The 2005prequel filmRevenge of the Sith reveals that Leia's mother is SenatorPadmé Amidala ofNaboo, who dies after childbirth. Leia's father is Anakin Skywalker, aJedi who falls to the dark side ofthe Force and becomes Darth Vader. After her mother's death, Leia is adopted by SenatorBail Organa of Alderaan and his wife,Queen Breha. In thesequel trilogy, Leia is a founder and General of theResistance, which fights against theFirst Order. She and Han have a son named Ben Solo, who turned to the dark side and became the First Order warlordKylo Ren. InThe Rise of Skywalker (2019), it is revealed that Leia was trained as a Jedi by Luke sometime after the events ofReturn of the Jedi. Leia dies towards the end of the film but returns as aForce spirit alongside Luke.
One of the more popularStar Wars characters, Leia has been called a 1980sicon, afeminist hero and a model for other adventure heroines. She has appeared in many derivative works and merchandising, including theStar WarsLegends narrative universe, and she has been referenced or parodied in several TV shows and films. Her "cinnamon bun" hairstyle fromStar Wars (1977) and her metal bikini fromReturn of the Jedi have become iconic cultural symbols. Fisher was nominated for theSaturn Award for Best Actress forStar Wars andReturn of the Jedi. She also received Saturn Award nominations forBest Supporting Actress forThe Force Awakens andThe Last Jedi, the latter being a posthumous nomination.
In 1999, Star Wars creatorGeorge Lucas reflected on his early development of the original film's main characters:
The first [version of the story] talked about a princess and an old general. The second version involved a father, his son, and his daughter; the daughter was the heroine of the film. Now the daughter has become Luke,Mark Hamill's character. There was also the story of two brothers where I transformed one of them into a sister. The older brother was imprisoned, and the young sister had to rescue him and bring him back to their dad.[8]
The character Princess Leia went through various changes asGeorge Lucas wrote and refined theStar Wars screenplay. In one early draft, she was the spoiled teenage daughter of King Kayos and Queen Breha of Aquilae.[9] In a later version, she was Luke's cousin and the daughter ofOwen Lars and his wifeBeru.[10] A subsequent story synopsis established her as Leia Antilles, the child ofBail Antilles from the peaceful world of Organa Major. In the fourth draft, she is Leia Organa of Alderaan, which is how she appears in the finished film.[11]
In his early story development forThe Empire Strikes Back, Lucas intended for Luke to have a twin sister—not Leia—who would be the focus of another film.[12] Following the production ofEmpire, Lucas was burnt out and decided not to make his plannedsequel trilogy. Needing to explain the identity of the other potential Jedi mentioned byYoda, Lucas decided that Leia would be revealed as Luke's twin.[13]
In an early draft of the screenplay forReturn of the Jedi, Obi-Wan tells Luke a slightly different story about his twin sister than that which appears in the finished film. He explains that Luke's sister and their mother were sent to a distant star system for protection. Their mother died soon after, and Luke's sister was adopted by the governor of Alderaan and his wife, who were friends of Obi-Wan.[14][15]
In 2014, Fisher reflected on playing Leia. She said the character is worried, angry and "snarky" for much of the original trilogy, and that those attributes "aren't fun things to play." She stated that she would have rather played the "wry and sardonic" Han Solo than Leia. Fisher said that killing Jabba the Hutt was the most satisfying moment of her acting career.[16]
Anthony Breznican ofEntertainment Weekly has described Leia as a diplomat, spy, warrior, and undercover agent. Fisher has described her as a soldier. Fisher explained toRolling Stone in 1983 that since Leia has no friends or family, all she has is a cause—the Rebellion—after her home planet is destroyed.[27] Fisher claimed that Leia is often angry because it was the only way the filmmakers knew how to make her strong.[15]
Writing in 2015, Alyssa Rosenberg ofThe Washington Post examined Leia's character and her relationship with Han. Rosenberg praised Leia's courage and resiliency in the face of imprisonment, torture, and the destruction of her home planet. She claimed that Leia and Han end up in conflict because she insists on asserting authority and he automatically resists, even as she proves herself to be worthy of it.[28] Regarding Han's attempt to pry a confession of love out of Leia inThe Empire Strikes Back, Rosenberg writes that "Han's not wrong that if Leia doesn't figure out that she's a person with needs, she's going to burn out ... In a way, it's an early confession of love: Han's anxious about the bounty hunters who are still pursuing him ... But he would stay and give his love and support to Leia if she could just acknowledge that she needs him."[28]
Following the release ofReturn of the Jedi, Fisher commented on the way Leia is depicted: "[She] gets to be more feminine, more supportive, more affectionate. But let's not forget that these movies are basically boys' fantasies. So the other way they made her more female in this one was to have her take off her clothes."[15]
Introduced inStar Wars (1977), Princess Leia of Alderaan is a member of the Imperial Senate and a leader in the Rebel Alliance. She is captured when Darth Vader boards her ship, demanding that she reveal the location of stolen architectural plans for the Death Star, theGalactic Empire's battle station. Before her interrogation, Leia hid the plans inside thedroidR2-D2, and sent him to find one of the last remaining Jedi,Obi-Wan Kenobi. Vader takes Leia to the Death Star and tortures her, but she offers him no information. The Death Star commanderGrand Moff Tarkin threatens to destroy Alderaan unless she reveals the location of the Rebel base. She provides the location of an abandoned headquarters on Dantooine, but Tarkin obliterates Alderaan anyway. Leia is rescued by Luke Skywalker, Han Solo andChewbacca. They escape aboard Han's ship, theMillennium Falcon. After analyzing the Death Star schematics, the Rebels find a small weakness in the battle station, which allows Luke to destroy it with torpedoes launched from hisX-wing. After the victory, Leia honors Luke, Han and Chewbacca for their heroism.
Princess Leia's white gown from the originalStar Wars film
Fisher claimed that in the original script, when Luke and Han arrive to rescue Leia, she is unconscious, her eyes are yellow and she is hanging upside down, imagery which alludes to the 1973 horror filmThe Exorcist. Fisher explained that the scene was changed because Chewbacca would have had to carry Leia for an extended period of time.[29]
InThe Empire Strikes Back (1980), Leia is commanding the Rebel base onHoth. As Han prepares to leave the base to pay off Jabba, he tries to make Leia admit that she has romantic feelings for him. When Imperial forces arrive and assault the base, Leia leads an evacuation. She then flees with Han, Chewbacca andC-3PO in theFalcon. While hiding in an asteroid field, Leia and Han share a kiss. With the ship needing repairs, Han seeks out his old friendLando Calrissian inCloud City. Lando welcomes the group graciously, but has betrayed them to the Empire. He turns them over to Vader, who hopes to use them as bait to capture Luke. Leia confesses her love for Han as he is frozen incarbonite and handed over to the bounty hunterBoba Fett. As Lando, Leia, and Chewbacca escape from Cloud City, Leia senses that Luke is in trouble, and she orders Chewbacca to turn the ship around and rescue him. He was wounded during alightsaber duel with Vader, and used the Force to contact Leia.
InReturn of the Jedi (1983), Leia infiltratesJabba the Hutt's palace on Tatooine disguised as theUbese bounty hunter Boushh. She frees Han from the carbonite, but they are both recaptured by Jabba, who chains Leia and outfits her in a metal bikini. After Luke arrives and kills Jabba'srancor, the crime lord sentences Luke, Han and Chewbacca to be fed to aSarlacc, a deadly ground-dwelling beast. The group overpowers their captors, and Leia strangles Jabba to death with her chain. The companions then escape the planet and return to the Rebel base. Later, they travel to the forest moon ofEndor to disable a shield protecting the second Death Star. There, Luke reveals to Leia that he is her twin brother and that Vader is their father. After joining forces with a tribe ofEwoks, the Rebels manage to destroy the Death Star and defeat the Empire.
In the prequel filmRevenge of the Sith (2005), Anakin Skywalker's wife Padmé Amidala is pregnant with twins near the end of theClone Wars. After Anakin turns to the dark side of the Force and becomes Darth Vader, Padmé gives birth to Luke and Leia on Polis Massa and then dies. Leia is adopted by SenatorBail Organa of Alderaan and his wife, Queen Breha.
Leia returns inThe Force Awakens (2015), which takes place thirty years after the events ofReturn of the Jedi. She is the leader of the Resistance, an organization she formed to fight the First Order. She is also trying to find her brother Luke, who disappeared years earlier. After a battle on the planet Takodana, she reunites with Han. They discuss their son, Ben Solo, who left Jedi training and fell to the dark side of the Force, becoming the First Order warlordKylo Ren. Leia believes Ren can be brought back from the dark side, and urges Han to bring him home. When Han encounters Ren onStarkiller Base, he asks him to abandon the First Order. Ren refuses and instead kills his father. Leia senses Han's death through the Force, and later shares a moment of grief with the scavengerRey, who viewed Han as a father figure.
Although Leia appears as a Jedi in variousStar WarsLegends works, she is not depicted that way inThe Force Awakens. The film's director,J.J. Abrams, explained that Leia's decision to lead the Resistance instead of training as a Jedi was "simply a choice that she made". Nevertheless, he affirmed that Leia's strength with the Force is an intrinsic part of her character.[30] Asked to describe Leia in the film, Fisher said her character is under "a lot of pressure" and is likely feeling defeated, tired, and angry.[31] Fisher was nominated for a2016 Saturn Award forBest Supporting Actress for her performance.[32]
Fisher returns as Leia inThe Last Jedi, the 2017 sequel toThe Force Awakens. When Leia's ship is attacked by the First Order, she is expelled into space, but uses the Force to pull herself back onboard. After recovering, she shoots and stuns the Resistance pilotPoe Dameron, who mutinied againstVice Admiral Holdo. From his self-imposed exile onAhch-To, Luke uses the Force to project himself to the Resistance stronghold onCrait. He reunites with Leia and apologizes for Ben's fall to the dark side. Leia says that her son is gone, but Luke assures her that nobody is ever truly gone. While Luke distracts Ren and his troops, Leia and the remaining Resistance forces escape in theFalcon. The filming of Fisher's scenes was completed shortly before her death on December 27, 2016.[af]
Following Fisher's death,Variety reported that she was slated to appear inThe Rise of Skywalker (2019).[34] Instead of creating a digital version of Fisher, Lucasfilm added her to the film by utilizing footage of her that was shot forThe Force Awakens but never used.[ag] Fisher's daughterBillie Lourd, who portraysLieutenant Connix in all three sequel trilogy films, stepped in as Leia for a brief flashback scene. Lourd's face was digitally replaced by Fisher's, using imagery fromReturn of the Jedi.[40]
InThe Rise of Skywalker, Leia continues to lead the Resistance while guiding Rey in her Jedi training; a flashback presented later reveals that Leia abandoned her own Jedi instruction with Luke after seeing a vision of her son's death. While Rey and Ren duel onKef Bir, Leia uses all of her remaining strength to reach out to Ren through the Force. Rey impales him while he is distracted, then heals his wound as Leia dies. During the climactic battle onExegol, a transformed Ben Solo utilizes the remainder of his life force to revive a comatose Rey, then vanishes into the Force at the same time as his mother. Rey travels to the Lars homestead on Tatooine and buries the lightsabers that had belonged to Leia and Luke. As the Force spirits of her two mentors look on, Rey tells a passerby that her name is "Rey Skywalker."
Leia makes a brief appearance in the final scene of the 2016 filmRogue One. She receives the stolen plans for the Death Star as a lead-up to the beginning ofStar Wars. SinceRogue One takes place just prior to the original trilogy, a young Leia was required. To create this effect, acomputer-generated image of a young Carrie Fisher was superimposed over the face of the actressIngvild Deila. Archival audio of Fisher was used to voice the character.[41][42]
A teenage Princess Leia, voiced by Julie Dolan, appears in a 2016 episode of the animated seriesStar Wars Rebels, which is set betweenRevenge of the Sith andStar Wars. In the episode, Leia is sent on a secret mission for the Rebel Alliance.Dave Filoni, the executive producer ofRebels, said the intention was to show Leia developing her leadership abilities. He added that in the series, Leia is "part of the Empire. She doesn't believe in the Empire, but she is acting the part, almost a double agent."[43] Leia also appears in the web seriesForces of Destiny (2017–2018) voiced byShelby Young,[44] and inStar Wars Resistance, voiced by Rachel Butera andCarolyn Hennesy.[3][45]
Leia appears as a ten-year-old child in the 2022 live-action seriesObi-Wan Kenobi, portrayed byVivien Lyra Blair.[46] Of Blair's casting, series writerJoby Harold said the show wanted an actor who would embody a young Carrie Fisher.[47] In a review of the series, Eric Deggans ofNPR wrote that Blair "practically channels Carrie Fisher's subversive, wisecracking spirit".[48]
Foster's 1978 novelSplinter of the Mind's Eye was commissioned by Lucas as the basis for a potential low-budget sequel toStar Wars should the film prove unsuccessful.[51] In the story, Luke and Leia seek a crystal on a swampy planet and eventually face Vader in combat.
Leia appears in theJourney toStar Wars: The Force Awakens line of novels and comics, which were introduced to connectThe Force Awakens with previous films.[52] She is featured in the young adult novelMoving Target: A Princess Leia Adventure (2015) byCecil Castellucci and Jason Fry, which is set betweenThe Empire Strikes Back andReturn of the Jedi,[53][54] andClaudia Gray's novelsStar Wars: Bloodline (2016)[55][56] andLeia: Princess of Alderaan (2017). The former is set six years beforeThe Force Awakens, while the latter features a 16-year-old Leia before the events ofA New Hope. She also leads inBeth Revis'Star Wars: The Princess and the Scoundrel which is set immediately right afterReturn of the Jedi.[57]
Leia appears in the limited seriesStar Wars: Princess Leia (2015), which takes place immediately afterStar Wars. She is also featured in the four-part seriesStar Wars: Shattered Empire (2015), set immediately afterReturn of the Jedi.[58]Princess Leia depicts Leia training in martial arts on Alderaan and explores her reaction to the destruction of the planet, whileShattered Empire portrays her as a skilled pilot who undertakes a dangerous mission alongsidePoe Dameron's mother.[59][60] Leia also appears inStar Wars #12.[61]
Leia appears briefly in the 1978 television filmThe Star Wars Holiday Special as a leader and administrator of the new Rebel Alliance base. She and C-3PO contact Chewbacca's wifeMallatobuck for assistance in finding Chewbacca and Han. Leia also appears in the animated segment at a different base in an asteroid field, and at the Life Day ceremony at the end of the film.[62] Fisher also appeared in and hosted the November 18, 1978, episode ofSaturday Night Live that aired one day after the special.[63]
Following the acquisition ofLucasfilm byThe Walt Disney Company in 2012, most of the licensedStar Wars Expanded Universe material produced between 1977 and 2014 was rebranded asStar Wars Legends and declared non-canon to the franchise.[ah] In theLegends narrative universe, Leia battles remnants of the Empire after the events ofReturn of the Jedi. She becomes the chief of state of theNew Republic and aJedi Master, and raises three children with Han:Jaina,Jacen andAnakin Solo.
The bestsellingThrawn trilogy (1991–93) by Timothy Zahn begins five years after the events ofReturn of the Jedi.[68] InHeir to the Empire (1991), Leia is married to Han and three months pregnant with twins.Noghri commandos repeatedly attempt to kidnap her as part ofGrand Admiral Thrawn's plan to restore the Empire and crush the New Republic.[69] InDark Force Rising (1992), Leia realizes that Darth Vader and the Empire deceived the Noghri to secure their allegiance, and by revealing the truth she turns the alien race to the side of the New Republic.[70] At one point, she remembers her adoptive parents on Alderaan, implying that the "mother" she discussed with Luke on Endor was Queen Breha.[71] InThe Last Command (1993), Leia gives birth to the twinsJaina andJacen Solo onCoruscant during Thrawn's siege.[72]
InThe Truce at Bakura (1993) byKathy Tyers, set one day after the ending ofReturn of the Jedi, Leia establishes New Alderaan, a sanctuary for the destroyed planet's surviving inhabitants. The spirit of Anakin Skywalker appears to Leia and pleads for her forgiveness, but she angrily banishes him. The six-volumeJedi Prince series (1992–93) byPaul Davids and Hollace Davids, later contradicted by other novels, is set within a year afterReturn of the Jedi. InThe Glove of Darth Vader (1992), the self-proclaimed son of the defeated EmperorPalpatine,Trioculus, seeks the titular glove to cement himself as the new Emperor. Entranced by Leia's beauty inThe Lost City of the Jedi (1992), Trioculus vows to make her his queen. He captures her inZorba the Hutt's Revenge (1992), but Jabba the Hutt's vengeful father,Zorba, offers to trade his own prisonerKen—Palpatine's real grandson whom Trioculus has been seeking—for Leia, his son's killer. But Leia and Ken are rescued and Trioculus is frozen in carbonate by Zorba.Mission from Mount Yoda (1993) finds Ken's fatherTriclops alive and willing to join the Rebels against the Empire. Leia, now engaged to Han, is captured by Zorba inQueen of the Empire (1993). Trioculus is revived and seizes Leia before Zorba can kill her. Leia is rescued and replaced with a lookalike droid decoy, which kills Trioculus. InProphets of the Dark Side (1993), Leia looks forward to her wedding to Han and has a vision of their two children.Matthew Stover's 2008 standalone novelLuke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor picks up the story soon after, as Luke, Leia and the Rebels fight theSith Lord Shadowspawn.
InThe Courtship of Princess Leia (1994) byDave Wolverton, set immediately before theThrawn trilogy, Leia is presented with an advantageous political marriage toPrince Isolder of the planet Hapes. A jealous Han abducts Leia and takes her to the planet Dathomir; Luke and Isolder follow, and there they all find the hidden forces of the Imperial warlord Zsinj.[77] Defeating him, Han and Leia marry.[78] The 2003 novelsA Forest Apart andTatooine Ghost byTroy Denning are set immediately afterThe Courtship of Princess Leia. The newly married Leia fears that any children she has may succumb to the dark side like her father. During an adventure onTatooine inTatooine Ghost, she discovers the diary of her grandmotherShmi Skywalker and meets some of young Anakin's childhood friends. When she learns of Anakin's childhood as a slave and the traumatic death of his mother, Leia learns to forgive her father.
InShadows of the Empire (1996) bySteve Perry, the onlyStar Wars novel set betweenThe Empire Strikes Back andReturn of the Jedi, Leia is searching for Boba Fett to find a captive Han. She is bewitched by the crime lordPrince Xizor using pheromones, but Chewbacca helps her elude the seduction.[79]
Allegiance (2007) andChoices of One (2011) by Timothy Zahn are set betweenStar Wars: A New Hope andThe Empire Strikes Back, and feature Leia and her cohorts seeking new allies for their Rebellion against the Empire.Razor's Edge (2013) byMartha Wells andHonor Among Thieves (2014) byJames S. A. Corey take place in the same time period and also chronicle the adventures of Leia and Han.
In theNew Jedi Order series (1999–2003), Leia resigns as Chief of State, and on the heels of her warnings before the Senate, the alienYuuzhan Vong invade the galaxy. They destroy system after system and defeat both the Jedi and the New Republic forces in countless battles. Chewbacca dies inVector Prime (1999) byR.A. Salvatore, which sends Han into a deep depression that causes a rift between him and Leia. They reunite after Leia is gravely wounded at the Battle of Duro in Kathy Tyers'Balance Point (2000). She is targeted by a deadly Voxyn slayer in Troy Dennings'Star By Star (2001), and though she manages to evade death, her son Anakin is later killed during a mission to prevent more Voxyn from being cloned. The Vong are finally defeated inThe Unifying Force (2003) byJames Luceno.
In Denning'sTheDark Nest trilogy (2005), Leia, Han, and several Jedi become involved in an escalating border dispute between theChiss and the insidious insectoid Killiks, and Leia makes a bitter enemy in theTwi'lek warriorAlema Rar. InThe Joiner King (2005), Leia asksSaba Sebatyne to train her as a Jedi Knight. R2-D2 malfunctions inThe Unseen Queen (2005) and shows Luke a holoclip of his father Anakin and a pregnant woman, whom Luke learns is his and Leia's biological mother, Padmé Amidala. Anakin and Padmé are discussing a dream of Anakin's in which Padmé dies in childbirth; later, Luke and Leia watch a clip in which Padmé is talking to Obi-Wan Kenobi about Anakin.Tenel Ka, Queen Mother of the Hapes Consortium, has a daughter,Allana, secretly fathered by Jacen. InThe Swarm War (2005), Luke and Leia view holoclips of their mother's death, and Leia is promoted to Jedi Knight.
The bestsellingLegacy of the Force series (2006–08) chronicles the crossover of Han and Leia's son Jacen to the dark side of the Force while the Jedi, Solos, and Skywalkers fight against his growing power.[ai] InBetrayal (2006) byAaron Allston, Jacen turns to the dark side, believing that it is the only way to save the galaxy from the chaos brewing among the member systems of the Galactic Alliance. Jacen realizes inBloodlines (2006) byKaren Traviss that the Sith discipline will require him to kill one of his loved ones, which he decides is an acceptable sacrifice to save the galaxy. In Troy Denning'sTempest (2006), Han and Leia thwart the assassination of Tenel Ka and Allana but become caught up in a Corellian conspiracy. They are almost killed when theMillennium Falcon is attacked by aStar Destroyer controlled by an increasingly powerful Jacen—who knows that his parents are on board. With Han injured, Leia and Lando further investigate the Corellians in Aaron Allston'sExile (2007), but Alema reappears to exact her vengeance on Leia.
Sacrifice (2007) by Karen Traviss finds Leia and Han on the run, hunted by Jacen as traitors to the Galactic Alliance. He kills Luke's wifeMara Jade as his final sacrifice to become Darth Caedus, the new ruler of the Sith. InInferno (2007) by Troy Denning, Han and Leia are faced with the reality that their son, now Joint Chief of State, is the enemy. Leia attempts unsuccessfully to manipulate Jacen in Aaron Allston'sFury (2007) so that the Jedi can both thwart him and neutralize Alema. Finally, inInvincible (2008) by Troy Denning, Jaina kills Jacen in a lightsaber duel. At Tenel Ka's request, Leia and Han adopt Allana, disguised with the name "Amelia" to protect her from any future vengeance against Cadeus or the Hapes Consortium.
The nine-volumeFate of the Jedi series (2009–12) by Aaron Allston, Troy Denning, andChristie Golden finds Han and Leia become caught up in the intensifying conflict between the Galactic Alliance and the Jedi. In the wake of Darth Cadeus' death, the now-peaceful Galactic Alliance harbors a growing mistrust toward the Jedi, and the situation is worsened by a Force-induced psychosis that begins afflicting individual Jedi, sending them on violent rampages.
InMillennium Falcon (2008) by James Luceno, set betweenLegacy of the Force andFate of the Jedi, a mysterious device hidden inside the eponymous spacecraft sends Han, Leia and Allana on an adventure to investigate the ship's past before it came into Han's possession. Troy Denning'sCrucible (2013), set afterFate of the Jedi and the last novel to date in theStar Wars Legends chronology, reunites Leia, Han and Luke with Lando as they aid him to thwart a vast criminal enterprise threatening his asteroid mineral refinery in the Chilean Riftnebula.
Leia's youth is depicted in theStar Wars Tales storyThe Princess Leia Diaries. Leia develops a disdain for the Empire, as well as a conflict with Tarkin. She discovers and decides to support the Rebellion.
During the events of the comic seriesDark Empire (1991–92), Palpatine has been resurrected in a clone body. As part of his plan to restore the Empire, he seduces Luke to the dark side of the Force. Leia resists Palpatine's attempts to turn her as well, and escapes with the JediHolocron, an artifact he needs to secure his power. When Luke pursues her, Leia manages to turn him back. Luke and Leia then fight Palpatine with the light side of the Force, destroying him with his own Force-generated storm. InDark Empire II (1994–95), Leia gives birth to a third child,Anakin Solo. Palpatine is reborn in a rapidly deteriorating clone body inEmpire's End (1995), and seeks to possess the body of the infant Anakin.
Princess Leia has been called a 1980s icon and a feminist hero.[89][90] In 2008, she was selected byEmpire magazine as the 89th greatest film character of all time, and in 2010UGO Networks listed her as one of the best heroes of all time.[91][92]
Leia has been referenced orparodied in several television shows and films.[93] In 2013, the cartoonistJeffrey Brown publishedStar Wars: Vader's Little Princess, a comic strip-style book featuring Darth Vader and a young Leia in humorous father-daughter situations. The book became a bestseller.[aj]
Leia has also featured in a wide range ofStar Wars merchandise, including statuettes, action figures and other toys, household items and clothing, office supplies, food products, and shampoo in Leia-shaped bottles.[ak] In her one-woman showWishful Drinking, Carrie Fisher called thePrincess Leia Pez dispenser a "merchandising horror".[103] In a 2011 interview, Fisher said:
I signed away my likeness for free. In those days, there was no such thing as a "likeness" ... There was no merchandising tied to movies. No one could have known the extent of the franchise. Not that I don't think I'm cute or anything, but when I looked in the mirror, I didn't think I was signing away anything of value.[97]
In 2014, following the 2012 acquisition of Lucasfilm by the Walt Disney Company, theDisney Store stated that the company had no plans for any future Leia-themed products.[104] After public criticism, Disney toldTime that it would be releasing several Leia products.[104]Funko has since produced several figurines of Leia, andHasbro has released an action figure of Leia as she appears in theStar Wars Rebels animated series.[105]
Leia's unique hairdo inStar Wars—arranged in two large buns, one on each side of her head—has come to be known as the "doughnut" or "cinnamon buns" hairstyle, and is iconic of the character and theStar Wars franchise.[106][93] When asked in a 2002 interview about the origins of the hairstyle, Lucas said he was aiming for "a kind of SouthwesternPancho Villa woman revolutionary look" from "turn-of-the-century Mexico."[107] An exhibit at theDenver Art Museum credited a particular revolutionary—later identified asClara de la Rocha—as an inspiration for the hairdo.[108] The museum stated that Leia's hair arrangement was also influenced by a hairstyle worn by indigenousHopi women of North America.[108]Empire suggested that Leia's hairdo was based on that ofQueen Fria, a character from the 1930sFlash Gordon comic serial.[al][110] A February 1978 cover story for the British teen magazineJackie included step-by-step instructions on how to replicate Leia's hair buns.[111][112]
Leia's hairstyle has been referenced or parodied inThe Muppet Show (1980), the filmSpaceballs (1987), the short filmHardware Wars (1978), and the television seriesScream Queens, in which Fisher's daughter Billie Lourd plays a character who wears earmuffs as an homage to Leia's hairstyle.[am] In theStar Warssequel trilogy, Lourd portraysLieutenant Connix, who wears a hairstyle similar to Leia's.[116][117]
Leia has been the subject offeminist analysis. David Bushman, the television curator at thePaley Center for Media, said in 2012 that Leia, while not perfect, was a creditable character when she debuted. He called her defiant, assertive, and strong.[89] Writing inThe Washington Post in 2015, Alyssa Rosenberg called Leia a "great heroine" whose power comes from her "political conviction and acumen".[28] In a 2007 article, Diana Dominguez cited Leia as a welcome change from previous portrayals of women in film and television:
Here was a woman who could play like and with the boys, but who didn't have to become one of the boys and who could, if and when she wanted to, show she liked the boys, a woman who is outspoken, unashamed, and, most importantly, unpunished for being so. She isn't a flirty sex-pot, tossing her hair around seductively to distract the enemy ... She doesn't play the role of "maternal caretaker", although she does display caring and compassion, or "the sweet innocent damsel" who stands passively by while the men do all the work ... Leia is a hero without losing her gendered status; she does not have to play the cute, helpless sex kitten or become sexless and androgynous to get what she wants. She can be strong, sassy, outspoken, bossy, and bitchy, and still be respected and seen as feminine.[106][118]
Rosenberg claims that Luke is initially an apolitical innocent in search of adventure, while Han is initially a detached opportunist in search of money. She asserts that both Luke and Han become full participants in the Rebellion due to Leia's influence. Leia herself, singularly dedicated to her political movement against the Empire, "finds a partner in Han, acknowledging that personal happiness can help her sustain her commitment to building a better galactic order". Rosenberg cites "Leia's willingness to see the best in him, and Han's desire to live up to her belief in him" as a foundation of their relationship, also pointing out his attempts to make her recognize that she has needs like anyone else and should acknowledge that she needs him.[28]
In a 2012 essay, Ray Merlock and Kathy Merlock Jackson cite Leia as a successor of the earlier science fiction heroinesWilma Deering ofBuck Rogers andDale Arden ofFlash Gordon. They call her a new embodiment of the fairy-tale princess in peril, claiming that after Leia, princesses are no longer passive and "salvaged simply with a kiss." Merlock and Merlock Jackson see a reflection of Leia in subsequentDisney princess characters, and in female warriors such asEllen Ripley from theAlien franchise andXena from the television seriesXena: Warrior Princess.[106] The film criticA. O. Scott ofThe New York Times described Leia as a precursor of the 21st-century female charactersHermione Granger andKatniss Everdeen.[119]
Fisher's co-star Mark Hamill has described Leia as an "effortlessly feminist" character who does not need to be rescued by a man, and who makes Han and Luke look foolish.[26] Fisher has claimed that Leia is not adamsel in distress, but rather a feisty character and an important feminist icon. Fisher also asserted that Leia is not overly sexualized, and is therefore not threatening to women.[120][119] Fisher stated that the identity of Leia "eclipses" all other identities she has had.[97] On another occasion, she said, "I think I am Princess Leia, and Princess Leia is me."[121]
A Princess Leia figure wearing the bikini costume at theMadame Tussauds museum in London
At the beginning ofReturn of the Jedi, Leia is depicted as a slave ofJabba the Hutt, and she wears a brass bikini costume that has been dubbed the "Metal Bikini" or "Gold Bikini". This costume made both Leia and Fishersex symbols celebrated bypin-up posters, merchandising andcosplay.[an] Philip Chien ofWired wrote in 2006, "There's 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."[124] Fisher said in 2015, "I am not a sex symbol, so that's an opinion of someone. I don't share that".[125][126]
Allie Townsend ofTime wrote in 2011 that the so-called "slave Leia" outfit has gained a cult following of its own.[123] Alyssa Rosenberg claimed that the costume has become culturally iconic "in a way that has slipped loose from the context of the scenes in which Leia wore it and the things she does after she is forced into the outfit."[90] Acknowledging the opinion of some that the "slave Leia" iconography tarnishes the character's position as "feminist hero",[90] Rosenberg argues:
Leia may be captive in these scenes, but she's not exactly a compliant fantasy. Instead, she's biding her time for the moment when she can put that fury into action, carrying out a carefully laid plan to rescue her lover. And when that moment comes, the bikini doesn't condemn Leia to passivity. She rises, and uses the very chains that bind her to strangle the creature who tried to take away her power by turning her into a sex object.[90]
The science fiction filmmaker Letia Clouston concurred, saying "Sci-fi has had a long history of strong female characters. Yes, Princess Leia was in a gold bikini, but she was also the one who single-handedly killed Jabba. When you take into account movies and TV shows likeTerminator,Aliens,Battlestar Galactica, and even video games likeMetroid, you can see sci-fi has consistently promoted the strength of women more than any other genre."[89] Peter W. Lee argues that the bikini connotes Leia's hopelessness and helplessness, but even in that demeaning costume she retains her dignity and remains an icon of feminism.[127][128]
The bikini outfit was created byAggie Guerard Rodgers and Nilo Rodis-Jamero, costume designers forReturn of the Jedi.[124][129] According to Rodgers, the design was inspired by the work of the fantasy illustratorFrank Frazetta.[124] The author and film scholarRikke Schubart suggested the design was also inspired by the work ofEarle K. Bergey.[130] The outfit featured a sculpted metalstring bikini top, paired with a bottom consisting of sculpted metal plates in the front and back covering a red silkloincloth. Fisher wore leather boots, serpentine jewelry and a collar and chain that bound her to her captor, which she ultimately uses to strangle him.[122] Multiple versions of the metal bikini were created to accommodate different scenes in the film, including metal pieces by sculptorRichard Miller for scenes in which Fisher remained still,[124][131] and a rubber version she and stuntwoman Tracy Eddon could wear comfortably while performing stunts.[124] The costume designers made a mold of Fisher's torso so it could be designed to a custom fit.[124] Fisher quipped that the bikini was "what supermodels will eventually wear in the seventh ring of hell."[99]
Fisher posed in the costume for a 1983 cover story inRolling Stone.[132][133] The costume has been parodied in various TV series and films, includingFriends (1996),Family Guy (2000) andFanboys (2009).[93][124][134]Yvonne Strahovski's appearance wearing the costume inChuck (2009) promptedWizard to rank her No. 24 of the 25 sexiest women on TV in 2008.[135]IGN gave Strahovski the top honor in a similar list.[136] ComedianAmy Schumer wore a replica of the outfit for the August 2015 cover ofGQ.[137][138]
An original rubber version of the costume sold for $96,000 at auction in 2015, and another version sold for $175,000 in 2024.[139][140] Despite its iconic status among many fans of the franchise, the "slave Leia" outfit has sometimes incited controversy.[141][142] In response to a 2015 news segment in which parents described difficulties explaining toys featuring the costume (including a chain around Leia's neck) to their children, Fisher said, "Tell [the kids] that a giant slug captured me and forced me to wear that stupid outfit, and then I killed him because I didn't like it."[142][143]
^Lucas had originally wanted to film an adaptation ofFlash Gordon, but was unable to obtain the rights, and so began developing an original project which would becomeStar Wars.[109]
^Pollock, Dale (1999).Skywalking: The Life and Films of George Lucas. New York City: Da Capo Press. p. 146.ISBN0-306-80904-4.
^Rinzler, J. W. (2007).The Making of Star Wars: The Definitive Story Behind the Original Film. San Francisco, California:LucasBooks.ISBN978-0-345-49476-4.
^Dominguez, Diana (2007). "Feminism and the Force: Empowerment and Disillusionment in a Galaxy Far, Far Away". In Silvio, Carl; Vinci, Tony (eds.).Culture, Identities and Technology in the Star Wars Films: Essays on the Two Trilogies.Jefferson, North Carolina:McFarland. pp. 109–133.
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