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With Disney+ finally releasing all of that Star Wars goodness today, and the final episode of the Star Wars Skywalker Saga, The Rise of Skywalker, coming out next month, we’re in full Star Wars mode. But why do we all LOVE Star Wars? Because Star Wars has always been driven by its variety of realistic and relevant characters, especially when it comes to women in the galaxy. Below are 15 of the best female characters from a galaxy far, far away.
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Princess Leia
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DisneyPrincess Leia (played by Carrie Fisher) in The Empire Strikes Back.
“Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You’re my only hope.” Ever since the moment when a young farm boy on the distant desert planet of Tatooine heard these infamous words spoken by the holographic image of a beautiful young princess, audiences have been captivated by Princess Leia Organa and the potential for a life-altering adventure her message represents. Instead of being dismissed as another “damsel in distress,” Leia is a fighter, more than capable of taking care of herself, which she amply demonstrates by strangling Jabba the Hutt to death in Return of the Jedi.
But, of course, as we learn in both later and earlier episodes of Star Wars, Leia is the daughter of the impulsive Anakin Skywalker and the passionate justice-driven Padme Amidala, so it should come as no surprise that her destiny is bound up in restoring peace and order to the galaxy through the Rebellion against the Empire, no matter what it takes. The development of her relationship with Han Solo was one of the more fun aspects of the original trilogy and the idea that it didn’t last one of the more heartbreaking of The Force Awakens.
You can watch Princess Leia’s debut in The Empire Strikes Back on Disney+.
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Padme Amidala
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Padme Amidala (played by actress Natalie Portman) in Episode 1.
The once-queen-turned-senator is arguably the catalyst for some of the most tragic events in Star Wars history. Unintentionally, of course. When we meet Padme, she’s an idealistic young woman who just wants the best for her people on Naboo where she serves as queen. She’s soon caught up, however, in something much bigger than herself, which makes sense given that her mentor, the charismatic senator for Naboo, Sheev Palpatine, is secretly a Sith Lord who wants to rule the entire galaxy.
Equally caught up in something bigger than himself is Anakin Skywalker, the young boy who becomes smitten with Padme and spends the next several years of his life not only learning to be a Jedi Knight, but pursuing Padme even when she assures him they will never have a future together. Like the daughter who will grow up never knowing her, Padme hates injustice and is willing to fight for a universe where people are free. Which is ironic, since she becomes the reason Anakin is willing to turn to the dark side and help Papatine enslave the galaxy.
Rey
Rey (played by actress Daisy Ridley) in the upcoming The Rise of Skywalker film.
The Force Awakens, which takes place thirty years after the events of Return of the Jedi, introduces us to Rey, a scavenger from the desert world of Jakku whose parents abandoned her when she was a child. Though Rey’s background has been largely shrouded in mystery, she’s clearly important to the Skywalker storyline. Like Leia, Rey knows how to take care of herself, which is humorously demonstrated when she and Finn are on the run and Finn tries to hold her hand to pull her along. She refuses, telling him to let go of her hand. She knows how to run, and she knows how to survive.
Which makes sense. It seems likely that being raised by Unkar Plutt would require developing a number of skills for self-sufficiency, and Rey doesn’t disappoint. She’s skilled with a staff, skills that transfer quite nicely when she has to wield a lightsaber at the end of TFA against Kylo Ren. And it’s soon revealed that the Force is flowing through her, just as it did for the Jedi of legend. Like Luke before her, Rey has a penchant for believing that someone as evil as Kylo Ren could still have some good left in him. Let’s hope she’s right.
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Ahsoka Tano
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Star Wars RebelsAhsoka Tano from Star Wars: Rebels.
Ahsoka Tano was the perfect answer to the question, “What would it be like for Anakin Skywalker to have his own padawan?” Introduced in the animated series The Clone Wars, Ahsoka was a young Togruta female with a sassy attitude who had a knack for questioning everything her Master taught her. She was much like Anakin in her pushing of boundaries, and though they argued endlessly, Ahsoka grew to respect Anakin as her teacher. Her journey as a padawan ended when she became disillusioned with the Jedi after she was falsely accused of bombing the Jedi Temple.
She returned in Star Wars Rebels as an informant for the Rebellion, and we see her devastation in learning that Anakin became the ruthless Darth Vader. Her battle with Vader became one of the most iconic moments of the series. Most of her story beyond Rebels remains a mystery, but we do know she was still alive after the events of Return of the Jedi, so it seems possible that Luke encountered her at some point. The stories she could tell…
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Jyn Erso
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DisneyJyn Erso (played by actress Felicity Jones) in Rogue One.
The opening crawl of A New Hope mentions a group of rebels who stole the plans to the Death Star, hoping to find a weakness so it could be destroyed. From that tiny little mention, the concept for Rogue One was born. Jyn Erso is the daughter of Galen Erso, the primary architect of the Death Star. Though the Rebellion believes Galen is loyal to the Empire’s cause, Jyn, reminiscent of Luke’s belief that there was still good in Darth Vader, believes that her father is good and has his reasons for serving the Empire.
But being the daughter of a man she hasn’t seen since childhood and being raised by a rebellious zealot (Saw Garrera) hasn’t made life easy for Jyn. Instead of hardening her, however, Jyn’s past has made her strong and skilled enough to take on the responsibility of fulfilling her father’s dying wish to deliver the plans for the Death Star, including Galen’s intentional design flaw, to the Rebellion. Though Luke Skywalker is the hero behind destroying the Death Star at the Battle of Yavin, none of it would have been possible without the bravery and determination of Jyn Erso.
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Hera Syndulla
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Hera Syndulla from Star Wars: Rebels.
After buying Lucasfilm for $4 billion in 2012, Disney not only began production on a trilogy of new Star Wars episodes, a new animated series in the vein of The Clone Wars was introduced on Disney’s XD channel. Star Wars Rebels follows a group of rebels led by Twi’lek Hera Syndulla, the daughter of Clone Wars General Cham Syndulla. Growing up during the Clone Wars and seeing the devastating aftermath of the Empire’s rise and oppression on her homeworld of Ryloth, Hera grew up to become an expert pilot and leader, developing her own resistance group against the Empire.
Comprised of Order 66 Jedi survivor Kanan Jarrus, Sabine Wren, Zeb Orrilios, and Ezra Bridger, this ragtag group becomes Hera’s family, and we see her fight for them through all four seasons of Rebels. Hera even became a general in the Rebellion and fought in the Battle of Endor. Footage from the latest trailer for The Rise of Skywalker showing Hera’s starship, the Ghost, could indicate Hera’s involvement in the final battle for freedom in the galaxy.
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Sabine Wren
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Disney XDSabine Wren from the Star Wars: Rebels finale.
Sabine Wren was a major character in Disney XD’s animated Star Wars Rebels. As an Imperial cadet, Sabine designed weapons for the Empire that she believed would be used to forge peace. Instead, they were used against her people on Mandalore, driving her to abandon her homeworld and the Empire to join Hera Syndulla’s group of rebels on the Ghost. Sabine was known for her creativity and artistry, demonstrated by the designs she painted on her Mandalorian armor and the color of her hair. In fact, the symbol of the Alliance to Restore the Republic was inspired by her art.
Sabine, though once seen as a traitor by her family and her people on Mandalore, helped them to see the Empire’s treachery and free them from Imperial oppression. Sabine develops a strong bond with Ezra Bridger, and the last time we see her, she’s on a mission to find Ezra, who disappeared into the Unknown Region with Grand Admiral Thrawn.
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Asajj Ventress
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Asajj Ventress was introduced in the animated series The Clone Wars as a dark side apprentice to Count Dooku and a Sith assassin. Driven by hate, Ventress seemed to be born for the dark side, but as more of her story has been revealed, it’s clear that Ventress is character shaped by the circumstances surrounding her.
Once a Jedi padawan, Ventress was pushed to the dark side when her Master was murdered and she was left alone. When Dooku found her, he saw her hatred as a useful weapon to be wielded for his purposes and the purposes of his master, Darth Sidious. Sidious, however, saw Ventress’s strength in the Force as a danger and commanded Dooku to execute her.
After surviving Dooku’s attack, Ventress sought revenge against her former master, only to fail time after time. The Star Wars novel Dark Disciple tells the story of how Ventress came to fall in love with Jedi Quinlan Voss and renounce the dark side. Her tragedy was made complete when she sacrificed herself to Dooku to save the man she loved. Ventress represents the common thread of Star Wars, that darkness is always tempting and redemption is always possible.
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Rae Sloane
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Starwars.comRae Sloane is a big part of the Star Wars canon, albeit through the novels.
Though she never appears in any of the movies, Grand Admiral of the Imperial Fleet Rae Sloane is easily one of the toughest females in the Star Wars universe. Introduced in the novel A New Dawn, Sloane quickly rose through the Imperial ranks to become the one person in charge of maintaining the Imperial Fleet after Palpatine is killed during the Battle of Endor. Chuck Wendig’s Aftermath novels tell the story of Sloane’s leadership of the Empire in the days after the Emperor’s fall. Though she becomes Grand Admiral, a title given to her by the mysterious Gallius Rax, Sloane’s story ironically becomes about stopping the Emperor’s contingency plans to destroy the galaxy so that no one can rule.
It’s easy to think of any character loyal to the Empire as evil, but Sloane believes in the Empire and its commitment to order in the galaxy. And she’ll stop at nothing to keep the Empire alive. Wendig’s third and final Aftermath novel finds Sloane defeating Gallius Rax and stopping him from fulfilling Palpatine’s wishes of destroying the galaxy. Sloane then enters the Unknown Regions with Brendol Hux (father of The Force Awakens’ General Hux), several others loyal to the empire, and an army of child soldiers. Because of this, we can deduce that Sloane had a hand in the early beginnings of The First Order.
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Maz Kanata
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DisneyMaz Makana from The Force Awakens.
The Force Awakens introduced Maz Kanata as one of the oldest living and powerful females in the Star Wars galaxy. Maz has a reputation among the criminal underworld of the galaxy as a source of aid to traveling smugglers, such as Han Solo. With connections all over the galaxy, Maz becomes the person to contact when you face an insurmountable obstacle in the new trilogy, which is exactly what Poe Dameron does when Finn and Rose are looking for a way to get past the First Order’s security on the flagship Supremacy. Although she can’t help personally, she sends Finn and Rose to Canto Bight in search of a “master codebreaker.”
Rey learns that Maz is Force-sensitive when she encounters her after finding the lost lightsaber of Luke Skywalker in Maz’s castle. “I’m no Jedi,” Maz says. “But I know the Force.” Having lived so long and after watching the balance of power switch between the light and dark sides of the Force, Maz may know more about the galaxy than anyone else in the Star Wars universe.
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Mon Mothma
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DisneyMon Mothma (played by actress Genevieve O’Reilly) from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
All-powerful movements are driven by a leader with an exceptional mind and ability to speak rationally in a way that engenders confidence. For the Rebel Alliance, Mon Mothma is that leader. Once an outspoken critic of the Clone Wars and the decision to give more power to Chancellor Palpatine, Mon Mothma served represented her homeworld, Chandrila, on the Galactic Senate.
When Palpatine reformed the Galactic Republic into the Empire, she continued to serve as a senator, but with the help of fellow senator Bail Organa (adopted father of Princess Leia), Mothma began to form the Rebel Alliance to overthrow the Emperor and restore freedom to the galaxy. Though freedom is her goal, Mothma can often be seen as cold and narrowly focused. Still, under her leadership, the Rebellion is able to break the Empire little by little until a New Republic is born. And of course, Mon Mothma becomes the New Republic’s first chancellor.
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Doctor Aphra
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The cover of Doctor Aphra – Volume 3 from Marvel.
Doctor Aphra is a criminal archaeologist who was introduced in Kieron Gillen’s Darth Vader comic book run. Aphra is initially hired by Darth Vader to help him find the identity of the pilot who destroyed the Death Star, which was, of course, Luke Skywalker. Aphra will stop at nothing to make money in the galaxy. She’s not necessarily a big believer in the Empire, but she believes the Empire is better at protecting people in the galaxy than if there were no government. She’s accompanied by two sociopathic droids who will turn on anyone at the drop of a hat.
Her employ with Vader eventually comes to an end, and not a pleasant one, and she becomes someone clearly on the run from Darth Vader. Aphra is neither a good or a bad character because you see her helping people one moment and betraying them the next. Aphra was so interesting that even though her storyline ended in the Vader comic, she became the main character of her own comic title.
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Captain Phasma
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DisneyCaptain Phasma in Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
Phasma is one of the more treacherous female characters on the list. As commander of the First Order Stormtroopers in The Force Awakens, she came into conflict with Finn, who was raised to be a Stormtrooper but defected when he saw the brutality of war up close. She tries to stop Finn, Han Solo, and Chewbacca from shutting down the shield generators on Starkiller Base but is ultimately forced to shut them down herself before being tossed into a trash compactor.
The short comic book series bearing her name reveals that she survived the attack on Starkiller Base and that she’ll stop at nothing to keep her role in the base’s destruction a secret. Although she proves herself to be a woman no one should mess with, her battle with Finn in The Last Jedi doesn’t end so well, and her fate is currently unknown.
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Jocasta Nu
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Jocasta Nu (played by Alethea McGrath) in Episode II.
Jocasta Nu may have been just a stuffy old librarian for the Jedi Temple in Attack of the Clones, but the Darth Vader comic book by Charles Soule revealed how strong she truly was as a Jedi and how vital she was to the survival of the Jedi Order. Soule’s comic shows Jocasta surviving Order 66 and quickly preserving as much of the Jedi Temple’s information she can. She battles against the Inquisitor and even puts up a fight against Vader himself.
Sadly, she becomes one of the first people to find out that Darth Vader is actually Anakin Skywalker, but she doesn’t live long enough to share the information. Interestingly, when Vader takes the date file from Jocasta that lists all of the known Force-sensitive children in the galaxy, he doesn’t turn it over to the Emperor as she fears. Instead, he destroys it. Though she didn’t survive long after Order 66, Jocasta Nu proved herself to be one tough librarian and Jedi Knight, and the data she preserved was surely useful to Luke Skywalker when he was developing a new generation of Jedi.
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Mara Jade
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Though she’s the only character on this list not currently in the Star Wars canon, no list of top female characters in the Star Wars universe would be complete without a mention of Mara Jade. Created by Timothy Zahn in his Thrawn Trilogy of novels, Mara Jade was initially an assassin sent by Emperor Palpatine to execute Luke Skywalker after the Emperor’s death. Though she was raised by the Emperor to use the dark side of the Force, the Emperor’s death prompts her to go rogue.
She eventually comes in contact with Luke Skywalker, and the two form an unlikely bond. The two fall in love and get married. Mara Jade becomes a Jedi and serves on the Council of the new Jedi Order. As the galaxy continues to face new conflicts even decades after the fall of the Empire, Mara Jade serves alongside her husband to protect the Republic. Sadly, Mara Jade’s story is ended when she is killed by her nephew Jacen Solo, who was lured by the dark side to become a Sith Lord.
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