Leia Organa (born Leia Amidala Skywalker; later Leia Organa Solo), often referred to as simply Princess Leia, is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe, portrayed by actress Carrie Fisher.[1][2][3]
She is one of the protagonists of the original Star Wars trilogy, a romantic interest of Han Solo,[4] the twin sister of Luke Skywalker, and the daughter of Darth Vader (Anakin Skywalker) and Padmé Amidala.
Film appearances[]
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope[]
Luke and Han rescue Leia from the Death Star.
In her first appearance in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Leia is introduced as the princess of Alderaan and a member of the Imperial Senate. Darth Vader captures her on board the ship Tantive IV, where she is acting as a spy for the Rebel Alliance. He accuses her of being a traitor and demands to know the location of the secret technical plans of the Death Star, the Galactic Empire's newest and most powerful weapon. Unknown to Vader, the young senator has hidden the plans inside the Astromech droid R2-D2 and has sent it to find Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi on the nearby planet of Tatooine. Leia tries to deny any knowledge of the plans, even warning Vader of what would happen should word of her capture by him reach the Imperial Senate back on Coruscant, but Vader knows better and has her taken away by his elite 501st Legion to be incarcerated back on the Death Star in Detention Block AA-23 in cell 2187.
Later on, Vader has her tortured, but she resists telling him anything. Still believing she could be useful, the Death Star's commander, Grand Moff Tarkin, Governor of the Outer Rim Territories, threatens to destroy Alderaan with the superweapon unless she reveals the location of the hidden Rebel base, with the Emperor having already dissolved the Senate so the Rebellion could not garner any more support and sympathy from them. Horrified, she pleads with him not to use the superlaser on her home planet, but Tarkin makes it clear he will unless she tells them what they want. After he asks one final time for the Rebellion's whereabouts, faced with no other alternative for the sake of her planet, she lies to them, saying the Rebellion is on Dantooine (which was partially right since there was an abandoned Rebel base there), and Tarkin orders Alderaan to be destroyed anyway, with Leia being restrained by Darth Vader to watch helplessly as Bail and millions of lives are wiped out instantly to show the fear the Empire poses to the galaxy with the battle station. She is finally rescued by Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Han Solo, the Wookiee Chewbacca, and the two droids, R2-D2 and C-3PO. They finally escape, at the expense of Obi-Wan's life, which was sacrificed in a duel with Vader.
They take part in the Battle of Yavin, in which Luke destroys the Death Star in his X-wing. Leia remained at the command center in the ancient Massassi Temple on Yavin 4 to watch the battle from there and listen to the radio communications between the fighters sent to take out the Death Star, being relieved when she hears Wedge save Luke from a TIE fighter that was hot on Luke's tail before Wedge destroyed it in a head-on attack. However, she becomes more and more worried as the Death Star looms closer into firing position as she hears the attack runs on the exhaust port fail as Gold Squadron's Y-wings are taken out by Darth Vader, Red Leader Garven Dreis and his squadron fail after he got his torpedoes off, but they failed to enter the exhaust port, and soon Luke is in Vader's targeting sights after Wedge is forced to pull out and Biggs is shot down, leaving the Death Star in position to fire on Yavin 4.
As all hope seems lost, Han and Chewie return in the Falcon to take out Vader and his wingmen, surprising Leia when she hears Han's voice on the communicator telling Luke he's all clear to take the shot, and Luke succeeds in destroying the Death Star. Leia meets up with him back in the hangar, overjoyed at his triumph, but is deeply worried once she sees the damage Vader caused to R2 as Rebel mechanics assure 3PO they will start repairs on R2 immediately, before heading off with Han, Luke, and Chewie to celebrate their victory.
Later, back at the Massassi Temple at the hidden Rebel base on Yavin 4, Leia presents the Alderaanian Medal of Freedom to her rescuers and the heroes of the battle.[1]
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back[]
Leia and Han fall in love.
Three years later in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Leia is at the Rebel base on Hoth after the Rebellion was forced to flee Yavin 4 and find a new base of operations due to the Empire. She later helps with the evacuation of Hoth during an Imperial attack, remaining at her station until Han forces her to leave with him. She flees with C-3PO, Han, and Chewbacca on Han's ship, the Millennium Falcon after a cave-in prevents her from reaching one of the Rebel GR-75 Medium Transports evacuating the Rebels from Hoth. Although they are pursued by Imperial TIE fighters, they dodge their fire by flying into an asteroid field when the Falcon's hyperdrive breaks down. Romance blossoms between Leia and Han during their flight from the Empire; while hiding in the stomach of an exogorth, she finally shares a kiss with the smuggler.
After leaving the asteroid belt, they are pursued by the Imperial II-class Star Destroyer Avenger, but manage to escape it by latching on to the back of the conning tower until the Star Destroyer dumps its garbage before jumping into hyperspace to search for them. Later, when they stop at Bespin for repairs, Han's friend Lando Calrissian turns them over to Vader, who uses them as bait for Luke. Han is also used as a test subject for the carbon freezing chamber meant for Luke, and it is there that Leia finally confesses her love for Han. Vader then gives the frozen Han to bounty hunter Boba Fett to give to the Hutt crime lord Jabba the Hutt, to whom Han owes a very large debt. Eventually, Lando helps Leia, Chewbacca, and the two droids escape. Before they escape, Chewbacca chokes Lando for giving Solo to Darth Vader and Boba Fett and Leia angrily tells him that they do not need of his help. However, she changes her mind when he pleads that they can still try to stop Fett from leaving, and orders Chewie to let him go. Though they fail to stop Fett from escaping with Han on the Slave I, they are able to regroup with R2 and reach the Falcon to flee themselves after Lando gave orders to have Cloud City evacuated before the residents fell under the Imperial jackboot due to Vader threatening to leave a garrison in the city. While escaping, she senses that Luke is in trouble and makes them go back for him. They save Luke, who has fallen into the trap and has lost a hand after a near-fatal duel against Vader. They are nearly captured by Vader's personal flagship of the Imperial Navy, the Executor-class Star Dreadnought Executor, but R2 reactivates the hyperdrive, allowing them to escape and rejoin the Alliance Navy. While on a Rebel Medical Frigate, both Luke and Leia, along with R2-D2 and C-3PO watch on as Lando and Chewbacca set off in the Falcon to rescue Han from Jabba the Hutt, which Lando promised Leia.[2]
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi[]
Leia during her enslavement to Jabba the Hutt.
A year later in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, the Rebels arrive on Tatooine to rescue Han Solo from Jabba's palace. Lando infiltrates the palace disguised as a guard. Luke then sends R2-D2 and C-3PO as gifts in an attempt to gain an audience with Jabba. Leia then arrives dressed as the bounty hunter Boushh with Chewbacca as her prisoner. Translated by C-3P0, Jabba offers 25,000 credits for Chewie, but Leia demands 50,000. When an angry Jabba asked why he needed to pay 50,000, Leia threatens the crime lord with a thermal detonator. Impressed, Jabba offers 35,000 for the Wookiee, which Leia accepts, and Chewie is taken away to be imprisoned.
Later that evening, Leia releases Han from his slab of carbonite. After revealing her identity, the two kiss. However, they are immediately captured by Jabba, who sends Han to the dungeons. Meanwhile, Jabba has different plans for Leia and orders his guards to bring her to him. Though she tries to threaten the crime lord, Leia recoils in disgust as Jabba proceeds to lick her face. Leia is then forced to serve in Jabba's court as his personal slave. During her enslavement, Leia is dressed in a dancing-girl outfit and chained to Jabba's throne.
The next morning, Jabba and Leia are asleep on the throne when Luke arrives at the palace. Upon being awoken, Leia watches in silence as Luke tried to convince her new master to release his friends. Jabba refuses to bargain and drops Luke into a pit in an attempt to feed him to his rancor. Though Leia is relieved to see Luke kill the beast, she is strangled by a furious Jabba. Jabba declares that Skywalker, Solo, and Chewbacca are to be taken to the Great Pit of Carkoon and eaten alive by the sarlacc. Unlike her friends, Leia is to be kept alive and remain in Jabba's possession.
Leia is forced to accompany Jabba on his sail barge to Carkoon, while her friends are transported on a smaller skiff. During the ride, she tries to watch her friends from a window, but Jabba eventually forces her to return to him on his throne. The gangster then tells Leia that she will soon learn to appreciate him, and makes her share a drink with him. When they finally reach their destination, Leia patiently waits at Jabba's side until Luke starts attacking with his new lightsaber. During the chaos, Leia destroys the barge's controls to throw the vessel into darkness and strangles Jabba to death with the same chain he used to enslave her. R2-D2 then breaks her chain, and they head for the top surface of the sail barge to assist Luke. They fire the barge's deck cannon into the heart of the vehicle and swing to the skiff where Lando, Chewbacca, and Han await them. Picking up the two droids, they drive the skiff off just as the Khetanna explodes.
Leia joins the others on Endor, where she loses to a group of scout troopers on speeder bikes. Afterwards, Leia meets Wicket W. Warrick, one of the local Ewoks that live on Endor, who takes her back to his home in the Bright Tree Village, and with help from C-3PO, they help reunite the Rebels. While preparing for a last battle with the Empire, Luke reveals to a stunned Leia that she is, in fact, his twin sister, and that Vader is their father. Initially reluctant to believe him, Leia realizes that Luke is right, and joins Han Solo in leading the Rebels in battle on Endor as the Rebel fleet battle the second Death Star. Leia is slightly injured in the battle when a stormtrooper shoots her and wounds her in the arm, but nevertheless she still helps the Rebels, allied with the Ewoks, to defeat the Empire and win.
Afterwards, Leia reveals to Han that Luke is her brother. When the Rebels and Ewoks celebrate their victory, Leia guides Luke away from three Force spirits of Obi-Wan, Yoda, and their redeemed father, Anakin Skywalker.[3]
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith[]
In Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, their mother Padmé Amidala gives birth to Leia and Luke at Polis Massa. After Padmé dies in childbirth, Obi-Wan and Yoda decide that they must hide the Skywalker children from their father. Leia is sent to Alderaan to be raised by her adoptive parents Bail Organa and Breha Organa where the Jedi believe she will be safe from Darth Sidious' newly-declared Galactic Empire.
Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens[]
After the Battle of Endor, Han and Leia have a son named Ben, who studies the Force under his uncle, Luke Skywalker. However, Ben turns to the dark side, becoming Kylo Ren, and Luke decides to go into hiding out of shame for his failure. In the years following Ben's fall and Luke's disappearance, Han and Leia separate, and Leia becomes the general of the Resistance, actively seeking her brother's location.
When the Resistance is called to Takodana, where BB-8 has been located, Leia encounters her estranged husband Han with Chewbacca and Finn. She and Han have a bittersweet reunion, and Han informs Leia that their son had been on Takodana just moments before she'd arrived. Before Han leaves to bring down Starkiller Base, Leia encourages him to bring their son home.
However, when Han attempts to persuade their son to return to the light side, Kylo Ren stabs him with his lightsaber. Leia senses her husband passing through the Force and mourns his loss. After the Resistance is victorious against the First Order, R2-D2 reawakens to reveal a map to Luke's location. Rey decides to search for Luke, while Leia continues on with the Resistance. Leia says farewell to Rey as she leaves with Chewbacca and R2-D2 to find Luke on Ahch-To.
Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi[]
Leia continues leading the Resistance. She demotes Poe Dameron from commander to captain for sacrificing Resistance pilots in reckless assaults against the Mandator IV-class Siege Dreadnought Fulminatrix. Poe tries to defend his actions by saying that there were heroes on the mission, only for Leia to reply, "Dead heroes, no leaders" and walks away.
Aboard the MC85 Star Cruiser Raddus, she senses Kylo Ren hesitating to fire the ship, but then she is blasted into space when Poldin LeHuse, her son's wing mate, fires on it instead. While floating in space, she miraculously uses the Force to return to the Raddus.
Unfortunately for her, the Resistance is ultimately devastated following Luke's death during the Battle of Crait and she informs they have everything in order to rebuild the Resistance.
Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker[]
Leia trains Rey in the use of the Force as Rey prepares to face Kylo Ren and Emperor Palpatine in combat. As Rey and Kylo Ren duel on the ruins of the second Death Star, her health declined due to not fully recovered from getting pulled into space when the Raddus was fired. Eventually, Leia dies using the last of her strength to reach out to her son and becomes one with the Force.
Later, it's revealed that Leia trained in the ways of the Force being instructed by Luke, but upon sensing that her son would die if she continued her Jedi path, she decided to quit. She gave her lightsaber to Luke, who gives it to Rey. Rey uses Leia's saber (along with the Skywalker saber) to destroy the Sith Lord for good. After Palpatine's death, Leia appears as a Force spirit with Luke proudly watching Rey, who decides to honor and continue their family legacy.
The Star Wars Holiday Special[]
Leia briefly appears in the 1978 TV movie The Star Wars Holiday Special. In the show, Leia is a leader and administrator of the new Rebel Alliance base. She is accompanied by C-3PO when contacting Mallatobuck (Chewbacca's wife) for assistance in finding Chewbacca and Han. She also appears in the cartoon segment at a different Rebel Base, located in an asteroid field, and at the Life Day ceremony at the end of the film.[5]
Fisher also appeared in and hosted the November 18, 1978 episode of Saturday Night Live that aired one day after the holiday special.[6] The Summer 1983 issue of Rolling Stone magazine poked fun at this appearance.[7]
Star Wars literature[]
In The Truce at Bakura, set one day after the ending of Return of the Jedi, Leia establishes New Alderaan, a sanctuary for the destroyed planet's surviving inhabitants. The Royal House of Alderaan, in the person of Leia Organa Solo and her children, officially holds sovereignty over both New Alderaan and the old Alderaan system. Her title is largely ceremonial, however, as the government on New Alderaan actually administers the Alderaan system and New Alderaan in her name.
That same day, she encounters the spirit of her father, now redeemed and resuming the form of his original self, Anakin Skywalker. He pleads for her forgiveness, but she angrily banishes him from her life. Anakin says that he will be there for her should she need him, and disappears.
In Expanded Universe materials set after Return of the Jedi, Leia is portrayed as a founding member of the New Republic. Although most of her life is devoted to such matters of state, she engages in limited study of the Jedi arts, with Luke as her teacher. Notably, she wields a blue lightsaber that she built herself.
In Queen of the Empire by Paul Davids and Hollace Davids,[8] she is kidnapped by the "Prophets of the Dark Side", who try to brainwash her into pledging her loyalty to the Empire and marry their leader, Trioculus. Leia tricks her captors by having a look-alike droid take her place; the droid eventually kills Trioculus.
In Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn,[9] Luke builds her a green lightsaber which she uses to help free the Noghri from their debt to the Empire. Luke then gives her a red lightsaber to complement the weapon she had constructed earlier.
As described in The Courtship of Princess Leia, Leia marries Han after a near-disastrous courtship in which Prince Isolder vies for her affections. Han kidnaps Leia and takes her to the planet Dathomir, which he had won in a game of sabacc. There they encounter the Nightsisters, whose attempt to escape eventually leads to the demise of the Warlord Zsinj and his empire, equal rival at this time to both the Imperial Remnant and the New Republic.
At first, Leia does not want to have children, fearing they would succumb to the dark side as her father had done. In the novel Tatooine Ghost, however, she begins to understand what happened to her father to bring him to the dark side. When she and Han go on a mission to Tatooine to retrieve the Alderaanian moss-painting Killik Twilight and the Rebel code hidden within it, Leia discovers her grandmother Shmi Skywalker's diary and, with the help of her father's childhood friends Kitster and Wald, discovers her father was not the monster she thought he was. By the end of the novel, she learns to forgive him.
In the Thrawn trilogy, Grand Admiral Thrawn, who had formed an alliance with Joruus C'Baoth, orders Noghri commandos to kidnap Leia, who is pregnant.[9] C'Baoth intends to warp Leia and Luke to the Dark Side, and plans to corrupt also the two unborn twins. To avoid capture, she hides on the planet Kashyyyk, but her would-be kidnappers track her down. She later learns that Vader once landed on the Noghri home planet Honoghr and tricked the Noghri into serving the Empire by promising to help their planet recover from the ecological disaster that it suffered during the Clone Wars. Because of this, they are fiercely loyal to Vader. Leia is able to leverage her biological relationship to Vader to persuade a Noghri assassin to travel with her to Honoghr and help convince the Noghri of the Empire's deception.[9] Leia shows an assembly of Noghri matriarchs that the droids which the Empire demanded are actively poisoning the land and slowing down the reconstruction. They leave the service of the Empire after one of their assassins (and Thrawn's personal bodyguard), Rukh, kills Thrawn during the Battle of Bilbringi and becomes allies of the New Republic. For her efforts, Leia is known as "Lady Vader" among the Noghri, and she and her family become revered figures in their society.
In The Last Command, Leia gives birth to the twins Jaina and Jacen on Coruscant during Thrawn's siege.[10]
During the events of Dark Empire, the New Republic suffers severe setbacks, losing most of its worlds, as well as Luke Skywalker to the dark side. After her brother's capture on Coruscant, subsequent transport to Byss, and temptation by the cloned Darth Sidious, a pregnant Leia along with her husband, Han Solo, reach the Emperor's new stronghold of Byss, where she confronts the reincarnated Sith Lord. At first Leia is unsuccessful in turning Luke away from the dark side, but does manage to take a Jedi Holocron away from Sidious' chambers. Leia boards Sidious' Super Star Destroyer, Eclipse I, and appeals to the good in Luke, ultimately redeeming him. Brother and sister then fight Sidious with the light side of the Force, cutting him off from the dark side and control of the titanic Force-generated storm he had created, intending to obliterate the Rebel Alliance fleet. The storm grows out of control, destroying both Eclipse I and Sidious; Luke and Leia escape just in time.
In Empire's End, Leia gives birth to a second son, whom she names Anakin in honor of her father's redemption (see Solo family). Along with a Jedi named Jen, she defeats Darth Sidious' second-in-command, a Dark Jedi assassin. Sidious is soon reborn in his last remaining clone body, which is quickly deteriorating, due to sabotage by traitorous minions. Leia is forced to flee to Onderon to hide Anakin from Sidious, who intends to transfer his spirit into the infant. Sidious does eventually find her, but Han accidentally shoots him in the back just as he is about to possess the baby. A sacrifice by a dying Jedi named Empatojayos Brand saves them both from Sidious' wrath, and destroys Sidious' malignant spirit forever.
In the New Jedi Order series, Leia resigns as Chief of State, and is replaced by Borsk Fey'lya. After the Yuuzhan Vong attack on Sernpidal, Leia goes before the Senate to bring attention to the threat posed by the approaching Yuuzhan Vong. Her pleas go unheeded and the Vong legions swarm into the galaxy, destroying system after system and defeating the Jedi and the New Republic army in countless battles. Leia contributes to the war effort by joining SELCORE, a movement that helps refugees.
In Vector Prime, Chewbacca's death sends Han into a deep depression, causing a large rift between him and Leia, culminating in his walking out of the marriage after an argument. They patch things up after Leia is gravely wounded by Tsavong Lah at the Battle of Duro. Their troubles are not yet over, however; when the Vong unleash the deadly voxyn, Leia is targeted by a Voxyn master slayer who has already killed many Jedi. With the help of her Noghri bodyguards, she eliminates the assassin with her lightsaber.
In Star By Star, Leia and Han lose their youngest son, Anakin, during the Myrkr mission and the fall of Coruscant. Han and Leia go to Hapes for Anakin's funeral, then on several missions to restore HoloNet communications to the Unknown Regions, including foiling a second attempt of the Ssi-ruuk to invade Bakura in the process.
Near the end of the Yuuzhan Vong war, she and Han rescue Thorsh, a prisoner from the internment camps of planet Selvaris. Later, they enter with Jedi Master Kyp Durron, a Bothan secret agent named Wraw, and a few more allies on the planet Callulla. During the battle with the Yuuzhan Vong warriors, she destroys a few Slayers and a Commander before being captured. The commando is eventually rescued by Lando Calrissian, Talon Karrde and Tendra, Lando's wife.
When Zonama Sekot makes its existence known near Coruscant in The Final Prophecy, Han and Leia travel there to be reunited with the rest of their family. While there, they meet Harrar, a Yuuzhan Vong priest. Leia, Han, and a few companions work with Harrar and a group of heretics to get inside the Well of the World Brain on Coruscant.
After the destruction of Shimrra and Supreme Overlord Onimi, Nom Anor travels with the Solo family across the labyrinth to escape the mighty war vessel of the Master Shaper. However, the executor turns on them and shoots his venom towards Han, but Jacen catches the poison, saving his father from certain death. Leia engages the Prefect before he can eliminate her husband and her elder son. She proves victorious and cuts off the rogue Nom Anor's arm. Han and Leia then leave Anor to die.
Leia then gives up politics and becomes Han's copilot, a position she holds for the next five years.
In The Joiner King, Han and Leia follow various Jedi who had disappeared into the Unknown Regions, and discover Raynar Thul is alive and had been taken in by a nest of Killiks. To avoid a war with the Chiss, Leia suggests to "UnuThul" (as Raynar was now known) that the Killik nest be moved to a new planet, but makes him think it is his idea. At this time, Leia comes to terms with her heritage and asks Saba Sebatyne to train her as a Jedi Knight, as per a promise Luke had made to her during the Thrawn crisis.
In The Unseen Queen, R2-D2 suffers some severe malfunctions and shows Luke a holoclip of his father and a pregnant woman, whom Luke learns is his and Leia's real mother, Padmé Amidala. In the holoclips, Anakin and Padmé are discussing a dream of Anakin's in which Padmé dies in childbirth. Before Luke can get more info out of R2, the droid has a meltdown, claiming he is protecting information. Frustrated, Luke contacts master slicer Ghent, who manages to recover one other holoclip from R2, this time featuring a scene in which Padmé is talking to Obi-Wan Kenobi about Anakin, which is displayed to both Luke and Leia. In The Swarm War, Luke and Leia finally see their mother's death. (All of these scenes were originally portrayed in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.) Also, Sebatyne tells Leia to construct a new lightsaber to show she is a true Jedi Knight.
Later on in the novel, she defeats the evil Joiner — and fallen Jedi — Alema Rar. She defeats her and assumes that she is dead, although Alema was in fact still alive, but severely injured.
Leia and Han unknowingly become grandparents to Allana, Jacen's daughter, but they finally find out the truth as of Fury.
During the Legacy of the Force series, set some 35 years after Return of the Jedi, Leia supports Han, who feels allegiance to his native Corellia, even though she remains a Jedi Knight. However, they soon break from Corellia following that planet's plot to assassinate Queen Mother Tenel Ka.
In this series, her own son, Jacen, gradually falls to the dark side, and terrorizes the galaxy as the ruthless Sith Lord Darth Caedus. Leia tries to reason with Jacen at first, but ultimately disowns him after he commits a series of atrocities, and tacitly agrees to Han and Jaina's plan to hunt down and kill him. Jaina kills Jacen in Invincible, the final novel in the series, leaving the Solo family stricken with grief, even as they acknowledge that his death was "necessary". To cope with the loss, Leia and Han adopt Allana and pledge to raise her as their own.
Character development[]
Initial rough concept sketch of Princess Leia
In the rough draft of A New Hope, Leia was roughly 13 - 15-year-old princess (the same age as Padmé Amidala in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace), the spoiled daughter of King Kayos and Queen Breha of Aquilae. In that draft, she had two brothers, Biggs and Windy, whose identities were substantially revised into their current form by the fourth draft (though they did not appear in intervening versions).[11] The later story synopsis established her as Leia Antilles, the daughter of Bail Antilles from the peaceful world of Organa Major. In the fourth draft the names were turned around so that Leia Organa came instead from Alderaan.[12]
Characteristics[]
In a memorable scene from The Empire Strikes Back, romance blossoms between Han Solo and Princess Leia.
Princess Leia Organa is characterized as a driven, dedicated woman with a forceful personality. The "petite, fair-skinned human female" is known perhaps as the most beautiful and remembered woman in the Star Wars universe.[13] Leia was loved by Luke Skywalker (before their sibling relationship was discovered), Han Solo, Prince Isolder (before he met Teneniel Djo) and others. In the Shadows of the Empire novels, Leia is seduced by the crime lord Prince Xizor, who bewitches her with pheromones. Chewbacca manages to break off the seduction, allowing Leia to defeat the gangster.[13]
A woman warrior, Leia frequently takes part in combat operations. She is an excellent sharpshooter, missing rarely, if ever, with a blaster.[1][2][3] She kills, among other villainous characters, Jabba the Hutt, choking him with the very chain that bound her to him;[3] Leia is also responsible for Grand Admiral Thrawn's death, since she turns the Noghri against him.[10] By redeeming her brother, she also helps bring about the destruction of the Clone Emperor.[14] She even kills a Dark Jedi named Kueller with a blaster rifle, right before he is about to deal a fatal blow to Luke.
Though initially hesitant about her Jedi training, Leia later learns various Force techniques, and becomes a very proficient Jedi after finishing her training under Luke's guidance. She eventually becomes a full-fledged member of the New Jedi Order, developing her lightsaber skills and even further under the training of Master Saba Sebatyne. Leia displays her powers of the lightsaber by slaying a fully trained Dark Jedi, even before training under Master Sebatyne.
In popular culture[]
The "Cinnamon Bun Hairstyle"[]
Leia's well-known hairdo in A New Hope has been affectionately dubbed the "doughnut hairstyle", or "cinnamon buns", by many science fiction fans.[1] Carrie Fisher, in an appearance on the UK TV show Bring Back Star Wars, said she hated her character's hairstyle; she felt it made her face look rounder, and it took two hours every day to style. Miss Piggy of Jim Henson's Muppet Babies copied the hairdo with doughnuts in a Star Wars-centric episode of the series. Also, in one scene from Mel Brooks' Spaceballs, Princess Vespa also appears to have the hairstyle, but reveals that she is actually wearing a large pair of headphones. In the parody film Thumb Wars, the role of Leia was filled by a character named Princess Bunhead, who, as the name implies, had two cinnamon rolls for hair.
Lady of Elche
The hairdo has also been compared to the Iberian sculpture Lady of Elche.[15]
Hopi girl, 1922
Young marriageable Hopi Indian women wear a very elaborate "Squash Blossom" hairdo that superficially resembles Princess Leia's."[16] George Lucas, however, has denied a connection, saying: "In the 1977 film, I was working very hard to create something different that wasn't fashion, so I went with a kind of Southwestern Pancho Villa woman revolutionary look, which is what that is. The buns are basically from turn-of-the-century Mexico."[17]
Padme Amidala (Leia's mother) sports a similar hairstyle while she is in Naboo in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones.
"Princess Leia's Theme"[]
Template:Refimprove section "Princess Leia's Theme" is represented by the musical leitmotif in the Star Wars saga. The piece was composed by John Williams.
It first appeared in A New Hope, heard when Princess Leia is captured by Darth Vader. Later, it plays as R2-D2 plays her holographic message to Obi-Wan Kenobi. The theme plays when Obi-Wan Kenobi is killed by Vader. Finally, it plays in the end credits.
In The Empire Strikes Back, the theme is developed into "Han Solo and the Princess". "Princess Leia's Theme" plays as Han Solo tells Leia that he must leave to settle his debt with Jabba the Hutt. The only other time it plays is at the end of the movie, when Leia and Lando Calrissian rescue Luke Skywalker from Cloud City and Leia and Luke are reunited.
In Return of the Jedi, the theme is heard as Leia shoots a stormtrooper on Endor. Earlier it plays as Luke mentions her name on Dagobah.
The theme was revived for the prequel trilogy. It appears in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, when Bail Organa has a conversation with Obi-Wan Kenobi about adopting her. It is then heard during the final montage at the end of the film as her adoptive parents hold the newborn Leia. It plays one last time during the end credits.
The "Metal Bikini"[]
Leia in her iconic "metal bikini" slave outfit from Return of the Jedi
The term "Metal Bikini" refers to the iconic slave girl costume worn by Princess Leia when she was held captive in Jabba the Hutt's palace, at the beginning of Return of the Jedi.[3] The skimpy costume consisted of a copper brassiere fastened over the neck and behind the back with string,[citation needed] copper plates at the groin in front and back, a red silk loincloth, and leather boots. There were other various adornments, including a hair fastener, a snake arm-wrap and two bracelets. Last, there was the chain and collar that bound her to Jabba.[18]
| It was like steel, not steel, but hard plastic, and if you stood behind me you could see straight to Florida. You'll have to ask Boba Fett about that. —Carrie Fisher[19] |
After her appearance wearing the "golden metal bikini", Carrie Fisher (and thus Leia herself) almost immediately became a cult sex symbol.[20] Leia's metallic bikini scenes were voted by Empire magazine as among the most memorable in movie history.[citation needed]
According to the Internet Movie Database, Fisher had said that her costumes in the previous two films had been so long that viewers could not tell "she was a woman", resulting in the skimpy outfit for Return of the Jedi. "Although being noticed was finally good," says Fisher, "it was scary walking around almost naked. The guys didn't seem to notice but I still felt too open. At one point, my top fell and I nearly cried." Costume designer Aggie Guerard Rodgers noted that the inspiration for Leia's slave outfit came from the artwork of famed fantasy and science fiction illustrator Frank Frazetta. Rodgers had a "no lingerie in space" policy, which prevented Fisher from wearing a brassiere; adhesive tape was used in its place.
One Wired magazine editor stated the only reason for the outfit's fame is "no doubt that the sight of Carrie Fisher in the gold sci-fi swimsuit was burned into the sweaty subconscious of a generation of fanboys hitting puberty in the spring of 1983."[20]
Reception[]
In 2008, Princess Leia was selected by Empire magazine as the 89th of the greatest film characters of all time,[21] with IGN listing her as the 8th top Star Wars hero.[22] UGO Networks listed Leia as one of their best heroes of all time, stating that "even though she ended up hanging out with goofy teddy bears and making out with a doughy Harrison Ford, she always had that special something".[23]
Gallery[]
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See also[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (DVD, 20th Century Fox, 2004), disc 1.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, (DVD, 20th Century Fox, 2004), disc 1.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (DVD, 20th Century Fox, 2004), disc 1.
- ↑ In a 2005 interview with MTV News, Lucas confirmed: "Han and Leia did get married. They settled down. She became a senator, and they got a nice little house with a white picket fence. Han Solo is out there cooking burgers on the grill. Is that a movie? I don't think so."
- ↑ The Star Wars Holiday Special, original CBS airing, November 17, 1978. Steve Binder, George Lucas.
- ↑ Star Wars Insider 97
- ↑ Checklist: 10 Strange Star Wars Magazine Covers - StarWars.com
- ↑ Queen of the Empire, paperback edition, 1993. Paul Davids and Hollace Davids, ISBN ISBN 0-553-15891-0
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Heir to the Empire, paperback edition, 1992. Timothy Zahn, ISBN 0-553-40471-7
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 The Last Command, Paperback edition, 1994. Timothy Zahn, ISBN 0-553-56492-7
- ↑ The Annotated Screenplays, softcover, 1997. George Lucas, Leigh Brackett, Lawrence Kasdan, Laurent Bouzereau.
- ↑ The Making of Star Wars: The Definitive Story Behind the Original Film
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Perry, Steve (1996). Shadows of the Empire. Spectra.
- ↑ Tom Veitch, Dark Empire anthology (Dark Horse Comics, 1993), ISBN 1-56971-073-2.
- ↑ Andrew Whittaker. Spain: Be Fluent in Spanish Life and Culture.
- ↑ "Native American Hairstyles"
- ↑ "So, What's the Deal with Leia's Hair?" Time magazine
- ↑ Slave Leia costume on Wookieepedia: a Star Wars wiki
- ↑ Star Wars Insider 68
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 "The Cult of Leia's Bikini" - Wired.com
- ↑ Empire's The 100 Greatest Movie Characters. Empire Magazine. Retrieved on May 21, 2010.
- ↑ Jesse Schedeen (August 14, 2008). Top 25 Star Wars Heroes: Day 4. IGN. Retrieved on May 16, 2011.
- ↑ UGO Team (January 21, 2010). Best Heroes of All Time. UGO Networks. Retrieved on April 3, 2011.
External links[]
Template:Wikiquote
- Princess Leia in the Official StarWars.com Encyclopedia
- Leia Organa Solo on Wookieepedia: a Star Wars wiki
- Princess Leia at The World of Star Wars (yahoo.com)