Princess Leia’s 6 Best Star Wars Moments

Of all the Star Wars films, series, games, and more, there’s no better character than Princess Leia. Not only is she a space princess, but she’s essentially a warrior, as well as a romantic lead and a fierce representation of femininity in feminism. Portrayed by the late and great Carrie Fisher, it’s safe to say that Princess Leia is our favorite part of Star Wars.

After getting captured by Darth Vader in the original 1977 film, Princess Leia becomes a Rebel leader and spy. When Luke Skywalker and Han Solo save Princess Leia, she joins their team as a natural leader, which often clashes with Han’s position as the captain of the Millennium Falcon. Together, however, they work magic, not only saving the galaxy, but also bringing about a new generation of fighters in the Star Wars sequel trilogy. We’ve compiled our favorite Princess Leia moments in honor of the best annual holiday, May the 4th (be with you).

Leia calls Han a “scruffy-looking nerf herder.”

Leia’s full of spot-on zingers and quotable moments, but one of the best is easily when she calls Han a “stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking nerf herder.” The quote has become so embedded in pop culture that the band, Galantis, has a song with that as the title and it’s inspired a whole line of Etsy merch. In The Empire Strikes Back, Leia’s infuriated when Han and Luke crack a plan to smuggle Nerfs after Han loses all their money gambling. Of course, the Empire is tracking the Nerfs, so when they shoot at the Falcon, Leia’s quick to insult Han.

Princess Leia lets the rebels “steal” Alderaanian ships.

In an effort to thwart the Empire in Star Wars Rebels, Leia is put in charge of getting a fleet of ships to Lyste. However, Leia is, of course, on the side of the rebels, and in the sneakiest and boldest way possible, she engineers a plan that allows the rebels to “steal” the ships she’s supposed to deliver. In doing so, she also “gets mad” at the Empire when they fail to protect her and the ships, hilariously turning the fate of the story in the rebels’ favor.

She wears the golden bikini and uses it as a weapon.

The moment when Princess Leia wears a gold bikini as Jabba the Hutt’s prisoner is probably the most iconic moment in the entire franchise (and one of Ross’s fantasies in Friends). But that’s not what we’re concerned with. It’s the moment after she’s captured that warrants our attention. When Luke offers Jabba the chance to release Leia or die, he starts a fight that leads to Leia using the chain of her bikini to choke and kill the evil Jabba.

Leia flies in space when she could have died.

In Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which many Star Wars fans don’t love, Leia flies across space when she might have died after a major explosion. Carrie Fisher had already passed away, and fans were expecting the moment to be her death. Instead, however, Leia taps into the Force to pull herself to a damaged spaceship, proving that “the Force is with her.” Throughout the films, we learn that she and Luke come from the same parentage and that Luke may have even trained her a bit between trilogies, but this is the first time she can really harness the power. It’s a controversial moment, but many love it as a show of Leia’s calm resilience.

Leia fakes out the stormtroopers after Han says he loves her.

One of the reasons we love Leia so much is for her bold courage and creative thinking during stressful times. After getting shot in the arm by a stormtrooper in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Han rushes over to see if she’s okay. But she points her gun at him as he admits, “I love you,” and she responds, “I know,” in one of the franchise’s most classic quotes. She fakes out the stormtroopers as Han moves out of the way and opens fire on them, contributing to the Rebels’ victory.

Princess Leia sacrifices herself to help Kylo Ren and Rey defeat Emperor Palpatine.

Sure, the final movies in the Star Wars franchise may not be the best, but we can’t deny that Leia’s ending was a worthy one. While Leia’s lifeforce energy has been mostly drained, her use of the Force in the film’s final moments is what leads to her end. She calls out to her defiant son, Kylo Ren, distracting him as he fights Rey, who grabs the moment to take the lightsaber and keep Kylo alive long enough to take down the evil Emperor Palpatine. Leia becomes one with the Force, bringing her journey full circle from princess to warrior.