'very, very happy' to be like her mother Debbie Reynolds in any way.

Following the sudden passing of 84-year-old film star Debbie - who passed away one day after her daughter Carrie, 60, this week - a remarkable interview that they shared has resurfaced online.

The moviestar mother-daughter duo spoke to Oprah Winfrey about their inimitable bond back in 2011, five years before they died within days of each other.

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To be alike: Late actresses Carrie Fisher (left) and Debbie Reynolds (right) shared a very special interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2011 (pictured), in which they talked about how alike they were

Carrie, whose father was also Eddie Fisher, told the talk show host: 'I follow her example and I respect who she is. And if I'm like her in any way, I'm very very happy.'

Star Wars actress Carrie, most famous for playing Princess Leia since 1977, followed her mother into Hollywood, 25 years after Debbie's most famous film, Singin' In The Rain.

Carrie's spiral with drug use in her twenties - from smoking marijuana at 13 to a stint in rehab for abusing everything from cocaine and heroin to acid and painkillers - widened the early rift in their relationship, which took three decades to repair.

Strong bond: Debbie, 84 (left, here in 2015) passed away on Wednesday, one day after 60-year-old Carrie (right) died

Debbie continued: 'I admire her strength and survival. I admire that she's alive. She has chosen to make it.

'It would have been easy to give up and give in, to keep doing drugs. I feel that as a mother, I will protect her. Who will do that when I'm gone? I want happiness for my daughter. I want Carrie to be happy.'

Debbie and Carrie famously did not speak for 10 years when the latter was a young adult and battling drug addiction.

Overcoming adversity: In the interview, Debbie praised her daughter for overcoming her battle with drugs in her twenties

Looking up to her mother: Carrie revealed that it made her happy to be like her mother

She would later tell how she 'didn't want to be Debbie Reynolds daughter', and was haunted by the daunting legacy of her Hollywood legend parents.

They became closer as she got older and eventually became neighbour, separated by one daunting hill, she later revealed.

'It took like 30 years for Carrie to be really happy with me,' Debbie told People in an interview before both of their deaths.

Famous stock: Carrie (seen as a baby with Debbie and father Eddie Fisher in 1957) followed her mother into Hollywood 25 years after Singin' In The Rain

The actress went on to say that she didn't know 'what the problem ever was', questionning whether Carrie had been disgruntled that she was not a mother who stayed at home baking.

She continued: 'It's very hard when your child doesn't want to talk to you and you want to talk to them, and you want to touch them, you want to hold them.

'It was a total estrangement. She didn't talk to me for probably 10 years. So that was the most difficult time of all. Very painful, very heartbreaking,' she added.

The difficult years: Carrie and Debbie famously didn't speak for 10 years while they battled a tumultuous mother-daughter relationship

It was reported on Thursday morning that Debbie's last words had been: 'I want to be with Carrie.'

The 84-year-old mother-of-two died of a suspected stroke on Wednesday, after falling ill the afternoon after Carrie's death as they planned her funeral.

Carrie passed away on Tuesday, aged 60, four days after a heart attack on board a flight from London to LA.

Struggle: Though the pair (here in 2014) didn't always see eye-to-eye in the early years, it took 30 years to repair a bond that later saw them live as close as neighbours