Rise of Skywalker: How Old Is Leia When She Died

Leia Organa was one of the characters from the original Star Wars trilogy to appear in the sequels, but fans said goodbye to her in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker – and here’s how old she was when she died. Leia, along with Luke Skywalker and Han Solo, were introduced in Star Wars: A New Hope, and led the rest of the movies in the original trilogy: Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.

The trio took a break when the Star Wars universe expanded between 1999 and 2005 with the prequel trilogy, as it covered the backstory of Anakin Skywalker, from his days as a young slave to his rise as Darth Vader. Following the acquisition of Lucasfilm by Disney, the studio brought a sequel trilogy with the intention of introducing a new generation of heroes and villains and closing the Skywalker saga – and for that, the original characters had to return. Han Solo met his fate in the first movie, Star Wars: The Force Awakens; Luke became one with the Force in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and Leia’s turn came in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

The Star Wars universe is so rich and extensive that the characters’ birth dates have been revealed over the years in other media, and Leia’s is no exception. Luke and Leia were born at the end of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, which according to Star Wars: Galactic Atlas was in 19 BBY, two days after Empire Day. By the time of the events of A New Hope, Leia was 19 years old, and when her father and Palpatine were defeated in Return of the Jedi, she was 23 years old. Now, according to Star War: The Rise of Skywalker: The Visual Dictionary, the events of the final movie in the Skywalker saga took place in 35 ABY, so that makes Leia 54 years old when she died and became one with the Force, appearing one last time at the end of the movie as a Force ghost.

Between the events of Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, Leia kept herself very busy. Not only did she give birth to Ben Solo (who went on to become Kylo Ren) when she was 24 years old, but she was also trained by Luke and even had her own lightsaber, which Rey used in Rise of Skywalker, though it’s unknown exactly when the training happened, so how old she was when she was Luke’s apprentice is a mystery. Following Ben’s turn to the dark side, Leia became general of the Resistance during the cold war and tried to make amends with her son, but was unsuccessful. Carrie Fisher’s age wasn’t far from Leia’s, as she was 21 years old when she first played the character in A New Hope, and passed away at the age of 60, before The Last Jedi was released.

Although her arc came to an end, Leia Organa will continue to be one of the most popular and beloved Star Wars characters, as well as a role model to many. Given that the Star Wars universe is in constant expansion thanks to other media, mostly books, Leia’s story can still be explored and many questions can finally be answered, such as when exactly she trained with Luke.

About The Author

Adrienne Tyler
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Adrienne Tyler is a features writer for Screen Rant. She is an Audiovisual Communication graduate who wanted to be a filmmaker, but life had other plans (and it turned out great). Prior to Screen Rant, she wrote for Pop Wrapped, 4 Your Excitement (4YE), and D20Crit, where she was also a regular guest at Netfreaks podcast. She was also a contributor for FanSided’s BamSmackPow and 1428 Elm. Adrienne is very into films and she enjoys a bit of everything: from superhero films to heartbreaking dramas, to low-budget horror films. Every time she manages to commit to a TV show without getting bored, an angel gets its wings.

When she’s not writing, you can find her trying to learn a new language, watching hockey (go Avs!), or wondering what life would have been like had Pushing Daisies, Firefly, and Limitless not been cancelled. Breakfast food is life and coffee is what makes the world go round.

Guillermo del Toro said “hi” to her once. It was great.

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