Meryl Streep tipped to give eulogy at Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds' public service

Meryl Streep has been asked to give the eulogy at a public memorial service for Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds.

Star Wars actress Carrie - who died aged 60 on December 28 after suffering a suspected heart attack - and her 84-year-old mother, who passed away a day after her daughter, will be laid to rest in a private service and burial on Friday, but their family is also planning a Hollywood event to allow fans to say their farewells to the actresses.

And according to TMZ, though no date has yet been set for the public memorial, 67-year-old Meryl - who appeared in Carrie's movie Postcards from the Edge and was very close to Debbie - is expected to lead the tributes to her friends, though she is not a "firm lock" yet.

Actors from the Star Wars movies, including Mark Hamill, will also be invited to speak, and creator George Lucas is expected to attend, though unlikely to address those who assemble for the service.

Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher on the set of Star Wars. Photo / Getty Images

Insiders told the website the public memorial will also feature some of Debbie and Carrie's most famous movie costumes, including outfits from Singin' in the Rain and Star Wars, on display.

Carrie and Debbie will be buried side by side in California's Forest Lawn cemetery.

There are no stars expected to deliver eulogies at their private funeral, and Carrie's daughter Billie Lourd has yet to decide whether she feels up to speaking at the service or not.

Billie spoke out about her double loss earlier this week via social media, with the Scream Queens actress thanking fans for their prayers and support, which have "given her strength when she thought strength could not exist".

View this post on Instagram

❤👩‍👩‍👧❤ Receiving all of your prayers and kind words over the past week has given me strength during a time I thought strength could not exist. There are no words to express how much I will miss my Abadaba and my one and only Momby. Your love and support means the world to me.

A post shared by Billie Lourd (@praisethelourd) on Jan 2, 2017 at 10:09am PST

Captioning an old picture of herself with Carrie and Debbie, she wrote: "Receiving all of your prayers and kind words over the past week has given me strength during a time I thought strength could not exist.

"There are no words to express how much I will miss my Abadaba and my one and only Momby. Your love and support means the world to me. (sic)"