Princess Leia Organa

Princess Leia redirects here. For another person with a similar name, see Princess Leia of Hungary.

Princess Leia Organa Solo of Alderaan (born Leia Amidala Skywalker on Polis Massa in 19 BBY) is a fictional character in the Star Wars galaxy.

Leia was born in the midst of chaos with her older twin brother Luke, to former Queen turned Senator Padmé Amidala of Naboo and fallen Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker turned Sith Lord Darth Vader. Leia was raised on Alderaan by Senator, Prince Bail Organa and his wife, Queen Breha Organa. Growing up among politics, she went on to hold a seat in the Imperial Senate, where she secretly played a large role in the Rebel Alliance. Leia is also the only Skywalker twin to have any memory of their mother. Leia claimed to remember her "real" mother through "just images really... feelings." George Lucas stated that he wanted one of the Skywalker twins to recall their mother. He claimed since Luke knew Vader was their father, he most likely felt that Leia was entitled to the brief memory of her real mother from infancy.

She was first portrayed by actress Carrie Fisher in A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi, as well as The Star Wars Holiday Special. A younger version of the character was portrayed by Aiden Barton in Revenge of the Sith. Ann Sachs provided the voice of Leia in the 1980s radio dramas of the original trilogy.

History

Leia's family consisted of many influential individuals, primarily government officials and politicians. Leia Organa is the daughter and slightly younger (by just a few seconds) of the fraternal twins of the Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and his secret wife, Queen and Senator Padmé Amidala, the adopted daughter of Queen (and later Minister of Education) Breha Organa and her husband, Viceroy/Prince Consort Bail Organa of Alderaan, and the twin sister of Luke Skywalker (which is not revealed unambiguously until Return of the Jedi). A politician-turned-rebel and spy, she has a forceful personality and keen intellect, having accomplished much in her youth. Leia was a member of the Imperial Senate until Emperor Palpatine dissolved it. She then became a leader of the Rebel Alliance and, many years later, Chief of State of the New Republic. While raised in privileged surroundings, this fiery diplomat received martial training in order to defend herself, learning hand to hand combat and how to use a blaster.

Early life

Leia is born at the near end of Revenge of the Sith, when her real mother, the Senator Padmé Amidala of the Naboo gives birth to Leia and her twin brother, Luke, at Polis Massa. Before Padmé dies while being comforted by Obi-Wan Kenobi, Leia looks at her and gains a faint memory of her mother, due to her connection to the Force. She tells Luke in later years that their mother was very beautiful, kind and gentle, yet sad. Leia is sent to Alderaan with R2-D2 and C-3PO with her adoptive father so she would not be found by the Empire. According to the Episode III Visual Dictionary, Leia's full name at birth is Leia Amidala Skywalker.

According to the Expanded Universe, Leia is raised with Winter, who becomes her handmaiden later on in life, as well as her children's nanny.

At the age of 18, Leia becomes the youngest member of the Imperial Senate and become good friends with Senator Pooja Naberrie of Naboo, her biological maternal cousin. She also becomes one of the driving forces behind the Rebel Alliance, the New Republic and even later, the Galactic Alliance.

A New Hope

In A New Hope, Senator Organa is captured by Darth Vader. He accuses her of being a traitor and demands to know the location of the secret technical plans of the Death Star, the Empire's newest and most powerful weapon. Unknown to him, the young senator has hidden the plans inside an Astromech droid, R2-D2, and has sent it to find the legendary Jedi Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, on the nearby planet of Tatooine. Later, Vader has her tortured, but she resists telling him anything. Still believing she could be useful, Grand Moff Tarkin, Commander of the Death Star, threatens to destroy her homeworld with the superweapon unless she reveals the location of the hidden Rebel base. She still does not give in and lies to them, as Tarkin ordered Alderaan to be destroyed anyway, killing the entire population (except those who had been off-world) and her entire family. Expecting to be terminated, she does not give up hope and is finally rescued by unlikely heroes: Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, the cocky smuggler Han Solo, the Wookiee Chewbacca, and the two droids, R2-D2 and C-3PO. When they finally escape, at the expense of Obi-Wan's life, they take part in the Battle of Yavin. Luke, in his one-man X-wing fighter, blows up the Empire's most dreaded weapon. In the Massassi Temple at the hidden Rebel base on Yavin 4, the radiant Princess Leia Organa presents the Alderaanian Medal of Freedom to her rescuers and the heroes of the battle.

The Empire Strikes Back

Three years later, in The Empire Strikes Back, Princess Leia helps with the evacuation of the Rebel base on Hoth. Despite the ongoing battle, she remains vigilant and issues commands from the crumbling base. Luckily, she is able to escape any danger and flees with C-3PO, Han, and Chewbacca on the Millennium Falcon. Although they are pursued by Imperial fighters, they manage to dodge their fire by flying into an asteroid field when the hyperdrive broke down. Although the Princess is constantly at odds with Han, romance blossoms; while hiding in a cave (actually the mouth of a space slug), she shares her first kiss with the scruffy-looking Corellian smuggler. Later, when they stop at Bespin for repairs, Han's friend Lando Calrissian betrays them 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 Jabba the Hutt, to whom Han owes a large debt. Later, Lando helps Leia, Chewbacca, and the two droids escape. While escaping, she senses that Luke is in trouble and makes them go back for him. They manage to save Luke, who is badly hurt after a near-fatal duel against Vader, who had revealed that he was his father.

Return of the Jedi

Six months after Han is kidnapped, Leia, Chewbacca, Lando, Luke (now nearly a Jedi Knight), and the droids go to Tatooine to try to rescue him from Jabba the Hutt. Her part of the plan consists of posing as the Ubese bounty hunter Boussh, who is turning in Chewbacca to Jabba. By using a thermal detonator in her negotiations for a bounty, she gains the trust and respect of both Jabba and the notorious bounty hunter Boba Fett (who had, in fact, delivered Han Solo to Jabba in the first place). Leia is discovered by Jabba and his cronies just as she has freed Han from his frozen imprisonment. As punishment, Jabba has a Gammorean Guard bring her to himself and shove her closely against his body. Over an unspecified period of time Leia endures the shame, disgust and humiliation of being chained to Jabba as his newest slave girl, dressed in the now-famous gold bikini. Leia was treated with the same cruel lechery as his previous chained slave girls, such as the ill-fated dancer Oola, until Luke arrived. After Luke slays Jabba's monstrous rancor, he and Han are sentenced to be fed to a Sarlacc pit creature. Luke and Calrissian overpower Jabba's guards at the last minute, and Leia springs into action during the resulting confusion. She slips through Jabba's grip and grabs the chain that binds her, wraps it around Jabba's throat like a garrote and pulls, choking him to death. She escapes the sail barge and is reunited with Han, and returns to the Alliance.

While preparing for a last battle with Imperial stormtroopers on Endor, Leia regains a faint memory of her birth mother and she tells Luke. Afterwards, Luke reveals to her that she is actually his twin sister, and that the hated Darth Vader is her real father (Leia and Luke don't learn that Padmé Amidala was their mother until around 35 ABY, although they do know of her as "Senator Amidala.") Luke reveals to her that, if he fails, she the last Skywalker and heir to their Jedi legacy, and the only hope for the Rebels and the Jedi. She is stunned, but through her "relation" to the Force senses it's true and recovers sufficiently enough to lead the Rebels in battle on Endor as the Rebel Fleet battle the second Death Star.

On board the battle station, Emperor Palpatine goads Luke into fighting Vader, intent on making the young Jedi his new apprentice. Luke initially resists, but loses control when Vader telepathically probes his mind, learns of Leia's existence, and threatens to convert her to the dark side of the Force. Enraged, Luke nearly kills Vader — until he realizes, at the last second, that doing so would doom him to his father's fate. He rejects Palpatine, who attacks him with Force lightning. Vader then turns against and kills his master, and is mortally wounded in the process. In his dying breaths, the redeemed Anakin Skywalker pleads with Luke to tell Leia that there was still good in him after all.

Leia, meanwhile, leads the Rebels to victory on Endor as Lando and the Rebel fleet destroy the Death Star, and with it, the Empire.

Expanded Universe

Alderaan

As the heir to the Alderaanian throne, Leia also serves in the legislative High Council of Alderaan and a term as Galactic/Imperial Senator of Alderaan. After the Rebellion's victory on Endor, she 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, continues to hold 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.

Although her relation to Darth Vader became public knowledge after the Empire's destruction, she remained known as the heir of Queen Breha and Bail Organa, and thus a member of the Royal House of Alderaan.

The Star Wars Holiday Special

Leia briefly appears in the 1978 TV movie The Star Wars Holiday Special, where she is once again portrayed by Carrie Fisher. In the show, Leia is a leader and administrator of the new Rebel Alliance base. She is accompanied by C-3PO when contacting Chewbacca's wife, Mallatobuck, 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.

The Truce at Bakura

As depicted in the novel The Truce at Bakura, immediately after the Battle of Endor, the Rebel Alliance receives a long-range messenger droid from Bakura, which is under invasion by the Ssi-ruuk. As Bakura is a well-armed system, which despite its remoteness produced important war-material (such as repulsorlift cells) the battered Alliance decides to dispatch a task force to aid the Bakurans; Leia and Luke are both assigned for their diplomatic and martial skills. The remaining Imperial forces gather at Bakura gratefully receive the aid once the Rebels' victory at Endor were made known to them, and a truce between the Imperials and the Rebels is signed. It is during this time that the spirit of Anakin Skywalker appears to Leia to beg for her forgiveness, which she cannot grant at that time.

The New Republic

Princess Organa is a founding member of the New Republic, which is formally promulgated in 5 ABY. She succeeds Mon Mothma as its Chancellor, and later fills other offices, such as Chief of Defense and various diplomatic posts. 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, and then Luke gives her a red one (not of Sith construction) to complement the weapon she had constructed earlier.

After a near-disastrous courtship in which Prince Isolder vies for Leia's affections, she marries Han in 8 ABY. As described in The Courtship of Princess Leia, Han kidnaps Leia and takes her to a planet he had won in a game of sabacc named Dathomir. 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. While on a mission to Tatooine to retrieve Killik Twilight and the Comcast key 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 wasn't the monster she thought he was, and eventually learns to forgive him.

A year later during the Thrawn Crisis, Grand Admiral Thrawn, who had formed an alliance with Joruus C'Baoth, orders Noghri commandos to kidnap Leia, who was pregnant. C'Baoth intended to warp Leia and Luke to the dark side, and planned to corrupt also the two unborn twins, as he was aware of their great promise and minimal resistance to being molded to his whims. 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 were 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. 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 New Republic (although it is unknown whether the assassination actually occurred due to Noghri outrage at the deception and exploitation, or, like many other prominent Imperials who died or disappeared mysteriously at this time, it was at the instigation of the Emperor Reborn). Althought she was pregnant, the princess made more that she could if she hadn't. The Thrawn Crisis was held when the Noghri had turned against the Grand Admiral and all this due to her. Leia is known as the "Lady Vader" among the Noghri and she and her family become revered figures in their society.

During the Thrawn Crisis, Leia gives birth to the twins Jaina and Jacen on Coruscant during Thrawn's siege.

Dark Empire

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 his capture on Coruscant, transport to Byss, and corruption by the Emperor, Leia boards the Emperor's Eclipse-class Super Star Destroyer during its assault on the Pinnacle Moon of Da Soocha. She appeals to the goodness inside Luke, redeeming him, and assaults Palpatine with the light side of the Force, cutting him off from the dark side and control of the titanic Force-storm he had exerted himself to the utmost to conjure, intending to utterly obliterate the Rebel Alliance fleet. The Eclipse I and Palpatine are both destroyed due to her intervention and her disruption defeating the clone-Emperor.

During Operation Shadow Hand, the Rebel Alliance continues to flee. Leia's second son, born in 10 ABY on a space station-turned-into-Alliance-base in orbit around Nespis VIII, is given the name Anakin in honor of her father's redemption (See Solo family.)

Along with Jen, one of the Jedi Knight, she was able to defeat Palpatine's second-in-command, a Dark Jedi assassin.

Even this respite proves to be short, however, as Palpatine is reborn in his last remaining clone body, which is quickly deteriorating, thanks to sabotage by Carnor Jax and one of the Emperor's Hands. Leia is forced to flee to Onderon to hide Anakin from Palpatine, who intends to inject his spirit into the young infant. The Emperor did 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 Empatojayos Brand saves them both from Palpatine's spirit.

As Chief of State, Leia guides the New Republic through a number of dangerous external crises from post-Imperial warlords. As the threat of Imperial warlords diminishes and the New Republic's growth accelerates rapidly, she also faces a number of internal political conflicts in the Third Electoral. These two forces come to a head during the Black Fleet crisis in 16 ABY, in which she invoked Article Five of the Common Charter to forestall a recall vote against her office and declare war against the Yevetha. Cracks in her widespread popularity begin to show during this period, cracks that would accelerate with the political ascendance of the canny Bothan politician, Borsk Fey'lya.

The Yuuzhan Vong War and beyond (25 ABY–35 ABY)

After serving a second term, Leia resignes as Chief of State, and is replaced by Borsk Fey'lya. After the Yuuzhan Vong attack on Sernpidal in 25 ABY, Leia goes before the Senate to bring attention to the threat posed by the approaching Vong. Her pleas go unheeded except by Elgos A'Kla, and the invasion continues full force. The Vong legions swarmed into the galaxy destroying systems afters systems and defeating the Jedi and the New Republic army at countless battles. Sometimes, even the might of Luke, Leia, their friends and allies couldn't prevent the dark victory of the Invaders. Leia, her chidren, Han Solo and their friends could definitively see that the war was winning by the Yuuzhan Vong but Borsk Fey'lya and his supporters concluded the New Republic army and navy were taking advantages.

Leia contributes to the war effort by joining SELCORE, a movement that aided refugees.

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. Together, they would face further hard times. When the Vong unleashed the ultimate slayers, the voxyn, they spread to find and kill all the Jedi. Leia was targeted by a Voxyn master slayer who had already killed many Jedi. With the help of her Noghri bodyguards, she could eliminate the master voxyn slayer with a lightsaber struck. Soon after, in 27 ABY, Leia and Han lost their youngest son, Anakin, during the Myrkr mission and the fall of Coruscant.

After Coruscant's fall, 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.

When Zonama Sekot makes its existence known near Coruscant in 30 ABY, Han and Leia travel there to be reunited with the rest of their family. While there, they meet Harrar, a Yuuzhan Vong priest. Leia and Han work with Harrar to get inside the Well of the World Brain on Coruscant.

After the destruction of Shimrra and Onimi, Leia is among those gathered on Zonama. She gives up politics and becomes Han's copilot, a position she held for the next five years.

In 35 ABY, Han and Leia follow various Jedi who had disappeared into the Unknown Regions, and discover Raynar Thul was 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 was 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.

Around this time, 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. 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. Also, Sebatyne tells Leia to constuct a new lightsaber to show she is a true Jedi Knight.

During the Swarm war, she defeated the evil Joiner Alemar Rar, a former Jedi. She had vanquished one of the strongest student the New Jedi Order had ever known.

Leia and Han become grandparents to Allana, Jacen's daughter, in 36 ABY.

Trivia

In June 2005 Norway's Princess Märtha Louise of Norway admitted in an interview that the first name of her youngest daughter Leah Isadora Behn — 5th in succession to the Norwegian throne — was inspired by Princess Leia.
Leia's hairstyle has been affectionately called the "donut hairstyle" by many Star Wars and sci-fi fans, due to the hair being shaped like donuts. Carrie Fisher herself has not commented directly on her character's hairstyle. Miss Piggy from Jim Henson's Muppet Babies once copied this hairstyle using donuts in a Star Wars-themed episode of the show.
In the original Star Wars trilogy, Princess Leia is the most accurate shot with a blaster, hitting a higher percentage of her intended targets than any other character.
The Slave Leia Bikini scenes were voted among the most memorable in movie history, according to Empire magazine.

References

Episode III: Revenge of the Sith - Novelisation, 1st edition hardcover, 2005. Matthew Woodring Stover, George Lucas, ISBN 0-7126-8427-1
The Annotated Screenplays, softcover, 1997. George Lucas, Leigh Brackett, Lawrence Kasdan, Laurent Bouzereau, ISBN 0-345-40981-7
The Truce at Bakura, 1st paperback printing, 1994. Kathy Tyers, ISBN 0-553-56872-8
The Courtship of Princess Leia, 1995. Dave Wolverton, ISBN 0-553-56937-6
Heir to the Empire, 1st paperback edition, 1992. Timothy Zahn, ISBN 0-553-40471-7
Dark Force Rising, 1st edition, 1992. Timothy Zahn, ISBN 0-553-08574-3
The Last Command, 1st paperback edition, 1994. Timothy Zahn, ISBN 0-553-56492-7
The New Rebellion, 1st printing paperback, 1996. Kristine Kathryn Rusch, ISBN 0-553-57414-0
Dark Empire, trade paperback, 1993. Tom Veitch, ISBN 1-569-71073-2
Dark Empire II, trade paperback, 1st edition, 1995. Tom Veitch, ISBN 1-56971-119-4
Empire's End, trade paperback, 1997. Tom Vietch, ISBN 1-569-71306-5
Heirs of the Force, Kevin J. Anderson and Rebecca Moesta. Berkley, 1995. (ISBN 0425169499)

External links

Princess Leia at the Star Wars Databank
Leia's Metal Bikini

Gourt Home::Gourt :: Princess Leia Organa