We cannot consider Star Wars heroes without looking at the women of the franchise. Women have always played a major role in the story, even though George Lucas’s original story for Luke Starkiller was based around a male protagonist. When this idea reached the big screen, Luke was renamed Luke Skywalker, and there was Leia Organa. Leia was a force to be reckoned with throughout the original trilogy and still carries the weight of her name and presence in the sequel trilogy.
Let’s take a moment to explore five remarkable Star Wars women who have left an indelible mark on the Star Wars lore and shaped our understanding of the franchise. Each of these women is a force to be reckoned with in their own right, and their stories are a testament to the depth and complexity of the Star Wars universe.
A Nightsister of Dathomir. A Jedi Padawan. A Sith Assassin. The right hand of Count Dooku. A bounty hunter. A former Sith who became something else, but not a Jedi.
Asajj Ventress is a character who has many roles and alliances. She was a feared Sith, a respected force user alongside her partner, Quinlan Vos, and a bounty hunter. Her actions were diverse, from saving younglings and guiding them on “The Path” to pursuing high-profile targets like Ahsoka Tano, who was falsely accused of blowing up the Jedi Temple.
Her skills with a lightsaber were immense. She nearly killed her master, Count Dooku, you know, as a Sith does. She was determined and intense. She was loyal to her family and masters until her master, Count Dooku abandoned her and murdered her family. Her determination changed her loyalty into a desire for revenge. Ultimately, that changed into a desire to help people. Asajj has an amazing story, and I wish that her redemption arc had more screen time.
Duchess Satine, voiced in Star Wars: The Clone Wars by the ever-amazing Anna Graves, was a very subtle and nuanced character who could hold her associates’ and adversaries’ attention. When she talked, they listened.
Not only the ruling member of Clan Kryze for the planet of Mandalore but a pacifist as well, she had plenty of adversaries. Death Watch, a cult-like clan who wanted Mandalore to return to its more violent paths before the Duchess took over, was certainly head of the list.
But when planets were choosing to join the Republic or the Separatists, Duchess Satine attempted to walk a narrow path of pacifism between the two warring factions, attempting to remain neutral in the ever-spreading war.
On top of that, before ruling, she apparently had a love interest in Space Jesus, Obi-Wan Kenobi. To this day, I will argue that her “nephew” Korkie Kryze was the love child of Obi-Wan. To be clear, that is just an added bonus. Without that tidbit, she was still as regal and important to the Clone Wars era stories, particularly for the stories of Mandalore and their history.
I think it’s safe to claim that the good parts of Anakin Skywalker‘s personality were deeply impacted by three people: Obi-Wan Kenobi, Padme Amidala, and his apprentice Ahsoka Tano.
Not knowing he had children after his turn to the dark side, Ahsoka was one of the weak spots for Anakin Skywalker, now Darth Vader. He sought for her after the completion of Order 66. Star Wars: Rebels helps us see what the reunion looked like, and it didn’t go as Darth Vader had hoped.
Although, by this time, Ahsoka was no longer a Jedi, leaving the order after being framed for a Jedi Temple Bombing she didn’t commit, we see Ahsoka being able to complete tasks and do things that would be either difficult or impossible for a Jedi who was still adhering to the tenants of the previous Jedi Order.
Ahsoka went on to show that one could leave the Order, forge their own path, and still be at one with the Force. She showed that she could fight for what was right and didn’t need the limitations of the Jedi to guide her paths.
As an extremely powerful Force user, Ahsoka resisted all that was evil and wrong in the universe. Because of this, we saw people like Sabine Wren, Ezra Bridger, the droid Huyang, and others come to her side and fight alongside her.
To this day, she is one of the most beloved characters of the Clone Wars era, even though fans were very resistant to her introduction in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars movie.
We first meet Padme Amidala as Queen of the Planet of Naboo at the tender age of 14. Her people elected her to serve as queen, and later, the people of Naboo adjusted their laws to allow Amidala to serve as a senator for the Republic Senate after the completion of her elected terms as queen.
Through the battles of The Clone Wars and the many attempts on her life, we see her forge a close friendship with the two Jedi who served by her side the most: Anakin and Obi-Wan, and, by default, Ahsoka Tano.
Because of her Royal experience and ability to negotiate, both standard style and aggressively, the Senate routinely chose her to speak on their behalf and look into issues with other planets, the banking clans, and others.
After all that is considered, she was the secret wife of one of the most powerful Jedi in Star Wars history, Anakin Skywalker. Their marriage produced the twins that would help balance the Force to counteract the Siths of Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader. As the mother of Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa, she bears a special place in Star Wars lore….
Number 1 in the listing of important women in Star Wars has to be Leia Organa Solo, the adopted daughter of Bail and Breha Organa. By birth, Leia is the daughter of Padme Amidala and Anakin Skywalker, brother to Luke Skywalker. Leia was also a force-sensitive person in Star Wars lore, but chose not to follow her brother Luke into the Jedi lifestyle, instead choosing to live her life with Han Solo and give birth to Ben Solo, or as you more commonly know him, Kylo Ren. She went from being the Princess of Alderaan to a General in the Resistance against the First Order. Leia’s role is so pivotal to the story that much of Star Wars could not be told without her.
She would train other upcoming Jedi, including our honorable mention to this list, Rey Skywalker, even though she knew that Rey was the granddaughter of Palpatine because she could read Rey’s heart. She knew and could understand people like no other could.
She was regal in her care and concern for others, even as a general.
She was the best combination of her parents’ personalities, as Obi-Wan Kenobi identified at the end of the Kenobi series as he explained the gifts she possessed from her mother and her father. Those qualities would only become stronger and cement her personality type as she grew up and went through her own life experiences.
As the main protagonist of the sequel trilogy, we would be completely remiss if we didn’t at least mention Rey Skywalker, no matter what some fans’ feelings are. Could her character have been written more consistently and developed better? Of course! As with many things in the sequel trilogy, many things about Rey feel forced. But that doesn’t change the fact that she is a quality character who needs better writing.
The granddaughter of Palpatine, well, the daughter of a failed Palpatine Clone anyway. Trained as a Jedi by Leia Organa,. She is a Dyad in the Force with Ben Solo, aka Kylo Ren. She adopts the last name Skywalker to respect the family that took her in, continuing the Star Wars trope of Found Family.
Rey needs her upcoming movies to be focused on solidifying her rightful place among the most important women in Star Wars. The sequel trilogy didn’t help in the character development portion, but she is close. Like it or not, she will be a major part of Star Wars moving forward in terms of story and development.
Lists like this are always very subjective and can be argued in many different ways. Would you remove someone from my list? If so, who would you add in? Let me know in the comments down below. I’m curious to know!
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5.Qi’ra
4.Asajj Ventress
3.Hera
2.Leia
That’s my top five women in Star Wars
I’m sure that with as many amazing women as there are in Star Wars, I could rewrite this article and include different selections. Qi’ra and Hera Syndulla are amazing inclusions.