4 Things You Never Knew About Princess Leia

In A New Hope, Princess Leia completed her look with an iconic hairstyle. It gave her a regal appearance that distinguished her among the Rebels.

You may not know it, but that hairstyle was inspired by women of the Mexican Revolution, especially Clara de la Rocha. Read on to find out more. 

1. Leia’s Iconic Hair Was Inspired by the Women of the Mexican Revolution

Princess Leia’s bun hairstyle has historical roots. George Lucas indicated in an interview that he “went with a kind of Southwestern Pancho Villa woman revolutionary look” for Leia’s hair. According to Ripley’s Believe It or Not, “In 2002, Star Wars creator George Lucas stated that he looked to Mexico’s female warriors, or soldaderas, for inspiration. These women, who joined the revolution around the start of the 20th century were tough and considered an important part of Mexico’s rebel force!”

The Mexican revolutionary Clara de la Rocha matches that description the best. The de la Rocha hairstyle may not have been common in the early 20th century, but it gave Leia a distinctive look.

As princess of Alderaan and member of the Imperial Senate, Leia needed to stand out among her peers and enemies. We first saw her in the opening moments of A New Hope storing away the Death Star plans in R2-D2.

Yet, perhaps her look stood out more in this rescue scene with Luke Skywalker, as she joined the central characters to escape and overthrow the Empire. 

This look helped embolden Leia in the same way that Clara de la Rocha stood out as a soldadera. As this site indicates, the hairstyle may be traced back to the Hopi Native group in the American Southwest.

According to this article, Hopi women “culturally wore the style called Butterfly Whorls or Squash Blossom Whorls” to designate they were maidens who were “prepared to be wedded.” 

Clara de la Rocha adopted that maiden look but added a warrior element. She became known as a fearless rebel fighter.

In turn, the Rebel Leia fulfilled a similar role in Star Wars by borrowing from the soldier-women of Mexico. 

Just as Leia was “fearless in battle,” so were “Mexico’s female revolutionaries known as soldaderas.” Clara de la Rocha was a prominent soldadera who fought against the dictator Porfirio Diaz from 1910 to 1920.

The coiled buns photo shown on this site may have been staged, and not what she wore in battle, but it provided a distinctive look that made its way into the Star Wars saga.

2. Leia and Vader Never Met… Until a Sitcom Brought Them Together

Here’s something that’ll surprise even longtime fans: despite starring in the original Star Wars trilogy together, Carrie Fisher and James Earl Jones never actually met in person during the making of the films.

That finally changed in 2014, and it wasn’t at a Star Wars event or celebration—it was on an episode of The Big Bang Theory.

In Season 7, Episode 14, titled “The Convention Conundrum,” Sheldon unexpectedly runs into James Earl Jones at a restaurant. The two hit it off immediately, and what follows is a wild night of karaoke, amusement parks, and pranks—which ends with a visit to Carrie Fisher’s house.

When she opens the door, baseball bat in hand, James yells, “Surprise!” and she just yells back, “James!” before slamming the door in his face. It’s a hilarious, random moment—but it marked the first time Princess Leia and the voice of Darth Vader actually met face-to-face.

Only in Hollywood—and only on a sitcom—could that be the setting for one of the most legendary Star Wars reunions ever.

3. Leia Once Faced Off With Gilda Radner on SNL

Long before Leia became General Organa, Carrie Fisher made a stop at Studio 8H—and things got weird in the best way possible.

In 1978, Fisher hosted Saturday Night Live, and in one unforgettable sketch, she found herself sharing the screen with none other than Gilda Radner, who showed up as her iconic character Roseanne Roseannadanna. And instead of just reacting, Carrie dove in with a chaotic, over-the-top impression of Gilda’s character right next to her.

It was messy. Loud. Completely unhinged. And absolutely brilliant.

Two legends on the same stage, feeding off each other’s energy like it was second nature. Gilda once said, “I think of comedy as my own little rebellion,”—and Carrie matched that spirit step for step.

This wasn’t just Star Wars royalty doing a guest spot. It was Carrie fully throwing herself into the madness of classic SNL-era comedy. No pretense, no ego—just a total willingness to get weird and have fun.

If you’ve never seen it, look it up. It’s not polished. It’s not graceful. But it’s 100% Carrie Fisher—and it makes you love her even more.

4. Leia Didn’t Evolve Into a Hero—She Started as One

One of the things I’ve always loved about Leia is that she never played the victim. Not once. From the moment we meet her in A New Hope, she’s staring down Darth Vader and talking back like she’s not surrounded by stormtroopers and a walking life support system. No hesitation. Just straight-up defiance.

And then there’s the Death Star rescue. Luke and Han bust into her cell like it’s going to be this big hero moment—but Leia immediately takes one look at the situation, grabs the blaster, and takes charge of her own escape. That moment alone flips everything. You don’t rescue Leia. You follow her.

That was the real power of her character. She wasn’t the kind of princess who needed a sword-wielding guy to save her. She already knew the plan. Half the time she was the plan.

What made it hit harder was Carrie Fisher herself. She didn’t play Leia like someone pretending to be tough—she was tough. She walked into every scene like the smartest person in the room and didn’t waste time proving it. Whether it was sparring with Tarkin, outmaneuvering Han, or holding the whole Rebellion together in Empire, Leia always had the weight of leadership without losing her edge.

And even in Return of the Jedi, when Jabba threw her into that degrading outfit, she didn’t just wait for someone to bust her out. She used the chain he trapped her with to kill him. It was messy, complicated, and uncomfortable—but it was also Leia doing what she always did: flipping the script.

She never needed an origin story to find her strength. She started the trilogy strong and just kept pushing forward, no Force powers required.