Princess Leia Organa

is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise, portrayed in films by Carrie Fisher. Introduced in the original Star Wars film in 1977, Leia is princess of the planet Alderaan, a member of the Imperial Senate and an agent of the Rebel Alliance. She thwarts the sinister Sith lord Darth Vader and helps bring about the destruction of the Empires cataclysmic superweapon, the Death Star. In The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Leia commands a Rebel base and evades Vader as she falls in love with the smuggler Han Solo. In Return of the Jedi (1983), Leia helps in the operation to rescue Han from the crime lord Jabba the Hutt and is revealed to be Vaders daughter and the twin sister of Luke Skywalker.

The prequel film Revenge of the Sith (2005) establishes that the twins mother is Senator (and former queen) Padmé Amidala of Naboo, who dies after childbirth, while their father is none other than former Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, who would become Darth Vader. Leia is adopted by Senator Bail and Queen Breha Organa of Alderaan.

One of the more popular Star Wars characters, Leia has been called a 1980s icon, a feminist hero and model for other adventure heroines. She has appeared in many derivative works and merchandising, including the now-noncanonical Star Wars Expanded Universe, and has been referenced or parodied in several TV shows and films. Her cinnamon bun hairstyle from Star Wars (1977) and metal bikini from Return of the Jedi have become cultural icons. Fisher was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Actress twice for A New Hope and Return of the Jedi. Fisher later received two Saturn Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress, the first for The Force Awakens and the second being a posthumous nomination for The Last Jedi.