Who is Padmé Naberrie in Star Wars? (2024)

Born Padmé Naberrie, Padmé Amidala served as the Queen—and later, Senator—of the planet of Naboo. She met and secretly married the Jedi Anakin Skywalker and had two children, Luke and Leia. Padmé played an important role in the politics of the Clone Wars and, before her tragic early death, planted the seeds for the Rebellion that would eventually overthrow Palpatine's Empire.

Episode I: The Phantom Menace

Trained in politics from a young age, Padmé was elected Princess of Theed (Naboo's capital city) at age 13 and Queen of Naboo at age 14. She was not Naboo's youngest Queen; since voting rights on Naboo were based on maturity rather than age, the planet had a history of electing young rulers. In order to protect her identity, Padmé took the royal name Amidala and often served as a handmaiden while a decoy took her place as Queen.

Padmé faced her first major political crisis when the Trade Federation invaded Naboo. With the help of Jedi Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi, she traveled to the Republic capital of Coruscant to plead for help from the Senate. But even after she called for a vote of no confidence in Supreme Chancellor Valorum, the Senate worked too slowly to save her planet. Putting herself at risk, she revealed her secret identity to the Gungans, an amphibian race on Naboo, and helped lead the fight to retake the capital.

Episode II: Attack of the Clones

The Naboo people loved Queen Amidala, re-electing her for a second four-year term and even trying to amend the constitution to allow for a third term. Padmé was against this measure, however, and stepped down from the throne for the next elected Queen of Naboo, Jamillia.

Padmé had hoped to retire and start a family but instead became a Senator at Queen Jamillia's request. She was an outspoken opponent of military action during the Separatist conflict, and as a result was the target of several assassination attempts. To ensure her safety, she returned to Naboo with a Jedi escort: Anakin Skywalker, whom she met on Tatooine during the Separatist invasion.

Anakin's decade-long crush on Padmé now bloomed into a relationship, despite the Jedi prohibition against such attachments. After being captured by the Separatists and nearly facing death together during the Battle of Geonosis, Padmé, and Anakin came to terms with their attraction and were secretly married.

Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

Padmé was an outspoken opponent of the continued violence during the Clone Wars, working instead to find peaceful, diplomatic solutions. Her opposition to war put her at odds not only with political opponents but with her husband, now a Jedi Knight and quickly becoming a war hero.

Chancellor Palpatine's growing power also worried Padmé. Joining with Bail Organa, Mon Mothma, and other concerned Senators, she lead the Delegation of 2000 in opposition to what they believed was a budding dictatorship. While their efforts were unsuccessful—Palpatine declared himself Emperor soon after—they laid the groundwork for the Rebel Alliance.

After discovering that she was pregnant, Padmé worried that the public would discover her relationship with Anakin, causing a scandal both for Naboo and for the Jedi Order. Anakin reassured her, but then began having visions of her death in childbirth. The fear of losing his wife helped drive Anakin to the dark side.

When she learned that Anakin had become Darth Vader, Padmé followed him to Mustafar and begged him to come away with her. When Anakin saw Obi-Wan, who stowed away aboard Padmé's ship, he accused Padmé of betraying him and Force-choked her. Weakened by this attack and the trauma of losing her love to the dark side, Padmé died giving birth to her twins, who were raised separately in secret and later became leaders in the Rebellion.

Behind the Scenes

Padmé Amidala was portrayed by Natalie Portman in the Star Wars prequels, Grey DeLisle in Clone Wars and several video games, and Catherine Tabor in The Clone Wars (Tabor also voiced Padmé's daughter Leia in the video game The Force Unleashed).

Between Return of the Jedi and The Phantom Menace, the identity of Luke and Leia's mother was a mystery. In James Kahn's novelization of Return of the Jedi, Obi-Wan tells Luke a bit about his mother, though she is unnamed and some of the information contradicts later sources. Luke's attempts to discover his mother's identity and learn more about her are central to the Black Fleet Crisis trilogy of novels by Michael P. Kube-McDowell.

Padmé's first appearance in the Star Wars universe was actually not in The Phantom Menace but in the comic The Last Command #5, a 1998 adaptation of the novel by Timothy Zahn. Natalie Portman had just been cast as Padmé, and so her likeness appears as a picture in the Imperial Palace.

Who is Padmé Naberrie in Star Wars? (2024)

FAQs

What does Padmé mean in Star Wars? ›

Padme (Sanskrit पद्म "Lotus flower") may refer to: Padmé Amidala, a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. Om mani padme hum, a mantra particularly associated with the four-armed Shadakshari form of Avalokiteśvara.

Is it Padmé Amidala or Naberrie? ›

Once elected Queen, Padmé took the name Amidala, and amended the constitution to limit the rule of elected monarchs to two terms, in light of Veruna's unpopular long rule. Her birth name was Padmé Naberrie; Amidala was actually a regnal name.

When did Padmé cheat on Anakin? ›

Padme did not cheat on Anakin here is why: Padmé and a Anakins relationship was very strong they both were deeply in love. In the clone wars there is an episode called ““The Rise of Clovis.” long story short a former flame of Padmé's returns and is trying to rekindle with Padmé. Unbeknownst to him she is married.

What is Padmé's fake name? ›

Sabé is the most important of Queen Amidala's royal retinue of handmaidens. During crisis situations, Sabé and Amidala switch roles. Sabé becomes a decoy, disguised as the Queen, while Amidala adopts a simple gown of a handmaiden, and goes by her less formal name of Padmé Naberrie.

Is Padmé good or bad? ›

Padmé Amidala was a courageous, hopeful leader, serving as Queen and then Senator of Naboo -- and was also handy with a blaster. Despite her ideals and all she did for the cause of peace, her secret, forbidden marriage to Jedi Anakin Skywalker would prove to have dire consequences for the galaxy.

What killed Padmé? ›

When Padme confronted her husband on Mustafar, Anakin choked her to unconsciousness out of anger. While the act alone didn't kill her, Anakin's turn to the dark side was too much to bear. Holding on long enough to give birth to her children, Padme eventually passed away, having lost the will to live.

Did Darth Vader love Padmé? ›

Arguably, Vader loved Padmé even more than Anakin did. After what he did to Padmé on Mustafar, Vader was obviously devastated. The worst part was, he believed it was his own fault, even though the choking only had a very indirect influence on Padmé's death.

What is Padmé's real name? ›

A human female of the Naberrie family, the young woman best remembered as Padmé Amidala was born Padmé Naberrie on the bountiful planet of Naboo in 46 BBY. She was the younger daughter of Ruwee and Jobal Naberrie and the sister of Sola Naberrie.

Why did Padmé become Amidala? ›

When Padme was 13, she was elected Princess of Theed and, at 14, she was elected Queen of Naboo. Padme took Amidala as her royal name during her two terms in office. As a security precaution, Padme often used an aide, Sabe, as a body double to allow Amidala to have free movement throughout Theed.

Does Anakin sleep with Padmé? ›

They're both young and fanatically in love. It's almost certain they had sex numerous times, whenever they got a chance. But it's essentially confirmed that they had sex at least once, which resulted in the conception of Luke and Leia.

Did Anakin kiss Padmé? ›

Padmé Amidala. Anakin commenting Padmé on her beauty Are you an angel? Anakin and Padmé share their first kiss. Anakin first met Padmé on Tatooine, they were five years apart in age.

Why can't Padmé marry Anakin? ›

The marriage, witnessed by the droids C-3PO and R2-D2, was kept secret due to Amidala's place as a prominent Senator in the Galactic Republic and because of Skywalker's membership in the Jedi Order; the Jedi Code prevented Jedi from falling in love and forming attachments such as marriage.

What is the age gap between Anakin and Padmé? ›

Padmé was born in 46 BBY (Before the Battle of Yavin) and Anakin's miraculous Force-created birth came in 41 BBY, so Padmé was five years older than him.

Who is Padmé's sister? ›

Sola Naberrie was a Human female from the Mid Rim planet of Naboo. She was the elder daughter of Ruwee and Jobal Naberrie, the sister of Padmé Amidala, as well as the mother of Ryoo and Pooja Naberrie. She would later become the maternal aunt to twins Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa Solo.

Why does Padmé pretend to be a handmaid? ›

The deception allowed the "handmaiden" Padmé to escort the Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn into Mos Espa in a simple guise when her party was stranded on Tatooine, while her decoy remained on the royal starship. Saché and Yané remained behind on Naboo.

What is the meaning of the name Padmé? ›

Padme is a feminine name of Persian origin, meaning "lotus flower." It comes from the Tibetan Buddhist chant, Om Mani Padme Hum, meaning "the jewel is in the lotus." In Buddhism, the lotus flower is seen as a symbol of purity due to its graceful ability to grow from mud or murky waters without staining.

Why is Queen Amidala called Padmé? ›

As she only used her new last name of "Amidala" as Queen, she would be free to act as a handmaiden named Padmé whenever one of the handmaidens acted as "Amidala." That night, Amidala used her new personal comm to contact her parents, who gave her their congratulations.

How did Padmé get her name? ›

She was introduced to Amidala, who entrusted her with her given name, Padmé, and became the new Queen of Naboo's first handmaiden.

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