| Padmé Amidala | |
|---|---|
| Star Wars character | |
 Natalie Portman as Padmé Amidala [a] | |
| First appearance | The Phantom Menace |
| Created by | George Lucas |
| Portrayed by | Natalie Portman |
| Voiced by |
|
| In-universe information | |
| Full name | Padmé Naberrie |
| Species | Human |
| Gender | Female |
| Occupation |
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| Affiliation | |
| Spouse | Anakin Skywalker |
| Children |
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| Relatives |
|
| Homeworld | Naboo |
Padmé Amidala (née Naberrie) is a character in the Star Wars franchise. She first appears in The Phantom Menace (1999) as the teenage queen of the fictional planet Naboo. After her reign, she becomes a member of the Galactic Senate. She secretly marries Anakin Skywalker, a Jedi Knight, and later dies while giving birth to the twins Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa. Anakin's fear of losing Padmé drives him toward the dark side of the Force, which eventually results in his transformation into Darth Vader. Natalie Portman portrays Padmé in all three films of the prequel trilogy. Catherine Taber, Grey DeLisle and Montana Norberg provide the character's voice in animated productions and video games.
Padmé Naberrie was elected queen of the planet Naboo at the age of fourteen. She adopted the surname Amidala as her formal name of state. The young monarch faced a challenge when, in the midst of a taxation dispute, the Trade Federation halted the shipment of goods to her planet. Two Jedi Knights—Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi—attempted to resolve the situation with diplomacy. When members of the Federation tried to kill them, the Jedi fled and informed Padmé of the betrayal. As the Federation deployed troops to Naboo, the trio escaped the planet and journeyed to Coruscant, the location of the Galactic Senate. To protect herself, Padmé exchanged identities with one of her royal handmaidens. Before reaching Coruscant, the group stopped on Tatooine. While searching for parts to repair their starship, they encountered Anakin Skywalker, a nine-year-old slave boy. After helping him secure his freedom, they took Anakin with them.[1][2][3]
When they reached the Senate, Padmé requested aid for her embattled planet, but her efforts were stymied by politics and the Trade Federation. Naboo's representative in the chamber, Senator Palpatine, urged Padmé to push for a vote of no confidence in Supreme Chancellor Valorum. After Valorum was ousted, Palpatine was chosen as the new Supreme Chancellor. Padmé returned home to confront the army of battle droids occupying Naboo. She formed an alliance with the Gungans and successfully drove out the invaders.[1][2][3]
When Padmé's term as queen ended, she became a member of the Galactic Senate. With stirrings of a Separatist movement across the galaxy, Palpatine sought to increase his power to put down the insurgents. A Senate vote was scheduled on the Military Creation Act, which would form a Grand Army of the Republic. Before Padmé could vote on the legislation, Separatists attempted to assassinate her. She was placed under Jedi protection, which reunited her with Anakin, now a grown man and a Jedi apprentice. Despite a Jedi Order prohibition against romantic relationships, feelings soon grew between Anakin and Padmé. When Anakin had a vision of his mother in danger, Padmé accompanied him to Tatooine in a failed attempt to rescue her from a band of Tusken Raiders. Anakin returned with his mother's body and confessed to Padmé that he slaughtered the entire Tusken tribe. Padmé was troubled by what Anakin had done, but nevertheless comforted him.[1][4]
Padmé and Anakin left for Geonosis, where Separatist activity had been discovered. They were captured and condemned to death by the Separatist leader and Sith Lord Count Dooku. Jedi Masters Mace Windu and Yoda arrived with an army of clone troopers and rescued them, which marked the beginning of the Clone Wars. Later, Padmé and Anakin were married in a secret ceremony on Naboo. When Padmé became pregnant with Anakin’s child, he started having visions of her death. Palpatine suggested to Anakin that the dark side of the Force could save Padmé, which led to Anakin becoming Palpatine's Sith apprentice, Darth Vader. Anakin began murdering Jedi, and Palpatine proclaimed himself Emperor.[1][5]
Padmé confronted Anakin about his violent acts and his desire to rule the galaxy. Enraged, he strangled her into unconsciousness. After defeating Anakin in a duel, Obi-Wan rescued Padmé and supported her as she gave birth to twins. The infants—Luke and Leia—were spirited away by Obi-Wan, so Anakin could not find them. Padmé died in childbirth.[1][5]
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Padmé was introduced in The Phantom Menace, the first film of the prequel trilogy. During the film's development, concept artists were given character outlines by Lucasfilm. The fourteen-year-old Padmé was described as similar to Princess Ozma from the Land of Oz series of novels.[6][7] George Lucas, the creator of the Star Wars franchise and the director of The Phantom Menace, wanted to cast a performer who displayed strength comparable to that of Princess Leia, a central character in the original trilogy and the daughter of Padmé.[8][9][10] The filmmakers auditioned over two hundred actresses for the role before selecting Natalie Portman, who was sixteen at the time.[11][12] One of the concept artists, Iain McCaig, said Portman exhibited vulnerability and strength akin to Ozma.[7] Portman was enthusiastic about the role, and thought it would be empowering for young female viewers to witness the intelligence and leadership abilities of the teenage monarch.[13]
Lucas has explained that galactic society in the prequel trilogy is more sophisticated than in the original trilogy. To illustrate this difference, the costumes in the prequels are more elaborate than those in the earlier films. Trisha Biggar, the costume designer for the prequel films, said there were only three costumes initially planned for Padmé. However, Lucas felt that a noble of her stature would be constantly changing her wardrobe depending on the occasion. He decided that every time the queen appeared in The Phantom Menace, she would be wearing a different costume. The resulting wardrobe was influenced by fashions from Japan, Mongolia, Tibet and other cultures.[14][15] For Attack of the Clones, Lucas wanted Padmé's garb to reflect the romantic storyline. He requested that her costumes be "skimpy" and "sultry".[16][17] Padmé's garments were displayed at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in Los Angeles in 2005, and at the Detroit Institute of Arts in 2018.[18][14]
In addition to the prequel trilogy, Padmé appears in the animated film The Clone Wars and the animated television series of the same name. Catherine Taber provides the character's voice for both productions. Taber also voices Padmé in the web series Forces of Destiny and in various video games.[19] Grey DeLisle voices the character in video games and in the micro-series Clone Wars, and Montana Norberg provides Padmé's voice in the miniseries Lego Star Wars: Droid Tales.[b][20][21]
Padmé is the protagonist of three novels by E. K. Johnston, collectively referred to as the "Queen's Series."[22] The first novel to be released, Queen's Shadow (2018), is set four years after the events of The Phantom Menace. As Padmé ends her reign as queen and becomes a senator, she helps liberate a number of slaves on Tatooine, but is unable to free Anakin's mother, Shmi Skywalker.[23] The novel also explores relationships Padmé has with Rush Clovis, Captain Typho, Captain Panaka, Bail Organa and Sheev Palpatine. A prequel to Queen's Shadow, titled Queen's Peril (2020) takes place before and during The Phantom Menace.[24][25] Queen's Hope (2022) chronicles events after Padmé's secret marriage to Anakin.
Padmé also appears in novels and comics in the Star Wars Legends narrative universe, which is separate from the official Star Wars story canon.[26][27][28] The Legends novels featuring her include Star Wars Episode I Journal: Amidala (1999), The Queen's Amulet (1999), Cloak of Deception (2001), and Labyrinth of Evil (2005).[29][30][31][32] She appears in the Legends comic "A Summer's Dream" printed in Star Wars Tales 5 (2000).[33]
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