Darth Vader is considered one of the most powerful and cruel Sith in Star Wars history, and for good reason. When Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader, his power became wild and unhinged.
He ruled the galaxy with an iron fist under Palpatine’s orders until rising up and destroying Palpatine to save his son. He finally brought balance to the Force, for the sake of family.
But did Vader know the extent of his family? His children were kept in hiding, but he managed to discover Luke. Did he know about Leia as well?
In short, yes. Darth Vader found out that Luke had a twin sister a few moments before his death. Leia also found out that Vader was her father when Luke told her on the bridge in the Ewok village.
Keep reading to get all the specifics on Vader and his family.
Table of Contents
Does Darth Vader Know Leia Is His Daughter?
Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader without knowing whether Padme had given birth. He was busy destroying the Jedi and fighting Obi-Wan when she went into emergency labor.
Ultimately, Anakin lost the fight with Obi-Wan and Padme died in childbirth. However, both twin babies were born healthy.
Their names were Luke and Leia, and the Jedi Council (or what was left of it) made the decision to hide them from Vader. If the Empire found out about their existence, they would capture them and raise them as agents of the dark side of the Force.
To protect them, the Jedi split them up and sent them into hiding. Luke went with his distant relatives on Tatooine under the watch of Obi-Wan, and Leia was adopted by Queen Breha Organa and her husband, Senator Bail Organa.
That is how Leia became known as Princess Leia. Being the adopted daughter of a queen, she naturally became a princess of Alderaan.
Eventually, Darth Vader found out that Luke Skywalker was his son. Emperor Palpatine was the one who made the discovery by locating a disturbance in the Force. Vader was surprised, but had no doubt that Luke was his son.
From there, Darth Vader met Luke in Cloud City on the planet Bespin and told him that he was his father in this iconic scene. Luke denied it at first and was left haunted by his words.
However, Darth Vader didn’t have any grand confrontation with Princess Leia. In fact, at the time he told Luke that he was his father, Darth Vader didn’t know that Leia was Luke’s twin sister.
Luke found out that Leia was his sister when Obi-Wan revealed it to him as a Force ghost. From there, Luke went to face Vader and bring down the Empire.
However, while in battle, Vader used the Force to read Luke’s thoughts and discovered that he had a twin sister. While Vader didn’t know the exact identity of the sister, he found out that she existed and was his daughter.
By insinuating that he would turn Leia to the dark side, Vader angered Luke and brought their fight to a head. However, Luke laid down his weapon, and eventually Vader stepped in to save Luke from Palpatine.
Does Leia Know Vader is Her Father?
Unlike Luke, Leia never had a cathartic moment face to face with her father. Though Vader redeemed himself and became Anakin Skywalker again, Leia never got to see it.
In fact, Luke was the only one who got to see it. In this scene, Anakin told Luke to tell his sister that Luke was right about there being good in Vader.
Leia found out that Luke was her brother when he told her on a bridge in the Ewok village. This came as a surprise to Leia, but she also seemed to have sensed it all along.
In turn, this means that Leia knew that Vader was her father as well. She knew that he was Luke’s father, and by finding out that they’re siblings she discovered that the man she’s been fighting this whole time was in her own family.
Leia even told Han Solo about their strange family dynamic. Though she never got the chance to speak with Vader while knowing that he was her father, Leia still grew to understand her own family.
Conclusion
Even though Vader and Leia never got the chance to meet as father and daughter (Anakin and Leia Skywalker), their bond was still existent in Anakin’s heart. At the end, he made sure that Luke knew to tell Leia that there was still some good in him.
Anakin clearly cared about his children at the end, and he cared that they knew him as a person other than the Sith ruler. He wanted them to know he was once a good man and redeemed himself at the end.
Though we never got to see Leia’s response or whether she forgave him or not, we can only hope that through the power of the Force she was able to move on and see how great a man Anakin ended up being.
Mitchell Layton is a freelance writer and touring musician living in Philadelphia. When he’s not playing guitar or writing for clients, he enjoys rewatching cult classics like Star Wars, Twin Peaks, The X-Files, and more. Mitchell has been published by sites like HM Magazine, Glassworks Literary Magazine, GameRevolution, Pif Magazine, and others.