Characters / Star Wars – Padmé Amidala

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Senator Padmé Amidala

"I was not elected to watch my people suffer and die while you discuss this invasion in a committee!"

Species: Human

Homeworld: Naboo

Portrayed by: Natalie Portman

Voiced by: Catherine Taber

Voiced by (Latin American Spanish dub): Cristina Hernández

Voiced by (Japanese dub): Maaya Sakamoto

Voiced by (French dub): Sylvie Jacob

Appearances: Master and Apprentice | Queen's Peril | The Phantom Menace | Queen's Shadow | Attack of the Clones | Queen's Hope | Brotherhood | The Clone Wars | Forces of Destiny | Age of Republic | Dark Disciple | Thrawn: Alliances | Revenge of the Sith | Tales of the Jedi ^note corpse only | Dark Lord of the Sith^note flashback and vision only | | Obi-Wan Kenobi^note flashback | Darth Vader^note appears in flashbacks and visions | Vader Immortal ^note  appears as a voice and hologram | Darth Vader (2020) ^note  flashback and mural

"To those who act as agents of chaos, I say this: I stand resolute and unyielding. And if you strike my voice down, know that a chorus of thousands shall rise up in its place, for you have no dominion over the righteous. We are the defenders of truth."

Padmé Amidala, also known as Padmé Amidala Naberrie, was a courageous, hopeful leader who served as the Queen of Naboo and then as Senator representing the planet in the Galactic Senate, as well as being handy with a blaster. Despite her ideals and all she did for the cause of peace, her secret, forbidden marriage to the Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker would prove to have dire consequences for the galaxy. Padmé was also the mother of Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa and maternal grandmother of Ben Solo/Kylo Ren.

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A-B

• Accidental Murder: In "Crisis at the Heart", Padmé pulls a blaster on Count Dooku when he tries to have her arrested. However, he uses the Force to make her point the blaster at Separatist senator Bec Lawise and pull the trigger against her will, killing him. Padmé is utterly horrified, especially as Lawise was a Token Good Teammate who had protested Dooku arresting her without just cause.
• Ace Custom: She has an N-1 Starfighter that is coated in chromium just like her other ships.
• Action Fashionista: Padmé is always wearing gorgeous gowns, except in the climax of The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones, where she wears something still striking but more functional for battle. She also wears a variety of combat outfits in The Clone Wars. Her action-oriented outfit in Revenge of the Sith never saw battle.
• Action Girl: She leads one of the strike teams in the Battle of Naboo to capture Nute Gunray (at the age of just fourteen), fights alongside the Jedi in the First Battle of Geonosis, and is involved in various conflicts and skirmishes throughout the Clone Wars. Padmé is incidentally one of the best shots with a blaster in the canon.
• Action Girlfriend: To Anakin in Attack of the Clones.
• Action Politician: Padmé a Senator and former Queen of Naboo, and she's found herself in plenty of dangerous situations.
• Actually, I Am Her: Queen Amidala traveled with a host of lookalike handmaidens as decoys for security purposes, it seems. What makes her an example of the trope is that she's always disguised as one of her own attendants, as opposed to moving completely behind the scenes. Qui-Gon knows handmaiden Padmé is the queen, and takes every opportunity to rile her up when mentioning how the queen will approve of his choices.
• Affectionate Nickname: Onaconda Farr affectionately refers to her as "my sweet".
• Age-Gap Romance:
  • She was apparently once in one with Rush Clovis between The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones. Judging by his appearance (particularly the lines on his face), he seems to be several years older than Padmé, who would've been eighteen when they had a relationship.
  • Downplayed with Anakin as there are five years between them; Anakin is 19 while she is 24 when they get married.
• Ain't Too Proud to Beg:
  • A positive example occurs in The Phantom Menace. When she seeks the Gungans' help in stopping the Trade Federation, she kneels before Boss Nass and calmly pleads with him to aid her. Her humility wins Nass over and he agrees to help.
  • Played for Drama in Revenge of the Sith. When she tries to sway Anakin away from the dark side, she is reduced to tearfully begging him to stop going down this path. When he Force-chokes her in a rage, she pleadingly says his name. He does let her go, but she's gravely injured.
• All for Nothing:
  • As a child, she accompanied her father on a relief mission to Shadda-Bi-Boran and helped evacuate and re-settle the planet's population after their sun began to die. Sadly, the natives couldn't successfully adjust to a new environment and all of them died.
  • She worked for a year to defeat the Military Creation Act and strongly encourages the Senate to push for diplomacy with the Separatists. She's even willing to risk assassination attempts to prevent the galaxy from being plunged into a war. This all gets undone by the end of Attack of the Clones when the Clone Wars break out; she's actually forced to fight in the first battle of the conflict when the Separatists try to execute her.
  • By the time of Revenge of the Sith, the situation goes From Bad to Worse. Everything she strived to achieve in The Clone Wars, from her attempts to find more peaceful solutions to trying to preserve democracy, all come crashing down when the Chancellor declares himself Emperor, brands the Jedi as traitors, and her husband turns to the dark side.
• All Girls Want Bad Boys: In regards to Anakin, the resident rebellious, Troubled, but Cute Byronic Hero. In Attack of the Clones, not even slaughtering the Tusken Raiders stopped Padmé from being so completely in love with Anakin. Though she was clearly troubled by it, she forgives him and marries him by the end of the film. This ultimately leads to tragedy in Revenge of the Sith, where he turns to the dark side. That being said, she seems to like him more for his heroic qualities, and she has been known to call him out when he starts acting really bad. Unfortunately, this leads into I Can Change My Beloved in Revenge of the Sith, which does not end well. This is lampshaded by her actor, Natalie Portman, in Star Wars Episode II Love Featurette:
  "Padmé is attracted to Anakin mainly for his looks. I mean, let's be honest. She sees this sort of darkness to him, but it's obviously intriguing. Girls always like bad boys. If evil can love, then what is evil? If, you know, love is what makes you human, then is someone who is evil still human?"
• All-Loving Heroine: Padmé's compassion and empathy seems boundless. She wholeheartedly cares for everyone in the galaxy and constantly plumps for diplomacy over violence, believing that everyone deserves to be heard even if she doesn't agree with them. She remains good friends with Mina Bonteri even after she secedes to the Separatists – who tried to have Padmé assassinated numerous times – and she is very caring towards her subordinates. No matter how terrible a crime people have committed, she tries to find the best in them and is willing to give them second chances. She is especially a continual source of kindness and support to Anakin right from the moment they meet. Even when he becomes Darth Vader and strangles her almost to death, she still believes there's good in him. Her son Luke clearly takes after her in this regard.
• All There in the Manual: During the events of Revenge of the Sith, she was a member of the Delegation of 2000, a group of senators led by Bail Organa and Mon Mothma who were suspicious of Palpatine and unsuccessfully attempted to block him from gaining more power; this group eventually evolved into the Rebel Alliance. Most of these scenes were deleted but are still considered canonical. Bloodline also alludes to Padmé having spoken out against Palpatine shortly before her death.
• Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: Subverted. As Queen Amidala and in some of her public appearances as a senator, she comes across as quite composed and refined, but she's actually a very warm and friendly person.
• Amateur Sleuth: In "Senate Murders", she takes it upon herself to investigate Onaconda Farr's murder (along with Senator Deechi's murder when he is killed as well) with Bail's help. She is able to uncover that Farr's aide Lolo Purs was responsible and helps take her into custody. Thrawn: Alliances also features her investigating the disappearance and murder of her former handmaiden Duja on Batuu, leading to her uncovering a Separatist droid factory on Mokivj.
• Ambadassador: Padmé took part in several missions she originally meant to solve diplomatically. When things went south, however, she was always in the thick of the combat, like in the Battle of Theed, the First Battle of Geonosis, and several engagements of the Clone Wars.
  Anakin: You call this [the First Battle of Geonosis] a diplomatic solution?
  Padmé: No, I call it aggressive negotiations.
• Ambiguous Situation: As to whether or not she was Force-sensitive while pregnant. In early scripts and concept art for Revenge of the Sith, carrying highly Force-sensitive twins causes Padmé herself to become more sensitive to the Force. In the film itself however, there are only a few subtle hints that suggest this; notably, after Anakin leaves their bedroom because of his nightmare, she quickly wakes up too and intuitively realizes something is wrong, as well as the scene where she and Anakin appear to sense each other from across Coruscant shortly before Anakin turns to the Dark Side.
• Amicable Exes:
  • She's apparently this with her First Love, Palo Jemabie. She fondly reminisces about their brief romance over a decade after they ended things (expanded material also reveals Palo made posters to celebrate her being elected Queen).
  • Zigzagged in regards to Rush Clovis. Their burgeoning relationship ended on rather bad terms as Clovis had boundary issues and didn't take Padmé's rejection well. They didn't speak for several years, though it's telling that Padmé respected him enough to not want to spy on him, at least until she learned that he may be involved with the Separatists, and by the fact she's genuinely surprised and hurt to learn he is a traitor. After Clovis goes out of his way to redeem himself, Padmé warms up to him again, though their friendship is marred by his continued attempts to rekindle a romance with her. Their friendship is subsequently completely destroyed when he is set up as a Separatist supporter who manipulated her into helping give the Banking Clan to the Confederacy, although she is still horrified and regretful when Clovis lets himself die to save her.
• Anguished Declaration of Love: She gives a more subdued version of this to Anakin in Attack of the Clones, when she believes they're going to die shortly. In Revenge of the Sith, she tearfully tells him she loves him as she tries to convince him to turn away from the Dark Side. It doesn't work.
• The Apprentice: In The Clone Wars, Padmé mentions to Ahsoka that Mina Bonteri, the Senator of Onderon, mentored her when she first became a senator, which is detailed in Queen's Shadow. They remained good friends even when Mina seceded to the Separatists.
• Archenemy: To the Trade Federation, particularly Viceroy Nute Gunray. He really has it out for her after she defied them and booted them off of Naboo. Ten years later, one of Gunray's conditions for joining the Separatists is that they assassinate Padmé, with him even stating, "I'm not signing your treaty until I have her head on my desk".
• Armor-Piercing Question:
  • When Anakin is evasive about his nightmares, Padmé straight up asks him "How long is it going to take for us to be honest with each other?", prompting him to stop skirting around the problem and open up to her.
  • She delivers a whole bunch of these to Anakin regarding her Heel Realization over the state of the Republic. Anakin is clearly deeply uncomfortable with this, his response being to utterly dismiss it and accuse her of talking like a Separatist, although he himself had been saying pretty much the same thing not five minutes ago.
  • When Obi-Wan insists he must find Anakin, she says to him "You're going to kill him, aren't you?" Obi-Wan noticeably hesitates before replying "He has become a very great threat", which tells her everything she needs to know.
• Artifact Alias: In The Phantom Menace, she uses Queen Amidala in her public persona but goes by her birth name of Padmé when disguised as a handmaiden. In Attack of the Clones, The Clone Wars, and Revenge of the Sith, she remains Padmé Amidala, despite having left office and her full birth name being Padmé Naberrie. It's unclear whether this is standard practice for ex-queens of Naboo.
• Assassination Attempt: She seems to suffer one of these almost every other week since becoming a senator and survives all of them, including bombings, animal attacks, poisoning, snipers etc. Attack of the Clones opens with two attempts on her life, forcing her into hiding under the protection of Anakin Skywalker, whom she soon falls in love with.
• Babies Ever After: Played with. Revenge of the Sith shows how she and Anakin were expecting Luke and Leia. However, the two were unable to raise their children as the former became a Sith Lord and was led to believe his children died with their mother, while the latter died from childbirth and a broken heart. Luke was sent to be raised by Anakin's step-brother and step-sister-in-law on Tatooine while Leia was sent to Alderaan and raised by Bail and Breha Organa, friends of her mother's. The birth of the twins gives a sense of hope in the otherwise depressing ending, though it's bittersweet as Padmé herself only had a few moments with them before dying.
• Background Halo: Most of her costumes in The Phantom Menace include elements that frame her head this way, or if it doesn't she's placed in front of scenery that provides the same effect.
• Badass Cape: In Attack of the Clones, she dons a white cape during her mission to rescue Obi-Wan. In The Clone Wars, she sometimes sports a purple cape on missions. Both of these are knee-length and lightweight, providing cover (and style) while also being practical to move in.
• Badass in Distress: Padmé is a capable Lady of War, but she occasionally gets captured. She will usually either wait calmly to be rescued – often helping to orchestrate her own escape - or take the first chance she can to get herself out of trouble. The only time this doesn't work out is when Anakin Force chokes her in Revenge of the Sith, grievously injuring her.
• Badass Normal: Padmé has no superhuman abilities yet she is still incredibly badass and capable of defending herself.
• Badass Pacifist: She tries to be this as much possible, preferring to use negotiation to resolve conflict and refusing to back down even when faced with threats or attempts on her life. This doesn't always work out as well as she'd like and she is sometimes forced to be a Martial Pacifist or Technical Pacifist, though she has few non-violent achievements under her belt.
• The Bait: She volunteers herself as bait in Attack of the Clones to catch her would-be assassin. It ends up being a successful plan; Obi-Wan and Anakin are able to foil a second attempt on her life and pursue Zam Wesell across Coruscant. Although Zam ends up being killed by Jango Fett to keep her silent, his use of a poisoned dart from Kamino enables Obi-Wan to track him down.
• Battle Couple: With Anakin in Attack of the Clones and The Clone Wars. A particularly notable example is when they fight back-to-back in the Geonosian arena not long after professing their love.
• Be as Unhelpful as Possible: She clams up when Obi-Wan asks her where Anakin is in Revenge of the Sith, going into denial when Obi-Wan reveals he has turned to the dark side. Obi-Wan clearly knows she's lying, but doesn't push it...he just waits for her to leave to confront Anakin herself and stows away on her ship.
• The Beautiful Elite: Padmé belongs to the upper echelons of galactic society and is very beautiful and elegant, wearing a wide variety of elaborate and expensive-looking outfits that show off her status, living in luxurious apartments, mansions and palaces and flying around in fancy starships coated in chromium. Fortunately, her wealth and beauty is matched by her compassion and altruism to others and she uses her position to try and improve the Republic for all its people.
• Beauty Equals Goodness: Padmé is very beautiful and is also good and kind-hearted.
• Beauty Is Never Tarnished: In Attack of the Clones, aside from some Clothing Damage, receiving a few claw marks on her back, and her hair coming out of its braids, she still looks pretty good after the First Battle of Geonosis, even after falling several feet out of a ship into the desert.
• Benevolent Boss: The level of devotion her handmaidens demonstrate suggests this; her reaction when Cordé is killed cements it. She asks the world of her "servants", but she also trusts them with her life and reputation, brings them intentionally into private—even supposedly secret—meetings, and is utterly heartbroken when one of them is killed in the line of duty. Clearly, she's earned their loyalty.
• Benevolent Conspiracy: She is one of the senators who works with Bail Organa and Mon Mothma to help establish the beginnings of the Rebel Alliance near the end of the Clone Wars (most of these scenes were cut in the theatrical release of Revenge of the Sith, but are still considered canon).
• Berserk Button: Downplayed. Padmé kept her anger in check but she did become visibly and rightfully offended at Anakin in "The Rise of Clovis" when he angrily stated that he "demanded" she tell Chancellor Palpatine she wouldn't work with Clovis.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Despite being very kindhearted, soft and dedicated to peace, she can and will fight back if pushed enough. She's also an excellent shot with a blaster, managed to hold off a nexu armed with only her own chains, and managed to disarm Lolo Purs and take her out with a single punch while being held at gunpoint, though she prefers not to kill anyone.
• Big Fancy House: Her family's lake retreat (Varykino) in the Lake Country of Naboo (yep, this is "just" their holiday home). She hides out here from assassins during the Separatist Crisis and it's also where she and Anakin have their private wedding.
• Big Good: She served as one for the Naboo as Queen Amidala back in The Phantom Menace. Interestingly enough, most of the appearances of "Queen Amidala" were actually her decoy Sabé, while Padmé herself participated in the Battle of Naboo disguised as a handmaiden.
• Big "NO!": When Anakin accuses her of working with Obi-Wan to kill him.
• Big Sister Instinct: Not to the same extent as Anakin, but she can be protective of Ahsoka, saving her from Aurra Sing when she's injured defending her and also serving as her attorney when she's wrongfully arrested.
• Big Sister Mentor: She acts as a bit of one to Ahsoka, mostly in regards to politics and diplomacy. Ahsoka feels that Padmé helped give her a more nuanced understanding of conflicts beyond the "they're wrong and we're right" approach Anakin has.
• Big Sleep: After uttering her final words, Padmé takes a pained last breath and closes her eyes, her head falling to the side. Notably, as Padmé takes her final breath, Darth Vader takes his first. Even the lyrics of the music in this scene (also heard during Qui-Gon's funeral) refer to sleep. Later leads to Peaceful in Death.
• Big "WHAT?!": When she learns of her mentor Mina Bonteri's death in a supposed attack by the Republic, followed by a Little "No".
• Birds of a Feather: Padmé and Anakin both share a desire to do good and make the galaxy a better and more just place, even if that means bending the rules a bit... they just tend to have rather different ways of going about it.
  Ahsoka: You know, you two have more in common than you think. It's no wonder you get along so well.
  Padmé: Huh. Of course. (smiles awkwardly)
• Blatant Lies: In Revenge of the Sith, when she tells Obi-Wan she doesn't know where Anakin is when he comes asking. He had told her just the other night that he was going to Mustafar. Obi-Wan doesn't buy it for a second, though he knows she's only trying to protect Anakin, not yet realizing just how evil he has become.
• Blue Is Heroic: She sometimes wears blue and is a heroic, compassionate person through and through.
• Blue Blood: It's implied that even before she was elected Queen, she came from a privileged background and her family has high status on Naboo - her extensive wardrobe and general manner supports this. Even as a senator, she is often addressed as "My lady". Despite this, she's quite humble and giving, and never acts haughty or looks down on those considered to be of lower status.
• Body Double: She is said to have many, like Keira Knightley as Sabé;, who gets nearly as much screen time as Portman in The Phantom Menace because of all the role-swapping.
• Bodyguard Crush: Padmé falls in love with Anakin Skywalker while he protects her from assassination on Naboo.
• Boy Meets Girl: With Anakin back in The Phantom Menace. They become friends and Anakin develops a Precocious Crush on her, only for them to be separated for ten years. They finally meet again as adults in Attack of the Clones and soon fall in love.
• Braids of Action: Padmé sometimes sports a long braid, as does her daughter Leia. Alternatively, she wears her hair tied up in lots of small braids, or sometimes both.
• Brainy Brunette: Padmé is intelligent and well-spoken, particularly when it comes to diplomacy and negotiation. She manages to come up with a multi-layered plan to defeat the Trade Federation in The Phantom Menace and helps solve two murders faster than the local law enforcement in The Clone Wars episode "Senate Murders".
• Break the Cutie: She watches everything she worked for fall apart, as the Republic descends into a dictatorship at the hands of someone she once admired, and her husband turns to the Dark Side and becomes a murderous Sith Lord. By the end, she's left desperately begging him to stop what he's doing and pleading that she loves him, only to get Force choked for her trouble, and dies at least partly from despair.
• Broken Pedestal:
  • The canon doesn't make it too explicit, but by the time of Revenge of the Sith, Padmé has lost all faith in Palpatine, whom she once trusted and admired. Her deleted scenes in Revenge of the Sith make it clear she's begun to see him for what he really is, and when Palpatine announces the creation of the Empire, she sounds utterly disgusted and doesn't believe a word he says. When Obi-Wan tells her Palpatine is actually Darth Sidious and secretly orchestrated the war, she's a bit shocked but doesn't question it (whilst continuing to defend Anakin).
  • Rush Clovis manages to be this to her three times. When they first meet, she considers him an ally and close friend. However, when he refuses to respect her boundaries and kisses her against her will, she is hurt and angered, distancing herself from him. She does still have some respect for him in spite of this, as she initially refuses to spy on him until she learns he may be involved with the Separatists. Upon learning he is part of a Separatist conspiracy, she is quite upset and says she "didn't want to believe" he was a traitor. Clovis manages to temporarily regain her trust and she gives him a second chance when he helps her expose the Banking Clan's corruption, but upon learning of his deal with Count Dooku she rejects him once more, disgusted that he used her.
• Broken Tears: Upon learning that Anakin returned to the Jedi Temple, which is currently on fire, she briefly tries to stay calm before promptly breaking down in tears. When she realizes Anakin has turned to the Dark Side, she has a complete breakdown and almost sounds as though she's having a panic attack.
• Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl: Padmé (idealistic Nice Girl and All-Loving Hero) is the Gentle Girl to Anakin's (the byronic, Jerk with a Heart of Gold Anti-Hero) Brooding Boy. Anakin even mentions in Attack of the Clones that Padmé's presence is soothing to him and she often tries to comfort him or coax him out of his moods.

C-D

• Call-Forward:
  • In "The Rise of Clovis", while she's giving her What the Hell, Hero? speech to Anakin, she tells him "I don't know who's in there sometimes" referencing his twenty-four-years-long Death of Personality after he becomes Darth Vader, as well as her own distraught statement that she doesn't know him anymore in Revenge of the Sith.
  • Her dying words to Obi-Wan are that there is still good in Anakin, despite all he has done. This is one thing that Luke Skywalker inherits from his mother — in Return of the Jedi, he strongly believes the same thing, and that Vader can be saved from the Dark Side. Both mother and son turn out to be right.
• The Cameo: She appears briefly in the epilogue of Master and Apprentice, comforting Obi-Wan before Qui-Gon's funeral.
• Cassandra Truth: In Attack of the Clones, Padmé thinks right from the start that Count Dooku is behind the attempts on her life. Oh no, I'm sure he's just a 'political idealist' with some extreme ideas...
• Cerebus Call-Back: Years after her death, Vader has a vision of Padmé after entering a Dark Side portal and tries to get her to come away with him. She instead asks him "Are you an angel? They're the most beautiful creatures in the galaxy." This was the very first thing Anakin said to her when they met as youngsters; there it came across as cute and lighthearted, while in this case it comes off as tragic and disturbing.
• Chain Pain: In Attack of the Clones, she briefly uses her own chains as a weapon in the Geonosian arena.
• Chickification: By the time of Revenge of the Sith, Padmé has abandoned the use of blasters, action and assertiveness in favor of inactivity in her final months of pregnancy. She is still working as a senator during this time and helped found the beginnings of the Rebel Alliance, but most of this occurs offscreen.
• Childhood Friend Romance: With Anakin; they first met when she was fourteen and he was nine. They meet each other again ten years later in Attack of the Clones when Anakin is nineteen and Padmé is twenty-four, during which their romantic feelings grow and they marry by the film's end. And by Revenge of the Sith, they are expecting a baby (babies).
• A Child Shall Lead Them: In The Phantom Menace, where she is the fourteen-year-old Queen of Naboo. By the time of Attack of the Clones, she has stepped down and Naboo has a new teenaged Queen, showing that this is an enforced trope.
• Child Soldier: In The Phantom Menace, she leads Captain Panaka and several soldiers in the Battle of Theed.
• Chronically Crashed Car: She has at least three of her personal starships destroyed throughout her Senate career. The first known time, one was blown up in an assassination attempt against her. The second, she rigged her own yacht to blow up in an attempt to take out General Grievous. The third time, Jar Jar accidentally destroyed it with a magnetic crane.
• Chronic Hero Syndrome: Padmé has a strong, unwavering desire to help others in need, even if it puts her in danger. She has dedicated her life to public service and even as a young child she would go on refugee relief missions, declaring at one point that she would try ten thousand times to save just one person if she had to. She tells Anakin she "couldn't refuse" the Queen's request to represent Naboo in the Senate, refuses to leave Coruscant during the Separatist Crisis until Palpatine orders her despite assassination attempts, and is quite willing to travel into hostile territory during wartime if she believes it's for a good cause (even if it's technically against the rules).
  Palpatine: Senator Amidala, I just received word that you have ventured through enemy territory into the Outer Rim.
  Padmé: Senator Farr requested me personally, Chancellor. His planet is in crisis. His people are starving. He's a very old family friend. I could not refuse his plea for help!
• Cincinnatus: She was elected Queen of Naboo for two terms in a row, which is the maximum amount of time monarchs can stay in office on Naboo. She was so popular the people considered changing the constitution to allow her to serve longer, but she declined and willingly stepped down so another monarch could be elected.
• Clear Their Name: She tries to help Ahsoka prove herself innocent of treason, representing her in court in "The Wrong Jedi".
  Padmé: A Jedi may be responsible for the murder, but that Jedi is not Ahsoka Tano. Members of the court, you are prosecuting the wrong Jedi!
• Clothing Damage: During the climax of Attack of the Clones, her toned midriff is revealed due to her clothes being ripped by the Nexu's claws.
• Collared by Fashion: Some of her formal outfits include high collars - either as part of the clothing or as accessories such as necklaces - to give her a more stately appearance. Her informal outfits sometimes include high collars too, but other parts of the outfit reveal more of her arms or stomach.
• Coming of Age Story: Padmé's journey in The Phantom Menace is her having to prove herself as a successful leader as well as realizing that the Senate isn't as competent and willing to help the people it represents as she previously believed. Queen's Shadow (which takes place four years later) is also this for her, revolving around eighteen-year-old Padmé transitioning from queen to senator and learning the ropes of galactic politics.
• Compressed Hair: Padmé's hair is quite long, thick, and Regal Ringlets curly, and she's capable of pulling off some very elaborate updos with it.
• Conflicting Loyalty:
  • In Queen's Shadow, she has to choose whether to stick with Mina Bonteri's group of senators or join Mon Mothma's group. Mina is her close friend and mentor, but Padmé also likes Mothma and her allies. Mina's group also have little faith in the Republic Senate, with many of them - Mina included - eventually leaving to join the Separatists, while Mothma's group are more idealistic and believe the Senate can be reformed, a belief Padmé shares. As we already know, Padmé chooses to align herself with Mothma's group. Mina is upset by this, though we know the two ultimately remained friends.
  • By the end of Revenge of the Sith, she has to choose between Anakin and the newly-formed Empire or the budding Rebel Alliance and the last of the Jedi. Upon finally realizing how far gone her husband is, she makes it clear she will not and cannot choose him.
• The Confidant: She sometimes serves as one for Anakin, particularly in Attack of the Clones, listening to him venting his frustrations with the Jedi and offering advice and sympathy. She's also the first person he tells about his slaughter of the Tusken Raiders during his emotional breakdown. This is downplayed in Revenge of the Sith; although he occasionally confides in Padmé and she tries to get him to talk about his problems to her, he starts shutting her out and eventually straight up lying to her as he slips closer to the Dark Side.
• Connected All Along: As it turns out, Padmé met and worked alongside the future Grand Admiral Thrawn during the Clone Wars.
• Contrasting Sequel Main Character: Well, Contrasting Prequel Main Character. Padmé, like her daughter Leia Organa, is a main female protagonist of an era in the canon (the Prequel Trilogy) and while they are similar in several ways, they also differ in a number of others.
  • Padmé and Leia are both passionate supporters of democracy and freedom, but Padmé is more of an Internal Reformist who only considered partaking in an outright rebellion towards the end of the Clone Wars when things take a turn for the worst, while Leia's role as a senator is more of a front for her position as a commander in the Rebel Alliance.
  • Their temperaments differ as well; Padmé is more dignified and tender-hearted while Leia can be quite stubborn and fierce-tempered. In fact, Padmé's son (and Leia's brother) Luke is arguably closer to her in personality. Padmé is far more idealistic and tries to see the best in people (to the point of overlooking their flaws) while Leia is quite astute at picking up whether someone is trustworthy and is more of a realist.
  • Padmé falls in love with Anakin Skywalker while he's still a flawed but heroic Jedi Knight, only for their relationship to fall apart at the end of the Prequel Trilogy as he becomes increasingly ruthless and extreme. Leia starts out disliking Han Solo but becomes closer to him when he starts to become a better person and falls in love with him by the end of the Original Trilogy.
  • When Padmé loses everything she cares about and worked for, she takes it extremely hard and ultimately crosses the Despair Event Horizon. Leia, on the other hand, is more resilient, putting on a brave face, and soldiering on despite her numerous heartbreaks and losses.
  • Padmé never got the chance to raise her children as she died soon after they were born, while Leia did get to raise her son Ben alongside her husband. Padmé expected to give up her senatorial position to focus on her children while Leia continued working in the New Republic Senate after Ben's birth (and it's implied she tended to prioritize her job over her child). Padmé also had to keep both her marriage and pregnancy a secret from most of society while Leia could be completely open about her marriage and pregnancy. Interestingly, they both have to keep secrets about their relationship to Anakin Skywalker; Padmé must hide the fact he's her husband while Leia hides the fact he's her biological father.  
• Convenient Coma:
  • During the First Battle of Geonosis, she is knocked from a gunship and falls into the desert below, unconscious but otherwise seemingly uninjured. As a result, she's unable to assist Anakin and Obi-Wan in confronting Dooku; the moment she regains consciousness she immediately races to the hangar bay with a group of clone troopers to assist the Jedi, but gets there just as Dooku is making his getaway.
  • She goes into a not-so-convenient coma in Revenge of the Sith, passing out after Anakin Force chokes her. She drifts in and out of consciousness, her body starts shutting down and she dies shortly after giving birth (although unlike some other examples, she's awake when she delivers her babies and manages to get in a few last words).
• Cool Aunt: Implied. The deleted scenes from Attack of the Clones shows Padmé being enthusiastically greeted by her nieces and refers to them as "amazing" and "wonderful".
• Cool Big Sis:
  • She acts like one to Anakin in The Phantom Menace, taking an interest in his hobbies, cheering him on at the Boonta Eve Classic, and comforting him when he's missing his mother. Anakin himself has a Precocious Crush on her, though at this point, Padmé obviously doesn't think of him that way (as he's only nine while she's a teenager). When they meet again a decade later, their relationship becomes romantic in nature, due to Anakin being All Grown Up.
  • Padmé’s friendly relationship with Ahsoka results in her being an emotionally supportive adult and a strong female role-model. Ahsoka for her part greatly admires Padmé and she credits Padmé with teaching her that conflicts aren't always as black and white as she initially thought in "Heroes on Both Sides".
• Cool Chair: As Queen, she definitely has a chair fit for royalty.
• Cool Crown: Queen Amidala wears plenty of ridiculous headdresses in The Phantom Menace. Which one is the formal crown is harder to say. The novelization of Attack of the Clones, however, says that some particular one of them (not specified which) was a crown. It was intentional, and part of the whole "decoy trick". The queen's exaggerated and exotic look made her stand out next to her handmaidens, so no-one would suspect that she was a decoy, and the real queen was disguised as one of the handmaidens.
• Cool Starship: She has at least three over the course of the Prequel Trilogy’s era.
  • In The Phantom Menace, she has a modified J-type 327 Nubian starship used exclusively by the Royal House of Naboo (which has a gorgeous handcrafted interior and a shield powerful enough to withstand an entire blockade of ships, only sustaining a damaged hyperdrive)
  • In Attack of the Clones and The Clone Wars, she uses an H-type Nubian yacht.
  • In Revenge of the Sith, she's got a J-type Naboo star skiff.
  • All these ships have a very sleek, aesthetically-pleasing design and are coated in gleaming chromium, signifying Padmé as a person of importance from Naboo, as well as being an example of the culture and beauty of the old Republic, compared to the grimier, Used Future look of ships in the Imperial era.
• The Coroner Doth Protest Too Much: Although she wasn't murdered (directly), it's implied that Bail Organa bribed or persuaded the doctor who performed the autopsy on Padmé's body to report the cause of death as something other than childbirth, to conceal that her child(ren) survived. This is confirmed – and becomes a plot point – in Darth Vader. Vader has Dr Aphra torture Padmé's mortician, Commodex Tahn, for information after learning Luke Skywalker may be his son; Tahn confirms that he made Padmé's body look pregnant during her funeral to hide the fact she'd given birth – though he manages to conceal the fact that she'd also given birth to a daughter.
• Corrupt Politician: Definitely inverted. Despite Obi-Wan initially not trusting her due to her job title, Padmé is one of the few senators left in the Republic who is not corrupt and genuinely wants to do good - it's implied part of the reason she became a senator was in the hopes of getting rid of the corruption that plagues the Senate. Unfortunately, she's in the minority. She does have a scandalous private life, as she's secretly married to a Jedi, which is forbidden under the old Order, and later hides the fact she's pregnant. However, she's treated sympathetically over this and would clearly rather not have to hide her relationship. She's also accused of being friendly with Separatists, but while she does have friends who are part of the Separatist Parliament, she remains loyal to the Republic and simply refuses to treat all the Separatists as homogenuosly evil and treacherous, knowing that some of them have sympathetic reasons for joining the Confederacy.
• Costume Porn: Many of her more elaborate outfits are some of the most prominent examples of this trope in Star Wars.
  • Each of Queen Amidala's dresses is based on a Real Life cultural dress. One of the most iconic outfits is based on a Mongolian wedding dress. This is justified in-universe; as Queen, she's not supposed to be a person but a living symbol of her people's culture and traditions. They went over the top on traditional designs and makeup so people would first think Queen of the Naboo, not Padmé Naberrie. Even the neat little mark on her lower lip was symbolic. It's the Mark of Remembrance to serve as a constant reminder of Naboo's bloody past; other monarchs of Naboo have similarly flamboyant clothing. It also serves a plot purpose because she is supposed to be in disguise as a handmaiden on Tatooine and not revealed to be the same person until later in The Phantom Menace.
  • When Padmé is "just" a senator (and in private), her clothes continue to be elaborate and beautiful; there was a tie-in website written as a Coruscant news site where a fashion critic gushed over her outfit. That said, while Padmé's (massive) wardrobe gets plenty of time onscreen, the costume department also dedicated tremendous effort to outfitting extras that only got about 3 seconds of screentime during a crowd scene.
• Crazy-Prepared: She was going to a peaceful diplomatic meeting with a personal friend on a neutral planet - but hid lock picks in her boots in case she was arrested and chained to something.
• Crusading Lawyer: Downplayed, as it's only briefly, but in The Clone Wars, she serves as Ahsoka Tano's defence attorney during her trial for treason and terrorism against the Republic (Ahsoka is innocent of the crime).
• Cultured Badass: A former Queen, well-read, great dresser, and can handle a blaster.
• Curtains Match the Window: She has brown hair and brown eyes.
• The Cutie: Padmé is almost constantly kind, optimistic and idealistic to a fault, as well as a firm believer in liberty and diplomacy. Unfortunately, Cuties don't tend to fare well in Crapsack Worlds.
• Damsel out of Distress: Case in point: Attack of the Clones. As she faces execution alongside Anakin and Obi-Wan, she gets out of her handcuffs before the two Jedi and begins fighting back!
• Dark Mistress: Darth Vader wants her to be this for him in Revenge of the Sith, but when she finally realizes her husband has turned to the Dark Side, she makes it plain she's not keen on the idea of being his Empress. Vader doesn't take this well.
• Dead Guy on Display: Mostly of the Reverence variety. Padmé's body is publicly displayed and carried through Theed during her state funeral, allowing the numerous mourners to say their last goodbyes. It also gives Bail, Obi-Wan and Yoda the chance to make it seem she was still pregnant when she died so that they can fake her children's deaths to keep them safe from the Empire.
• Deadpan Snarker: She can be sarcastic when she wants to be.
  Anakin: Senator Amidala.
  Padmé: General Skywalker. You finally found some time for me.
  Anakin: Are you still mad about last night?
  Padmé: Why would I be mad? I'm not mad.
• Death by Childbirth: She lampshades this when she states that women on Coruscant don't die in childbirth. It's possible that the stress of giving birth in traumatic circumstances (she had been choked into unconsciousness not long before and had to be induced) contributed to her death.
• Death by Despair: After giving birth to her twins in Revenge of the Sith. Watching the Galactic Republic collapse and her husband become Darth Vader was apparently too much and giving birth to twin future heroes of the galaxy wasn't enough to salvage her will to live. ^note  This actually does have some basis in reality; 'Broken Heart Syndrome' or stress-induced cardiomyopathy is a potentially serious heart condition that can be brought on by severe emotional distress, such as grief. Being Force-choked until she passed out and then giving birth to twins under highly stressful circumstances probably didn't help, either.
• Death by Origin Story: Anakin's premonitions of Padmé's death played a huge part, if not the biggest part, in his turning to the Dark Side in a misguided attempt to save her, while inadvertently causing her death made his allegiance to the Dark Side and Galactic Empire near absolute. Vader does make a few attempts to resurrect her in the Expanded Universe, but they all fail and reiterate that Vader can't undo what happened to her.
• Deceased Parents Are the Best: In Return of the Jedi, she's described as being "kind and beautiful", whilst Luke and Leia's dad Darth Vader is a murderous dictator (though he gets much better by the end of the film). Revenge of the Sith indeed shows that Padmé was a compassionate woman who loved her children and wanted what was best for them right to the end, whilst at the time of her death and the twins' birth, Anakin was already evil (and nearly got them killed before they even born by choking their pregnant mother).
• Decoy Getaway: She has utilised this twice in the Prequel Trilogy:
  • A variation in The Phantom Menace. During the Battle of Naboo, Gunray captures the real Padmé, only for her decoy Sabé – still disguised as her – to turn up and provide a distraction. Gunray mistakes Padmé for being a decoy and sends most of his droids after Sabé, but is corrected when Padmé takes the opportunity to grab hidden blasters for herself and Captain Panaka and captures Gunray.
  • Played straight in the opening scene of Attack of the Clones. When Padmé arrives on Coruscant, it looks as though she was caught in a bomb explosion on the landing platform, only for it to turn out the real Padmé was disguised as a guard. It doesn't end so well for her decoy this time, with Cordé dying in her arms.
• Defiant to the End: In Attack of the Clones, she unchains herself and begins fighting back against the beasts pitted against her in the Geonosian arena. Even when she's surrounded by battle droids with no hope of escape, she simply raises her blaster, ready to go down fighting. Averted, fortunately, by the timely arrival of Yoda with the Clone army.
• Demoted to Satellite Love Interest: In The Phantom Menace, Padmé is ruler of Naboo who fights bravely for her people. In Attack of the Clones, she's a senator dedicated to maintaining peace and justice throughout the galaxy, leading the opposition to the Military Creation Act. By Revenge of the Sith, she's married Anakin and, while she's still a Senator, the film is all about Anakin becoming Darth Vader, which is largely motivated by his desperation to save her using the Dark Side. She doesn't have much of a role outside this; to give her credit though, there were three deleted scenes of her actively trying to stop the chancellor from taking over, and then helping found what would become the Rebel Alliance. The Clone Wars retroactively rectifies this through having her be involved in important plots and story arcs that don't solely revolve around her relationship with Anakin.
• Designated Victim: Padmé's been the target of multiple assassinations, kidnappings and so on at the hands of the Sith, the Separatists and other villains throughout the canon.
• Despair Event Horizon: When Padmé discovers that her beloved Anakin has turned to the Dark Side and willingly participated in the murder of the Jedi Order (including kids) and the formation of the Empire, she completely loses it. So much so that shortly after giving birth, she loses the will to live and dies due to being overwhelmed by the monster that Anakin had become.
• Despair Speech: "So this is how liberty dies. With thunderous applause." It's clear from the dismay and bitterness in her voice that even the ever-optimistic Padmé has begun to lose hope when Palpatine frames the Jedi as traitors and reforms the Republic into the Empire...and most of the other senators laud his decision.
• Destructive Romance: Her relationship with Anakin eventually descends into this by the end of the Prequel Trilogy, which is particularly highlighted in "The Rise of Clovis". Although they love each other, having to keep their relationship secret puts a lot of pressure on them and causes trust issues. Anakin's ever-worsening emotional state doesn't help either and it clearly has negative effects on them. After Anakin turns to the Dark Side, the relationship becomes blatantly abusive – he twists the truth or just straight up lies to Padmé to cover up his crimes, starts treating her more like a possession than his wife and lashes out at her with the Force, ultimately causing her death.
• Devoted to You:
  • She inspires a great deal of loyalty in those close to her, probably because she’s a Benevolent Boss and a genuinely nice person. It's revealed in Darth Vader (2020) that a group of her former handmaidens and guards have banded together to investigate and avenge her death, over twenty years after she died.
  • Her Love Interest, Anakin is also extremely devoted to her; he's been in love with her since he was nine despite not seeing her for ten years and outright states he’d do anything for her. He even breaks the Jedi Code and risks being expelled from the Order to marry her. Deconstructed in Revenge of the Sith, where Anakin’s devotion to protecting Padmé at all costs becomes increasingly obsessive and unhealthy, culminating in him turning to the dark side to try and prevent her death. Padmé doesn’t take this well and in a twist of Dramatic Irony, Anakin ends up being the one who brings about her death.
• Disney Death: In the opening scene of Attack of the Clones, Padmé is apparently fatally injured when a bomb goes off under her ship. However, it soon turns out this was actually one of Padmé's lookalike decoys (who was initially seen only from the back or at a distance). It helps establish that someone really wants Padmé dead, which forms the driving plot of the film.
• Disposable Woman: Subverted. Padmé could've been this, but she actually plays a large role in the Prequel Trilogy and The Clone Wars, particularly in Anakin's turn to the Dark Side. She is one of the major reasons why Anakin turns to the Dark Side in the first place.
• Doomed by Canon: Luke and Leia's mother is stated to be dead in the Original Trilogy and they were both adopted, so her eventual death is inevitable.
• Doomed Moral Victor: It was known from the beginning that all Padmé's efforts to preserve democracy in the galaxy are ultimately doomed to fail, as is her attempt to turn Darth Vader back to the light. Her friends in the Senate, by way of the Rebel Alliance, and her two children achieve both these things after her death.
• Doom Magnet: A lot of people close to Padmé end up meeting grim fates, often while trying to help or protect her in some way (which she feels terrible about). Qui-Gon Jinn dies protecting her and her planet from Darth Maul. Her decoy Cordé is killed protecting her. Two more of her handmaidens, Versé and Teckla, both die serving her. Her mentor Mina Bonteri is assassinated after the pair tried to bring about peace negotiations. Family friend Uncle Ono dies in her arms and it turns out he was murdered because of a deal he made with the Separatists involving her. Her former flame Rush Clovis sacrifices his own life to save her. In a very twisted way, Anakin kills or is complicit in the killing of hundreds of Jedi and many other people as part of his messed up plan to 'save' her with the Dark Side. Heck, even after she dies, people still get killed because they were involved with her in some way; shortly after figuring out that Princess Leia is likely Padmé's daughter, Moff Panaka is assassinated by the Partisans and even her mortician is tortured and murdered on Vader's orders to get information about her son, Luke.
• Dramatic Irony:
  • During a conversation with Breha Organa about marriage and children, Padmé brings up that at least her children will be free to choose their destinies and have normal lives, while Breha states that as royalty her children would have to follow in her footsteps. Not only do both of Padmé's children have anything but normal lives, but her daughter Leia ends up being adopted by Breha and thus becomes the Crown Princess of Alderaan.
  • When one of her former handmaidens cannot come to a dinner with friends because a set of twins under her care are sick, Padmé mentions it's all right, but says that "I can't imagine having twins."
  • On a sadder note, Padmé tells Breha she would ideally like to have a nice, normal marriage like her parents'. Her own marriage to Anakin is far from normal and ultimately ends in tragedy.
  • Padmé has been defined by her hate of violence and her belief that there is always a better way to resolve conflicts and love for the Republic, so it's tragic that the one time she chooses to look the other way (Anakin's butchering of the Tusken Raiders) and not tell anyone about what he did indirectly dooms the Republic, the Jedi and paves the way for Darth Vader the polar opposite of everything Padmé ever stood for.
• Dramatic Sit-Down: She has to sit down on a couch when Obi-Wan tells her the Awful Truth about Palpatine and Anakin, insisting she doesn't believe him.
• Dude Magnet: Padmé's attractiveness has been noted several times throughout the franchise: Anakin fell for her and only her when they first meet as children and they became a married couple as adults. Clovis wanted to rekindle their relationship (and wasn't subtle about it). Bounty Hunter Cad Bane called her "young and pretty" while holding her face in "Hostage Crisis". She also mentions having dated a cute boy named Palo when she was twelve.
• Due to the Dead: At the end of Revenge of the Sith, Padmé is laid to rest in a mausoleum along with a keepsake of her husband Anakin. Later books establish her as an anomaly in a culture that traditionally burns its dead like the Jedi do—ironically, the Jedi themselves, as hinted by Yoda, helped arrange her funeral, doing so in a manner that makes everyone, especially the Emperor and those loyal to him, believe neither of her unborn children survived.
• Dying for Symbolism: Her death at the end of Revenge of the Sith symbolizes the end of the Republic and the dawn of the Empire ("So this is how liberty dies"). It also symbolizes the 'death' of Anakin Skywalker; upon learning of her death he fully embraces his Sith persona of Darth Vader and it's no coincidence that Anakin's mutilated body being placed into the Vader-suit is juxtaposed with Padmé dying in childbirth.

E-H

• Elemental Motifs: She's associated with water. Her name is derived from "padma", the Sanskrit word for lotus, which is a flower that grows in water. Her home planet is filled with deep oceans, lakes, waterfalls and swamps. She spent her happiest days in the Lake Country and wanted to raise her children there. Her apartment on Coruscant is decorated with fountains and water features, and she tends to wear blue clothing. She meets her downfall on a fiery planet devoid of water and during her funeral she's dressed in a blue outfit that gives the impression she's floating in water. She's characterized as level-headed, intelligent, deeply compassionate, and gentle (unless provoked).
• Ermine Cape Effect: She always seems to be wearing some ridiculously complex outfit as a Queen and later a senator. Even when she's out of costume, she's under a different identity and her decoy is stuck wearing the enormous dress with loads of makeup and huge hair.
  • It's an Invoked and Justified trope there; the Queen of Naboo is supposed to be a symbol instead of a person. Every piece of her outfit has some backstory and explanation, right down to the ceremonial "scar" bisecting her lip. The heavy makeup and dresses also make it easier to hide the true Queen in times of emergency, especially with a cadre of bodyguards that at least superficially resemble her.
  • Also played with in that Naboo's government isn't a real monarchy, but a democracy that merely gives its elected rulers the trappings of monarchy. So the Ermine Cape Effect here includes her royal title itself.
• Establishing Character Moment:
  • In the Prequel Trilogy, Padmé's very first scene involves her steadfastly declaring to the Trade Federation that Naboo will never give into their demands despite the blockade; soon after, she expresses great reluctance to "condone a course of action that will lead to war", highlighting both her idealism and aversion to violence, and that she is tougher than she looks.
  • In the Original Trilogy, the very first time she is mentioned in the Star Wars canon (production-wise), her daughter Leia reveals she died when she was very young and that she was "very beautiful and kind...but sad", setting up both her deeply compassionate nature and that she met with a tragic fate.
• Et Tu, Brute?: Poor Padmé gets betrayed by quite a few people she loves and trusts, including her Honorary Uncle Onaconda Farr, her ex-boyfriend Rush Clovis, and eventually her own husband Anakin. It is this last and most devastating betrayal that finally pushes her over the Despair Event Horizon.
• Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: In "Senate Murders", as she figures out that Onaconda Farr wasn't killed by Halle Burtoni, but Lolo Purs:
  Padmé: But the scan must be wrong. If the poison was in all our drinks, Lolo would've died too.
  Tan Divo: What?
  Padmé: She's Rodian. She'd have been poisoned too. Unless she didn't drink...But you drank, right Lolo? Lolo...You didn't drink, did you?
  Lolo: [pulls a blaster on her] You're right. I should have pretended to drink.
• Fairytale Wedding Dress: Her wedding dress at the end of Attack of the Clones was just one of her many fancy outfits. This one was influenced by The Edwardian Era style wedding dress, so it doesn't have a full skirt like most examples of this trope, but it's still very elegant with a long train, veil and lots of delicate embroidery.
• Family Versus Career: In Revenge of the Sith, she tells Anakin she doubts Queen Apailana will still let her serve in the Senate once she gives birth and she has plans to return to Naboo to raise her child(ren) there in safety. Considering that Padmé's career has proven rather dangerous both to herself and those around her, and how corrupt Coruscant has become, it's understandable she wouldn't want to have a baby in that kind of environment. That being said, even in her third trimester she was still meeting with the Delegation of 2000 and attending Senate hearings, and in the epilogue of Queen's Shadow Sabé also finds several unfinished projects she had been working on prior to her death, so it seems likely she would've eventually returned to work in public service in some form had she lived.
• Fanservice Pack: By the time of Attack of the Clones, Padmé has a more voluptuous yet athletic body and her dresses and other outfits begin to become much more revealing and provocative than her previous appearance. The reason is because of a (slight) aversion of Dawson Casting. The fact that Padmé is only 14 in The Phantom Menace probably had something to do with it too.
• Fantastic Racism: In Queen's Shadow, while discussing Nute Gunray's seemingly endless trials for his crimes against Naboo, Padmé admits that she can't stand Neimoidians, but is also uncomfortable with this since she knows she shouldn't hate an entire species based on the actions of a few members. She is always shown to be courteous towards Neimoidians and never openly discriminatory towards them, indicating she makes a conscious effort to put aside her prejudices or that she eventually overcame it.
• Fashion-Based Relationship Cue: Padmé uses her disguises to throw people off about her availability. In Attack of the Clones, she dons the dress of a young matron from the Thousand Moons system as her refugee disguise. In Revenge of the Sith she starts by wearing a hairdo meant to announce one's desire for a husband, when she's desperately trying to the hide the fact that she's already married.
• Fashionable Asymmetry: Her action-oriented outfit in Attack of the Clones gets one of its sleeves torn off, but still looks pretty cool – in fact, some people would argue it looks even cooler.
• Fatal Flaw: Her tendency to be overly idealistic and belief in the inherent goodness of people, leading to her trusting people she probably shouldn't. By the time she starts to accept that the Republic in its current state may be too corrupt to save and that her husband has gone off the deep end, it's too late.
• Fire-Forged Friends:
  • She seems to be this with Obi-Wan Kenobi. They don't interact much in The Phantom Menace, whilst at the beginning of Attack of the Clones, Obi-Wan is strictly professional with her and warns Anakin to wary of her, as she's "a politician" and "not to be trusted". However, after Padmé goes to great efforts to save him when he's captured by Separatists and they fight alongside each other at the First Battle of Geonosis, he changes his opinion of her and comes to care for her a great deal. She is actually the one who insists on rescuing him from the Separatists. In Revenge of the Sith, she happily meets with him to talk about Anakin and also suggests asking him for help in regards to her secret pregnancy, demonstrating that she is willing to trust him with her most personal secrets. Following the execution of Order 66, she openly expresses concern for his well-being in addition to Anakin's; it's also telling that despite the Jedi being branded as traitors, she willingly lets Obi-Wan into her home when he comes to her for help, telling no one she saw him. She also spends her final moments trying to reassure him that Anakin isn't beyond redemption.
  • She's also this with Ahsoka Tano, Anakin's apprentice. Though they didn't dislike each other, they weren't exceptionally close when they first met. However, after Ahsoka goes out of her way to protect her from Aurra Sing, Padmé develops a very close, sisterly bond with her, bringing her with her on missions (in particular a highly sensitive and secretive meeting with Separatist senator Mina Bonteri) and does everything in her power to help Ahsoka when she is framed for terrorism.
• Firing One-Handed: Padmé favors lightweight and easily-concealed blaster pistols in combat, so firing them one-handed is pretty logical. However, in Attack of the Clones, she also proves to be capable of wielding an E-5 blaster rifle one-handed, too and still manages to hit almost every target she aims at.
• First Girl Wins: She seems to be the first girl Anakin ever had a crush on at the tender age of nine. As far as we know, he was never seriously interested in any other woman before they eventually got married. Unfortunately, she also ends up being the last woman he ever loved after her tragic death.
• Fish out of Water:
  • On Tatooine, which is pretty much the antithesis of her homeworld (Naboo is a peaceful, pastoral world that values democracy and pacifism; Tatooine is a harsh desert world run by gangsters where the Republic has little influence). She outright admits to Anakin that she finds it "strange" and doesn't understand how things work. For one thing, she's shocked to discover Anakin and his mother are slaves, which is pretty common on Tatooine.
  • Also on Coruscant. When she tries to address the Senate about Naboo’s predicament, she is clearly dismayed as she is continuously ignored and talked over by the senators, and especially when they decide to hold a committee to discern the truth while her people are suffering and dying. Palpatine takes advantage of this, manipulating her into calling for a vote of no confidence in Chancellor Valorum, in the hopes of bypassing the bureaucracy. After becoming a senator herself, she gets better at navigating her way around the Senate, though she's still a lot more idealistic than the average Republic politician.
• Flaw Exploitation:
  • In The Phantom Menace, the Trade Federation try to exploit the fact she's a very young, ingenuous, and newly-elected politician to get her to sign their treaty to save Naboo. Unfortunately for them, while Padmé is all of those things she's also more intelligent and strong-willed than they realize, so the plan fails. However, Palpatine (who is an absolute master of manipulation) is able to exploit her lack of experience and desperation to save her people when she's at her most vulnerable, albeit in a more subtle way by persuading her to make a vote of no confidence in the ineffective Chancellor Valorum.
  • In "Bombad Jedi", Onaconda Farr is able to lure her into a Separatist trap on Rodia by requesting she personally come to help after pirates sabotaged their supply ships. Having known Padmé for years, he knew that she would do anything to help him and his people if he merely asked, and that she wouldn't think to bring any security because she's under the impression it's a humanitarian mission with an old family friend.
• Flirting Under Fire: She subtly does this with Anakin via playful banter while they fight together during the First Battle of Geonosis. They also flirt and have an Almost Kiss during the Clone Wars while escaping from Battle Droids and partaking in the Battle of the Kaliida Nebula.
• Flower Motifs: She sometimes wears flowers in her hair and some of her outfits have flower patterns and designs (for example, the cape she wears at the victory parade which resembles large petals, and her yellow picnic dress which is embroidered with pink flowers). Even her name reflects this, being derived from the lotus flower.
• Fluffy Fashion Feathers: During dinner with Anakin in Attack of the Clones, she wears an off-the-shoulder shawl stitched with black feathers. She removes it afterwards to reveal a cleavage-baring black corset when Anakin proclaims his love for her.
• Forgotten Fallen Friend: She's rarely mentioned after her death by those who knew her, though this is justified. Bail Organa probably does think about Padmé whenever he sees his adopted daughter Leia, but he can't talk about her mother to her as it may lead to someone discovering the secret about the Skywalkers. Other characters like Obi-Wan, Yoda, Mothma and Ahsoka don't mention her much or only talk vaguely of her, as she isn't relevant to what they're doing in the present and Anakin/Vader is a current issue, while Padmé is long gone. Others don't have much reason to talk about her or bring her up, because as far as everyone is concerned, she was just some replaceable politician who died suddenly. Her children briefly mention her in Return of the Jedi, though not by name (as they don't yet know who she was); Leia states she died when she was very young and somehow recalls that she was "very beautiful and kind, but sad", while Luke sadly admits he has no memory of her at all. The EU establishes that they did eventually learn about their mother's identity; in Poe Dameron, Leia is shown to have inherited Padmé's gowns and keeps them as a reminder of her biological mother, also stating she would hand them down to any granddaughters she had. The EU conforms Vader occasionally thinks about Padmé and she was frequently on his mind the moment he discovered their son was alive. The Darth Vader comics also reveal her handmaiden Sabé has been searching for answers about her death for over twenty years.
• A Friend in Need:
  • In Attack of the Clones, regardless of being ordered to remain on Tatooine and out of harm's way, she insists on going to Geonosis to rescue Obi-Wan.
  • In "Bombad Jedi", Onaconda Farr takes advantage of this; he requests that she personally come to aid the people of Rodia, knowing she would come at once, in order to hand her over to the Trade Federation.
  • In "The Wrong Jedi", she takes it upon herself to defend Ahsoka at her trial after almost everyone else abandons her.
  • The Clone Wars-era plotline of Thrawn: Alliances is actually kickstarted by Padmé traveling all the way to Batuu after receiving a distress signal from her former handmaiden, Duja.
• Friendly Enemy: With a few exceptions, like Count Dooku and Nute Gunray, Padmé is usually quite respectful towards the Separatists she encounters. The most notable case of this is with Mina Bonteri, her old mentor, who she still regards as a close friend even though they're on opposite sides of the war. They agree to disagree over their views on the Republic and actually work together to try and open peace talks between the two sides.
• Frontline General: The Naboo don't have much of an army, only the royal security forces, who answer to the current monarch. During the Battle of Naboo, Padmé not only comes up with their plan of attack, but also personally leads a team of guards in their assault on the royal palace.
• Giant Poofy Sleeves: A few of her outfits have these sleeves. Surprisingly averted for her Fairytale Wedding Dress, though (which is based more on Edwardian Era dresses).
• Girly Bruiser: Padmé has a very feminine dress sense and she is also a badass.
• Glass Cannon: She's a Badass Normal who can kick lots of ass and is one of the best shots in the Canon, but she lacks the superhuman endurance of Force-users and has to actively avoid taking too much damage. She compensates for this by mostly sticking to long-range fighting and only resorting to close-combat when she absolutely has to.
• Glowing Gem: The hem of her throne room gown is stitched with large, self-illuminating gems; these are purely aesthetic.
• Go-Getter Girl: She's implied to be this to an extent. Since she was at least seven years old she volunteered to help out refugees, was studying for a career in politics by the age of twelve, ran for Queen of Naboo at fourteen (and won) and became Senator of Naboo at eighteen. When she reflects on her time as Queen, she's rather critical of herself and her maturity, even though she managed to successfully defeat the Trade Federation, forge a lasting alliance with the Gungans and was immensely popular. She and her handmaidens carefully cultivate her public image as both queen and senator, with her formal outfits intentionally designed to give her a dignified and powerful appearance; she only usually shows vulnerability in private. Her dedication to politics and humanitarian work leaves her little room for a personal life; she rarely takes time off and until she was reunited with Childhood Friend Anakin she had no serious long-term relationships. It's not until she gets pregnant she starts considering taking a step back, which is the first time in about fifteen years she's truly prioritized herself and her family over her work.
• Good Is Not Dumb: Sidious and the Trade Federation severely underestimate Padmé. She may be too idealistic for her own good, but she's far from stupid.
• Good Luck Charm: In The Phantom Menace, Anakin carves her a charm pendant from a japor snippet, saying it will bring her good fortune and will be something to remember him by. It's later revealed that Padmé kept it all these years and she occasionally wears it. Unfortunately, the charm doesn't bring her much luck as she's dead by the end of the Prequel Trilogy – mostly because of Anakin, no less. Heartbreakingly, the end of Revenge of the Sith shows that she was laid to rest with the necklace in her hands.
• Graceful Ladies Like Purple: Padmé seems to like the color purple, as it is a regal color and a common color worn by royals or people in power.
• Guile Heroine: She's a politician, after all; it comes with the territory. Padmé is usually quite honest and open with others, but will use deception and misdirection from time to time for a good cause. Her battle strategy in The Phantom Menace, plan to break into the Banking Clan's main vault in "An Old Friend" and use of decoys/disguises are notable examples. Palpatine himself acknowledges she's "more cunning than we thought."
• Guys Smash, Girls Shoot: Padmé uses a blaster in combat, whilst the most of the male leads in the Prequel Trilogy and The Clone Wars use lightsabers, which includes her secret husband, Anakin.
• Happily Married: Zig-zagged. She and Anakin deeply love one another and they clearly have some happy moments together, but the nature of their marriage and other factors cause some problems. During the Clovis arc in The Clone Wars, Padmé is horrified when Anakin nearly beats Clovis to death in a jealous rage and later admits to him that he frightened her and that she needs some space. And in Revenge of the Sith, she implies that despite three years of marriage, they still keep things from each other. This only gets worse, before descending into full on domestic abuse on Anakin’s part, though Padmé never stopped loving him.
• Has a Type: Between Anakin and Clovis, Padmé seems to have a thing for tall, handsome guys who are passionate about their work and strive to make the galaxy a better place...unfortunately, these guys also have a tendency to have rather extreme ways of going about their goals as well as a tendency to betray and/or endanger her.
• Head-in-the-Sand Management: To an extent. She is insistent on trying to negotiate with the Separatists, even though they've made it pretty clear time and again they're not interested (and the few Separatists that do want to negotiate tend to have 'accidents' befall them). This seems to be less because she's incompetent and more because she's too honorable for her own good. Predictably, it doesn't end well.
• The Heart: She serves as the emotional center with Anakin and Obi-Wan in the Prequel Trilogy's era; she's of the opinion that the Clone Wars "represent a failure to listen" rather than demonizing the Separatists and strives for diplomatic solutions. In "Pursuit of Peace", she makes a point of stating that if they don't use funding to care for ordinary civilians affected by the conflict, then who or what are they actually fighting for?
• Heartbroken Badass: Anakin breaks her heart after revealing that he's undergone a Face–Heel Turn. This, in conjunction with being internally injured from his Force-choking, kills her.
• Heel Realization: Played with in Revenge of the Sith. Padmé herself is definitely not evil, but she at one point says to Anakin:
  "Have you ever considered we may be on the wrong side? [...] What if the democracy we thought we were serving no longer exists...and the Republic has become the very evil we were fighting to destroy?"
• He Is Not My Boyfriend: In regards to Anakin when Clovis asks her about their relationship. She insists they're Just Friends, but Clovis doesn't buy it, stating "Friends don't argue the way I saw you arguing today." Of course, she and Anakin are actually in a relationship.
• The Hero Dies: Although it was pretty much a Foregone Conclusion, Padmé is the only one of the three main leads in the Prequel Trilogy who doesn't make it out alive (Anakin has a Face–Heel Turn and becomes The Dragon to Palpatine, while Obi-Wan survives to train her son in the ways of the Force). Padmé isn't the only major character to be killed off in Revenge of the Sith, but she is one of the most prominent.
• Hero with Bad Publicity: It turns out in Queen's Shadow that Padmé's first appearance in the Senate as Queen of Naboo didn't leave the best impression on the Republic. When she first becomes a senator, both the media and some other senators criticize her for shaking up galactic politics to save Naboo and for her closeness to Chancellor Palpatine, painting her as a rash and inexperienced politician who isn't impartial enough to care about anyone but Naboo, and potentially even being Palpatine's stooge. She spends much of the novel proving she is capable of working in galactic politics and forming alliances with like-minded senators like Bail and Mothma.
• Heroic BSoD:
  • She has a small one in Attack of the Clones when her decoy Cordé is killed in her place, with Captain Typho having to plead with to leave her body and get to safety.
  • She has a major one when she finds out that Anakin has done a Face–Heel Turn and turned to the Dark Side.
• Hesitation Equals Dishonesty: Following Anakin's turn to the Dark Side, Obi-Wan goes to Padmé and asks if she knows where Anakin is now. She hesitates for a moment before saying she doesn't, which Obi-Wan (and the audience) instantly knows to be a lie. Then again, seeing as Obi-Wan is Force-sensitive, he may have been able to sense Padmé was lying either way, but the hesitation makes it even more obvious.
• Hidden Depths:
  • Padmé, the plucky, headstrong teenaged handmaiden is actually the mature and dignified Queen of Naboo. Who'da thunk?
  • Although hinted at in the Prequel Trilogy and The Clone Wars, Queen's Shadow makes it explicit that Padmé sometimes struggles with her sense of identity beyond her public persona as Queen/Senator Amidala, even wondering what it would be like to be 'normal'. However, her sense of duty and desire to help others tends to override this.
• High-Class Gloves: She is a noblewoman who occasionally sports these - they're often long and fingerless, and always color-coordinated with her outfit.
• The High Queen: The Queens of Naboo are generally portrayed as just, kind, and competent rulers. The fact that, unlike most royals, they are elected instead of inheriting the throne may have something to do with it. We only really see evidence of Padmé's rule, but there is nothing to suggest anything onward about the rule of Jamilia, Neeyutnee, and Apailana. Padmé proves to be a pretty competent ruler who takes many personal risks to ensure her people's safety and well-being. She was apparently so adored, the people tried to change the rules to keep her in office longer, though she graciously declined, and her funeral is attended by thousands.
• Honor Before Reason: "I was not elected to watch my people die while you discuss this invasion in a committee!" At the same time, her staunch commitment to peace (even in times when war was not only the best option, but the only option) can also count as this. Even during the Clone Wars, when the Separatists have shown no intentions of wanting to seek peace terms, she leads an effort to cut the Republic's military budget and keep more clones from being made to reinforce the Grand Army, against an enemy that can churn out billions of droids in a day from innumerable factories on hundreds of worlds.
• Hope Springs Eternal: Downplayed. Despite crossing the Despair Event Horizon and losing the will to live, she still makes the effort to name her newborn children and dies trying to reassure Obi-Wan there's some good left in Anakin.
• Horrible Judge of Character:
  • Of a type similar to Desdemona in Othello. Sure, he's bad, but she can change him! It backfires on her at the end of Revenge of the Sith.
  • She also puts too much trust in Chancellor Palpatine, seeming to expect him to have the galaxy's best interests at heart simply because they're from the same planet. To be fair though, Palpatine pulls the wool over everyone's eyes and she seems to be catching on to his true motives by Revenge of the Sith. It's a little late by this point, however.
  • In regards to the Jedi Council, she tries to reassure Anakin in Revenge of the Sith that the Council "trust [him] with their lives"... but Mace Windu later admits to his face that he never trusted Anakin (at least until he informs him about Palpatine's true nature) and many of them were wary of him right from the start.
  • She repeatedly trusts Clovis and gives him second chances even though he may as well have 'sleazebag' tattooed on his forehead.
• Hotter and Sexier: Her outfits in Phantom Menace are quite conservative, which makes sense considering that she was only 14. In Attack of the Clones, she's 24. None of her outfits show off too much skin, but a couple of her outfits show off her midriff and bare shoulders and back, as well as a little bit of her chest. Enforced by Natalie Portman's own age during filming. She was 16 in Phantom Menace, and they couldn't get away with her showing anything remotely provocative.
• Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: With Anakin (as an adult). She's 5'5" while Anakin (who is 6'2") towers over her. She was also this with Clovis, who is 6'3".
• Humble Heroine: Despite her numerous achievements and high-ranking position, she is usually quite modest and respectful. A notable example is in The Phantom Menace, where she reveals her true identity to Boss Nass, sincerely pleads for his help and even kneels before him as a show of trust and humility – this is a big deal, as the Naboo tend to look down on the Gungans as 'primitive'.
• Hypocrite: Padmé is usually a very compassionate and moral woman who doesn't tolerate senseless violence... yet she forgives Anakin quite easily when he confesses to having killed an entire camp of Tusken Raiders, including the children - some people find it particularly baffling considering she's later horrified when she learns Anakin killed Jedi younglings.

I-L

• I Can Change My Beloved: In Revenge of the Sith. After learning of Anakin's Face–Heel Turn, she tries to make him see how wrong his actions are, insisting he's a good person and he doesn't need to do this. Unusually for this trope, she also says that although she loves him, she won't stay with him if he continues down this path. This backfires badly as Anakin ends up losing his temper and Force-choking her, ultimately causing her death. Even then, Padmé still believes there's good in him – she's actually right, but it takes their son to bring it out of him.
• Iconic Outfit:
  • Padmé has a great many attention-grabbing outfits. However, one of her most well-known outfits is the very first one she wears on-screen – her red, fur-lined throne room gown, complete with Cool Crown and dramatic red and white face make-up.
  • Her second most Iconic Outfit is probably her very form-fitting white combat outfit (especially the version that's got Clothing Damage, including a bared midriff), which was first introduced in Attack of the Clones and featured in The Clone Wars.
• Imperiled in Pregnancy: In Revenge of the Sith. While Padmé is usually a badass Lady of War, she has no action scenes and comes off as a lot more physically vulnerable and emotionally frail, though this is partly justified in that she's heavily pregnant with twins and could easily injure herself or the children at that point in pregnancy. She still goes to Mustafar, a volcanic and unstable planet in the Outer Rim inhabited by Separatists whilst the galaxy is at war, to confront her husband about turning to the Dark Side. This doesn't end well for her, Anakin believes she's betrayed him with Obi Wan, he Force-chokes her into unconsciousness and she's unable to defend herself, and eventually suffers a combination of Death by Childbirth and Death by Despair.
• Impossibly Cool Clothes: A few of her outfits come across as this, particularly those she wears in The Phantom Menace. A stand-out example would be the very complex and ornate gown she wears to the Senate, which includes a massive headpiece she can somehow bear the weight of and generally looks as though it would be very difficult to move in. It also looks incredibly cool, which is of course the whole point - she needs the Senators to pay attention to her to persuade them to help her people.
• Impossibly-Low Neckline: The purple evening gown she wears during her mission on Cato Nemoidia has a very low neckline, no straps (the sleeves are actually detached from her dress and seem to be more like very long gloves), and it's backless. It doesn't seem to be held up by anything save the will of the Force.
• Impossible Hour Glass Figure: In The Clone Wars, she has an hourglass figure for her voluptuous yet athletic body.
• Impractically Fancy Outfit: They did have one practical function. All the heavy makeup she wore along with the highly distinctive clothing made it very easy to switch places with her bodyguards as needed without Padmé being recognized posing as one of her own handmaidens. According to Queen's Shadow, these outfits are also used to conceal security technology such as personal shields and recording devices, which are valuable for a position that would be a target for many blackmail or assassination attempts. The bulkier outfits have emergency escape hatches for quick getaways.
• Improbable Age: She was elected as the leader of her planet by the age of fourteen years old. Apparently electing rather young leaders is common for the Naboo; Padmé actually mentions that she wasn't even the youngest queen ever elected. She herself believes she wasn't old enough for the responsibility, though her people disagreed - she was such a beloved ruler they tried to amend the constitution to keep her in office longer and she is shown to be quite competent in spite of her youth in The Phantom Menace. Queen's Shadow reveals she was around eighteen when Queen Réillata appointed her as Naboo's senator.
• Improbable Aiming Skills: Padmé apparently never misses her target. Definitely raises some questions regarding George Lucas' attitude towards women (not bad, though). This is mostly due to Rank Scales with Asskicking.
• Improbable Hairstyle: Especially in The Phantom Menace, several of Padmé's formal hairstyles are very elaborate, in some cases gravity-defying, and would takes ages to create and a lot of effort to maintain. It's justified to an extent by the fact she has a team of handmaidens to help her with her hair; The Clone Wars episode "Pursuit of Peace" also reveals she sometimes uses pre-made wigs.
• Incorruptible Pure Pureness: No matter how much chaos, corruption, or cruelty like throws at Padmé, she will never be tempted to do the morally wrong thing. Her children (especially Luke), get this from her.
• Innocently Insensitive: In The Phantom Menace, when she first meets Anakin and realizes he is a slave, she's shocked and bluntly states "You're a slave?" Anakin is somewhat annoyed by this, stating that he's "a person". Padmé apologizes, explaining she's unfamiliar with Tatooine culture.
• Intergenerational Friendship: With Onaconda Farr, the senator of Rodia. They've known each other since she was a little girl and he was one of her father’s greatest allies in the Senate. Padmé even thinks of him an uncle. She is willing to forgive him even after he betrayed her to Nute Gunray (to be fair, he was desperate to help his people, didn't realize Gunray was going to kill her and ends up turning on Gunray to save her) and is very upset when he is murdered, going to great efforts to both find his killer and get his bill passed in the Senate.
• Internal Reformist: Padmé tries to be this after becoming a senator, striving to end the corruption of the Senate from within. Unfortunately, she is outnumbered by less benevolent politicians and fails to realize just how broken the system is until the end of the Clone Wars, by which point she and some of her friends in the Senate are considering outright revolution (which is kind of the only option left when the democracy gets replaced by The Empire).
• In the Hood: Some of her outfits include cloaks and capes with hoods. In The Phantom Menace, when disguised as a handmaiden, she's frequently wearing hoods, which may help to conceal her face and make her blend in better. In The Clone Wars, she occasionally uses hoods to hide her identity while on missions; other times, they seem to be just aesthetic (such as in the page image).
• It's All My Fault: A variation in Attack of the Clones; when Cordé is killed in her place, Padmé is devastated and states "I shouldn't have come back". Captain Typho reminds her of the reason she came to Coruscant – to vote against the Military Creation Act – and that both she and Cordé were only doing their duty.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: In Attack of the Clones, Padmé tries to be the mature and realistic one and says she and Anakin can't have a relationship, refusing to let Anakin "throw away [his] future for [her]". By the end of the movie, though, they're married.
• I Will Wait for You: She promises to wait on Coruscant for Anakin to return from his mission to Mustafar, despite her increasingly precarious position and not knowing when Anakin will return. However, after Obi-Wan tells her about his turning to the dark side, she instead goes directly to Mustafar to meet him.
• Joan Of Archetype: Most notably in The Phantom Menace, where she's the courageous, idealistic fourteen year old Queen of Naboo who rallies the Naboo and the Gungans to fight together to free their planet from the Trade Federation. She personally leads one of the strike teams into the royal palace and is hailed as a hero by the people. She continues to be a champion of democracy and liberty throughout the Prequel Trilogy and The Clone Wars, though she usually tries to do so through diplomatic means; in Attack of the Clones in particular, the villains try to have her assassinated to set off a war, as she leads the political opposition to the Military Creation Act within the Senate (which isn't the last time she's targeted for assassination, either). She also gets unwittingly manipulated by Chancellor Palpatine, who exploits her desire to help her people into helping him attain power, and she also dies tragically after attempting to turn Anakin Skywalker back to the light.
• Keeping Secrets Sucks: Her and Anakin's marriage comes to be a source of a lot of angst and stress, as the former explains during the Clovis arc. After Anakin walks in on Clovis attempting to kiss Padmé, Anakin force chokes him away from his wife and the two men begin to fight. Anakin ends up winning, but severely wounds Clovis to the point of nearly killing him, which horrifies both Padmé and Anakin himself. Once they're alone, Padmé brings up that no matter how genuine their love for each other is, their marriage is built on lies, given how they have to deceive everyone else unlike other couples and that it leads to a lack of trust, mainly from Anakin. In Revenge of the Sith, the fact she can't really go to anyone for help due to needing to keep her personal life secret leaves her feeling extremely isolated and vulnerable.
• Kicking Ass in All Her Finery: Padmé doesn't fight in her Impractically Fancy Outfit(s), but her "battle gear" is still very fine-looking and stylish. And her decoy fights in a fancy royal outfit — and uses it to fool the Viceroy at a vital moment. Even if she is wearing a more fancy outfit when she unexpectedly finds herself in danger, she is still capable of defending herself if she has to; she's even been known to use her dresses to conceal blasters.
• Kid Hero: In The Phantom Menace, where she's fourteen years old.
• Kid Hero All Grown-Up: During all her appearances in the Canon following The Phantom Menace. She's continued her campaign for peace and justice by becoming Senator of Naboo. Anakin is particularly impressed.
• Kill the Cutie: In Revenge of the Sith, Padmé dies during childbirth after going through a Trauma Conga Line.
• Kill the Ones You Love: Defied. She refuses to help Obi-Wan find Anakin after realizing he's going to kill him; rather like Luke Skywalker, she believes there's still a chance for him to come back to the light and she attempts to reach out to him. Unfortunately, this doesn't turn out as well for Padmé as it does for Luke. In early scripts, this was taken even further; Padmé apparently realized/accepted earlier that Anakin was becoming a monster and went to Mustafar with the intention of killing him, but ultimately couldn't bring herself to do it.
• Know When to Fold 'Em: In The Phantom Menace, when she and her team are surrounded by droids in the imperial palace, she knows they have no hope of fighting their way out and calmly orders her team to drop their weapons and surrender, stating "They win this round".
• Lady and Knight: She’s the Lady to Anakin's Knight.
• Lady-In-Waiting: Subverted. She's seemingly introduced as one of Queen Amidala's handmaidens, escaping with her to Coruscant and accompanying Qui-Gon into Mos Espa to report back to the queen. However, it's later revealed that she is actually the queen herself, disguised as a handmaiden as a security measure.
• Lady of War: Padmé is this in The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and The Clone Wars. She's a refined, dignified noblewoman who prefers negotiation and discussion, but is a dead shot with a blaster when she needs to be. Her daughter Leia follows in her footsteps, though she is less dignified and more of a firebrand, especially in A New Hope.
• Last-Minute Baby Naming: She names Luke and Leia moments after they're born and seemingly just comes up with the names on the spot; we don't know if she and Anakin ever discussed baby names together and Anakin only found out she was pregnant about a week prior.
• The Leader: Mostly in The Phantom Menace as the Queen of Naboo. She's mostly types Charismatic and Level-Headed, though she has shades of Mastermind as well. She's both quite cunning and charismatic, puts her people's well-being first and also works behind the scenes by disguising herself as one of her own handmaidens.
• Life's Work Ruined: Since she was a pre-teen, she has dedicated her life to serving the Republic and making the galaxy a more free and just place, working hard to preserve democracy and bring about peace even when she's in the minority. With her husband's help, Palpatine manages to undo all of this when he orchestrates his ascension as Emperor and near-total dominance over the galaxy. She is understandably devastated.
• Light Is Good: She tends to white or lighter-colored clothing and is definitely on the side of good, also serving as a Morality Chain for Anakin, and as The Heart to both him and Obi-Wan. This is particularly noticeable when she confronts Anakin on Mustafar; she is wearing a light-colored outfit, whilst Anakin, who has recently gone over to the Dark Side, is wearing black.
• Like Parent, Like Child: Her father Ruwee is a compassionate and charitable man who takes part in refugee relief missions; she ended up following in his footsteps though on an even wider scale (and her own daughter Leia takes after her in career choice and ideology, while her son Luke takes after her in personality).
• Like Parent, Like Spouse: Padmé has a physical resemblance to Anakin's mother Shmi and also has some similar personality traits. They're noted to be very compassionate and unconditionally loving and supportive to Anakin. Interestingly (and tragically), it is Anakin's inability to save his mother's life that later compels him to go to extreme lengths to save his wife when he believes she's in danger. He outright tells Padmé "I won’t lose you the way I lost my mother". Ironically, Anakin is the one who ultimately causes Padmé's death via his actions.
• Little Miss Badass: In The Phantom Menace, she's at her youngest. It doesn't stop her from cornering Nute Gunray.
• Living a Double Life: To an extent; she's a senator who is secretly married to a Jedi Knight. This is deconstructed in The Clone Wars and Revenge of the Sith, (especially in the latter when she becomes pregnant) as constantly having to keep secrets takes a serious toll on their relationship and well-being.
  Padmé: Other people who are married have everything that we don't, everything that we won't! We live in secret, Anakin. Like it or not, our relationship is built on lies and deception. No relationship can survive that.
• Living Emotional Crutch: For Anakin. The mere possibility of Padmé's death is what finally drove him to turn to the Dark Side because he felt he could not live without Padmé and tried to prevent his prophecy of her dying during childbirth. Learning of her death causes whatever was left of Anakin Skywalker to be completely consumed by Darth Vader...at least until Return of the Jedi.
  Anakin: (kneeling before Sidious) I will do whatever you ask [...] Just help me save Padmé's life. I can't live without her.
• Living with the Villain: She unknowingly works in close proximity with the Big Bad Palpatine for over a decade, only learning of his true nature in Revenge of the Sith. In the same film, she is married to and currently living with Anakin after he becomes Darth Vader and is also pregnant with his children, although she is initially unaware of this. When she does learn the truth, she goes from shocked and in-denial to utterly distraught.
• Locked Out of the Loop: For most of Revenge of the Sith she is kept in the dark about all the stuff going on with Palpatine, Anakin, Order 66 and the plot to take over the galaxy. She clearly knows something is going on, but all Anakin and Palpatine give her are half-truths or straight-up lies and she doesn't know what to believe (along with most of the other senators). Obi-Wan explains everything to her near the end of the film, though the truth is so horrifying she still goes to find Anakin to hear it from him as well.
• Long-Distance Relationship: She is in one with Anakin for most of their marriage. She lives mostly on Coruscant or occasionally her home planet of Naboo, whilst Anakin is off fighting in The Clone Wars. They sometimes go months apart without seeing each other.
• Long Hair Is Feminine: She has long hair (though she often wears it tied up in crazy styles) and is the most feminine of the all the leading ladies in the Canon.
• The Lost Lenore: For Anakin by the end of the Prequel Trilogy. Padmé tragically dies during childbirth (largely because of Anakin's actions). Although Vader doesn't explicitly mention her in the Original Trilogy, it's made clear in Revenge of the Sith and the EU that Vader never forgave himself for causing her death, and that the agony and guilt he feels over it contributed to him becoming one of the most feared beings in the galaxy.
• Love Cannot Overcome: With Anakin in Revenge of the Sith. Although she still loves him, she's completely horrified by what he's become and rejects him when he suggests they rule the galaxy together:
  Padmé: (horrified) I don't believe what I'm hearing...! Obi-Wan was right... you've changed!
  Anakin: (with a growing angry look and voice) I don't want to hear any more about Obi-Wan. The Jedi turned against me. Don't you turn against me!
  Padmé: (crying) I don't know you anymore! Anakin... you're breaking my heart! You're going down a path I can't follow!
  Anakin: Because of Obi-Wan?
  Padmé: Because of what you've done... what you plan to do! Stop! Stop now... come back... I love you!
• Loved I Not Honor More: She loves Anakin and marries him by the end of Attack of the Clones, but she usually puts her duty to the Republic first, especially in The Clone Wars. Lampshaded in Attack of the Clones; when she is knocked from a gunship and falls unconscious in pursuit of Dooku, Anakin initially wants to go back for her, until Obi-Wan asks him what Padmé would do in his position; he concludes that "She would do her duty" and reluctantly leaves her behind.
• Lovely Angels: With Ahsoka whenever they team up in The Clone Wars and Forces of Destiny. Padmé is an elegant Badass Normal and Action Politician, while Ahsoka is a scrappy Magic Knight. They have a sisterly relationship, with Padmé looking out for teenaged Ahsoka.
• Love Makes You Dumb: Downplayed in Revenge of the Sith. Padmé initially refuses to believe Anakin has turned to the dark side, even though Anakin has been acting strangely, she doesn't believe Palpatine's claims – which Anakin backs up – that the Jedi are trying to take over, Obi-Wan is very sincere and has little reason to lie and she knows that Anakin has a violent and vengeful streak. Despite this, Padmé insists Anakin could never do such terrible things. It's strongly implied to be denial more than anything (after all, nobody wants to think their husband and the father of their child is a murderer, budding tyrant and lied to them). Padmé is concerned enough about it that she goes straight to Mustafar to find out the truth, implying that deep down, she at least suspects Obi-Wan is right. When she sees Anakin's Face–Heel Turn first-hand, she can't deny it anymore and is completely devastated.
• Love Martyr: Nothing Anakin does can stop her from loving him: not mass-murder, not another mass-murder consisting of children... not even strangling her nearly to death will sway this woman.

M-P

• Magnetic Hero: She got to be both queen and senator of Naboo for a good reason. She's regarded as charismatic and endearing by many people; as a fourteen year old in The Phantom Menace, she quickly befriends Jar Jar Binks and Anakin Skywalker, and later wins over Boss Nass and persuades him and the other Gungans to help liberate Naboo from the Trade Federation. She also persuades Qui-Gon Jinn to go along with her plans. By Attack of the Clones, she is the leader of the senators who oppose the Military Creation Act, and seems pretty pally with Bail Organa and Mon Mothma (both future leaders of the Rebel Alliance) and Master Yoda also thinks highly of her. She is also able to persuade some Separatist senators into meeting with her to discuss a diplomatic solution to the Clone Wars and manages to persuade Jabba the Hutt not to kill Anakin and Ahsoka.
• The Maiden Name Debate: She remained Amidala after her marriage to Anakin Skywalker for obvious reasons.
• Male Gaze: In the Prequel Trilogy (particularly in The Clone Wars), she occasionally gets subjected to these whenever she wears a very form fitting white bodysuit or other outfits that highlight her shapely rear end.
• Married to the Job: This is implied to have been a factor in her break-up with Senator Clovis. They had a relationship quite early in her career as a senator, but Padmé ultimately wanted to focus on her job – which is admittedly very important – and decided to return their relationship to a purely professional one. She has shades of this with Anakin too, as well as the added stress of them having a Secret Relationship, although Anakin is usually more understanding.
• Martial Pacifist: She is dedicated to peace at any cost, but that doesn't mean she can't pick up a blaster and fight when it's necessary.
• Master of the Mixed Message:
  • In Attack of the Clones, Anakin couldn't be more obvious about his attraction to Padmé if he'd tried. She turns him down, saying that they shouldn't be together... But she also takes him to a beautiful secluded lake house retreat with no one around for miles, wearing very revealing outfits.
  • During the Clovis arc in The Clone Wars, she's "forced" to work with her ex-boyfriend Rush Clovis on the files they stole from the bank on Scipio that would expose those who committed embezzlement in the Banking Clan. Even though she insists it's purely business, she goes to the opera with him, wearing the exact same outfit she wore on the "not"-romantic evening Anakin and she spent together on Naboo. Then, she invites him to her private residence and serves him dinner and drink while they laughingly reminisce their previous works together.
• Meaningful Funeral: Padmé's funeral at the end of Revenge of the Sith isn't just a somber send-off for her character; it can also be seen as the 'funeral' of the Old Republic and what Padmé stood for as the tyrannical Galactic Empire takes over, setting the scene for the original trilogy.
• Meaningful Name:
  • Padmé comes from "Padma", or "lotus" in Sanskrit, a flower that has great spiritual importance in both Hinduism and Buddhism.
  • Her surname Amidala is apparentaly taken from "Amitabha", a spiritual manifestation in Buddhism, translating as "infinite light" from Sanskrit.
  • Her informal name of Naberrie is a variation of the Egyptian Arabic name "Nabirye", meaning "mother of twins", an obvious reference to her being the mother of Luke and Leia.
• Minidress of Power: One of her action-oriented outfits consists of a tan minidress (worn over leggings, as she's a Proper Lady). She wears it in The Clone Wars and the climax of Revenge of the Sith, although in the latter she doesn't do any fighting in it (she being heavily pregnant).
• Mistaken for Cheating:
  • In The Clone Wars, Anakin walks in as Clovis is about to forcibly kiss Padmé and completely loses it (though his anger is directed at Clovis). Padmé later clarifies that it wasn't what he thought.
  • The subtext in Revenge of the Sith indicates that Anakin believes she and Obi-Wan may be having an affair. When Obi-Wan emerges from Padmé's ship on Mustafar – he having stowed away without her knowledge – Anakin screams at her "You're with him! You brought him here to kill me!" before Force-choking whilst she desperately denies it. The novelization makes it explicit that Anakin thought Obi-Wan and Padmé were having an affair, thanks to Palpatine's insinuations.
• Morality Chain: For Anakin, at first. Particularly in Revenge of the Sith, Palpatine manages to weaken the effect of Padmé being Anakin's chain; at the start of the novelization of the film, Anakin has some respect for his wife's autonomy and doesn't want to hurt her. Later, even before he strangles her, he sees her less as a person he loves and more as a possession expressing fear and pain, emotions that are beautiful to behold because he earned them. It is also his desperation to protect her that compels him to join the Dark Side in the first place (there were other factors too, but saving Padmé is the catalyst).
• Morality Pet: To Anakin after he turns to the Dark Side. Despite becoming increasingly cold and ruthless, he still loves Padmé more than anything - after the massacre at the Jedi Temple, the first thing he does is rush to her apartment to check on her and let her see he's alright. Unfortunately, it's swiftly deconstructed, as not even Padmé is able to reason with Anakin by the end of the film and he outright attacks her when he believes she's 'betrayed' him. He deeply regrets it later, but it's too little too late by this point.
• Ms. Fanservice:
  • In Attack of the Clones, she wears at least two quite revealing outfits and later shows off her flat stomach during the First Battle of Geonosis.
  • In The Clone Wars, she tends to wear a form-fitting body suit and other attractive outfits that accentuate her voluptuous yet athletic body.
  • Though most of her outfits in Revenge of the Sith are more modest to hide her pregnancy, some of her nightgowns are more revealing or form-fitting, particularly the one she wears during her romantic evening with Anakin.
• Muggle–Mage Romance: She has the Star Wars equivalent with Anakin, who is a powerful Force-user, while she lacks any Force-sensitivity, although she is a Badass Normal. She tries to be an Understanding Girlfriend/Wife but the fact Anakin is a Jedi – who frown upon emotional attachments like romance under the old Republic – forces them to keep their marriage secret. And then Anakin starts having premonitions of her dying in childbirth and becomes obsessed with saving her at any cost...
• My Girl Back Home: She is this for Anakin in The Clone Wars...although no one's supposed to know. And she actually sometimes ends up joining him on missions for one reason or another.
• My Own Private "I Do": She and Anakin get married on Naboo when he escorts her home following the First Battle of Geonosis. Due to the relationship being a secret one, only R2-D2 and C-3PO are in attendance. Despite this, Padmé still managed to find a lovely dress for the occasion.
• My Secret Pregnancy: She conceals her pregnancy almost up to giving birth, partly because she doubts the Queen will still allow her to serve in the Senate and partly because the father is a Jedi, who are forbidden to have families. The reverse applies posthumously — Bail Organa had her body made to appear pregnant so Vader and Palpatine would think her child(ren) died with her.
• Mysterious Parent: To Luke and Leia to some extent, in the Original Trilogy, though Luke tends to fixate more on his father until Return of the Jedi. Neither of them knows anything about her and Leia has only vague memories of her (which she admits are more feelings than solid memories). They eventually find out who she was, while the Prequel Trilogy greatly fleshes out her character. Leia in particular is relieved to find out she wasn't a monster like Anakin became and that she in fact spoke out against the Empire. Padmé's full identity isn't revealed in the Original Trilogy and she only has an indirect effect on the plot, but the Prequel Trilogy establishes that she's very important to the overarching story; in particular, she is at the center of Anakin Skywalker's fall to the Dark Side due to his fear of losing her.
• Mythology Gag: In Queen's Shadow, Padmé tells Clovis about a relief mission she went on with her father to a planet called Shadda-Bi-Boran as a child, which ended with all of the evacuees dying because they couldn't adjust to a different environment. This mission comes straight from a non-canon deleted scene from Attack of the Clones where she tells Anakin about it.
• Neutral Female:
  • When Anakin and Clovis get into a fight (a rather one-sided one, at that) in "The Rise of Clovis", she doesn't really intervene beyond begging them both to stop.
  • Justified during Anakin and Obi-Wan's climatic duel in Revenge of the Sith; Anakin had knocked her unconscious by Force-choking her prior to the duel and given she is heavily pregnant at the time, she probably couldn't have done much as it is.
• Nice Girl: She's one of the most gentle-hearted, compassionate, and caring characters in the Canon, only using violence as a last resort, devoted to her people's well-being and always trying to help or comfort people in need. Don't mistake her kindness for her being a push-over, though...
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:
  • Though she was an Unwitting Pawn, she is persuaded by Palpatine to place a vote of no confidence in Chancellor Valorum to save Naboo in The Phantom Menace, allowing Palpatine to be elected into office – one of the major steps in his Evil Plan to take over the galaxy.
  • In The Clone Wars' Clovis arc, she helps Rush Clovis expose corruption in the Banking Clan and endorses him becoming the Bank's Chairman to restore its neutrality. However, Clovis ends up being framed as a Separatist supporter who intentionally caused the corruption, ultimately resulting in Palpatine being given direct control of the Banks and thus giving him all the funds he needs for the Empire.
• Nice Mean And In Between: She's the Nice to Anakin's Mean and Obi-Wan's Inbetween, being the emotional center of the trio and being very kind - or at least polite - to just about everyone.
• Nice to the Waiter: She's always very polite and amiable to her servants, be they lifeforms or droids, and views some of them more as friends than just staff.
• Noble Fugitive: In The Phantom Menace, she must flee from Naboo to Coruscant when the Trade Federation invades the planet, disguising herself as one of her own handmaidens in the process. As the recently-elected Queen of Naboo, the Trade Federation need her to sign a treaty making the invasion legal, while she also has the power (theoretically-speaking) to go before the Senate and persuade them to intervene. In Attack of the Clones, she must also go into hiding on Naboo, under the protection of the Jedi, when Separatist assassins try to kill her to set off war with the Republic. She has to disguise herself as a refugee from the Thousand Moons system and take public transport to Naboo so as not to tip the Separatists off.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: She tries to convince Anakin to come back to the light and come away with her, saying she still loves him and doesn't need anything else but his love – especially when she could've turned him over to Obi-Wan instead. He Force chokes her for her trouble.
• Non-Idle Rich: She's a politician who lives in opulence, but it's made very clear that she works hard to try and improve things for both Naboo and the rest of the galaxy using her position (in The Clone Wars, Anakin actually has difficulty persuading her to take time off for a vacation). She's also willing to go into highly volatile situations if she thinks it's for a good cause.
• Not Afraid to Die: She tells Anakin this in Attack of the Clones as they’re about to be sent out into the arena for execution; the main thing that upsets her is that she might die before telling Anakin she truly loves him and she is indeed Defiant to the End in the following sequence. Heartbreakingly subverted in Revenge of the Sith; when Anakin turns on her in a murderous rage, she is terrified, tearfully pleading with him – though this is likely because her unborn children are also in danger.
• Now or Never Kiss: Her second kiss with Anakin is this trope, right before they're sent out into the Geonosian arena. Leia does the same thing with Han in The Empire Strikes Back.
• Obvious Pregnancy: Double Subverted. Padmé is already in her third trimester when she reveals her pregnancy and is also carrying twins, but she hides it pretty well using tent dresses and cloaks. When she's in her nightgowns or her Minidress of Power, she is very visibly pregnant. She doesn't seem to show any other typical signs of pregnancy, besides getting very emotional (though this is also brought on by other stressors in her life). After her death, her body is intentionally made to look as though she was still pregnant to protect her children.
• Of Corsets Sexy: In Attack of the Clones, she wears a dress that includes a black leather corset. It makes a reappearance in The Clone Wars.
• Official Couple: With Anakin as of Attack of the Clones.
• Oh, Crap!: In Revenge of the Sith, when she sees Obi-Wan standing in the doorway of her ship and realizes how it looks to an increasingly paranoid and Ax-Crazy Anakin.
• The Ojou: Padmé is very polite and composed and highly respected and loved, even when she finishes her term as queen and becomes a Senator.
• Ojou Ringlets: She has this hairstyle during her picnic with Anakin in Attack of the Clones and is very much The Ojou.
• Old Flame: To Rush Clovis. She was the one who ended things between them, wanting to focus on her career, which he reluctantly accepted. When they meet again, Clovis makes it pretty obvious he still has feelings for her, but Padmé isn't interested, especially considering she's now (secretly) married to Anakin Skywalker. She does end up rekindling their friendship, but only to help the Republic investigate the Banking Clan. Things don't quite go according to plan, however.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business:
  • The usually forgiving Padmé angrily refuses to forgive Anakin for nearly beating up Clovis to death.
  • She, The Pollyanna, gives a Despair Speech when Palpatine makes the Republic into the Empire.
• Open Secret: Her Secret Relationship with Anakin was becoming this by the end of the Clone Wars. Although not widely known, it was quite obvious to those close to the pair that something was going on between them: Palpatine knew, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka are all but stated to have figured it out, Bail and Yoda are unsurprised when they learn about it, Rush Clovis figures it out pretty quickly, Thrawn didn't actually realize their relationship was supposed to be secret until Anakin denies there's anything between them and decades later Mon Mothma tells Leia she'd suspected her true parentage for years but kept it quiet. In fairness, the two aren't exactly subtle at times, particularly Anakin; they even act like a married couple (be it kissing or arguing) in public places where they could quite easily be spotted.
• Pacifism Backfire: In The Phantom Menace, she says she "will not condone a course of action that will lead to war" when the Trade Federation creates a blockade around Naboo. Not long after, the Trade Federation invades the planet and violently oppresses her people, transporting them to internment camps in an attempt to force her to cooperate with them (on top of trying to murder the two Jedi sent to negotiate with them). After trying to resolve the situation diplomatically, Padmé gets sick of the delays and decides Violence Really Is the Answer, though she's not happy about it. She proves herself to a Martial Pacifist by the end.
• Parting-from-Consciousness Words: After being Force-choked by Anakin, she briefly regains conciousness and manages to say a few words to Obi-Wan: "Is Anakin alright?" She passes out again moments later and so never finds out that Anakin was horrifically injured and left for dead.
• Peaceful in Death: After her death, Padmé's body is dressed and arranged in such a way that it looks as though she's floating serenely in a river, surrounded by flowers.
• Peerless Love Interest: It's implied that she's a bit of one to Anakin Skywalker. Upon first meeting her at the age of nine, he asks if she's an angel, said to be "the most beautiful creatures in the universe" and gives her a hand-made charm to remember him by. Anakin never stopped thinking of Padmé despite not seeing her for ten years, is incredibly nervous about seeing her again, and straight up tells her she's grown more beautiful than ever. He is devoted to protecting her and says he will do anything she asks. It's played with, though, as Anakin actually does try to win her heart (and succeeds); he also spends enough time with Padmé that he gets to know the real her...and if anything, it makes him love her more.
• Pimped-Out Cape: Padmé wore a few fancy capes in The Phantom Menace and a few slightly less pimped out capes in Attack of the Clones, The Clone Wars, and Revenge of the Sith.
• Pimped-Out Dress: Padmé has a rather large collection. Each of them is based on a Real Life dress, incidentally. One of them resembles a Mongolian wedding dress. At one point in The Phantom Menace, Obi-Wan estimates with all seriousness that if they were to sell all of Queen Amidala's wardrobe at the time, they very well might fetch enough local money to purchase the repairs they needed; the same amount of money as the grand prize of an annual, high-stakes pod race.
• Pink Means Feminine: The pastel-colored gown she wears in Attack of the Clones when she and Anakin have their first kiss has pink on it. One of her action-oriented outfits includes the dark pink jacket she wears in The Clone Wars; she's also depicted wearing it on poster art included in an exclusive edition of Thrawn: Alliances.
• Pint-Sized Powerhouse: She's 5'5" (1.65 m), only slightly taller than her daughter Leia, but still kicks lots of ass.
• Please, Don't Leave Me: Upon realizing that Anakin has turned to the Dark Side, Padmé knows right away that she will never join him and tearfully pleads, "Stop! Stop now, come back! I love you!".
• Plucky Girl: Particularly in Attack of the Clones and The Clone Wars, she's usually a brave and optimistic idealist who refuses to give up. At least, until Revenge of the Sith.
• Politically-Active Princess: Queen, actually. She came to the Senate to plead the cause of her planet as it was invaded by the Trade Federation back in The Phantom Menace. She became a senator afterwards.
• The Pollyanna: Padmé is generally very optimistic and enthusiastic no matter what life throws at her, at least until the second half of Revenge of the Sith, where she is utterly broken by the rise of the Empire and Anakin's turn to the Dark Side, crossing the Despair Event Horizon. However, she does show a glimmer of optimism on her deathbed, expressing a belief that Anakin does still have good left in him.
• Posthumous Character: She keeps haunting what's left of Anakin in Darth Vader in some canonical works long after her death in Revenge of the Sith.
• Posthumous Popularity Potential: In-Universe version. While she was always popular as a queen and later on senator, after she dies, she reaches the status of becoming at times a near-deity to the people of Naboo. Her grave is treated almost like a shrine and Vader coming near it with people believing he means to desecrate it is treated as close to sacrilege. Almost two decades later, people who served her are shown to be deeply devoted to her memory, Sabeé in particular having devoted her life to finding out the reasons behind her sudden death. Even her apartment on Corescant, a planet that has 5,127 levels and is at a premium for space, is sealed off and made into a memorial for her instead of being reconverted which is notable given it's in a prime spot for real estate on a premium level.
• Pretty in Mink: A few of her outfits and capes are lined with fur.
• Pretty Princess Powerhouse: This well-dressed, courteous royal was in the thick of it during not only the Battle of Theed 10 years before the Clone Wars, but during several engagements during that conflict, including Geonosis. She fought in and survived a battle that killed off dozens of Jedi.
• Prevent the War: By the time of Attack of the Clones, she is doing everything she can to prevent war between the Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems. This results in her being targeted by assassins employed by the Separatists, who hope to use her death to start a war (and appease Nute Gunray). Although she survives the assassination attempts, her efforts are for nought in the end.
• Professional Voice Dissonance: Played with. In The Phantom Menace, fourteen year old Queen Amidala intentionally speaks with a low voice and upper-class accent to make herself seem more mature and commanding than her appearance would suggest (her decoy Sabé copies this voice, which helps to disguise their differences). However, outside of her role as queen, Padmé uses her normal, more high-pitched voice (which helps her blend in with her handmaidens). After she steps down from the throne and becomes a senator, she uses her normal voice all the time (save for one moment in Queen's Shadow, where she uses "the queen's voice" to tell Clovis off when he gets too handsy with her).
• Prone to Tears: During the second half of Revenge of the Sith, she becomes a lot more emotionally fragile and prone to breaking down in tears. This is likely justified, both because her pregnancy is making her more sensitive and because she's stuck in a really dire situation.
• Proper Lady: Padmé is always very polite and well-spoken – even when dealing with enemies – and carries herself in a graceful and dignified manner. However, she does have a bit of a rebellious streak lacking in most examples, primarily in the form of Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!.
• The Protagonist: She is the central character of the novel Queen's Shadow, which is set four years after The Phantom Menace and focuses on her becoming Senator of Naboo.
• Protectorate: For Anakin, beginning with him being assigned to protect her from assassins in Attack of the Clones. Unfortunately, he takes it to extreme levels in Revenge of the Sith.

Q-S

• Queen Incognito: She frequently disguises herself as one of her own handmaidens, As a result, she is treated like a common handmaiden. It works thanks to Decoy Leader Sabé, and the audience is occasionally left clueless. She gets to explore Tatooine by saying the Queen wanted a loyal handmaiden to tell her about it, the planet being deemed too dangerous for her to explore.
• Rank Scales with Asskicking: The Naboo favor pacifism and diplomacy (as does Padmé herself), but she is shown to be a very capable fighter during the Battle of Naboo. She continues this trend as Naboo's Senator, notably surviving a battle which claimed the lives of several Jedi, who are some of the best warriors in the galaxy.
• Rebel Leader:
  • In The Phantom Menace, she leads Naboo's resistance against the Trade Federation and succeeds in liberating her planet.
  • A deleted arc in Revenge of the Sith reveals she is a founding member and the spokeswoman of the Delegation of 2000, which sought to curb the Chancellor's power and preserve democracy, and eventually became the Rebel Alliance. However, Padmé died before the rebellion truly began. Both her kids take after her in this regard, being key members in the rebellion against the Empire, especially Leia (who also founded and leads the Resistance against the First Order).
• Red Is Heroic: In her first onscreen appearance as Queen Amidala, she's wearing a red gown. She also wears a gown with a lot of red on it when she addresses the Senate and wears a dark red outfit during the Battle of Naboo, where she fights to liberate her people.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: She is the Blue to Anakin's Red. Although she can also be headstrong at times, she is generally more rational, calm and collected compared to Anakin.
• Regal Ringlets: Padmé's hair is curly and she is technically royalty or at least upper class.
• Rejected Apology: Considering she's usually quite a forgiving person, it's clear that Anakin has well and truly effed up after he tries repeatedly to apologize for beating the crap out of Clovis, only for Padmé to refuse to accept it. Instead, she goes on an emotional tirade about how Anakin refuses to trust her and lets his anger get out of control, how it's ruining their relationship and that their marriage might even have been a mistake. Though upset, Anakin doesn't press the matter because he realizes Padmé is right. It takes Padmé getting caught up in the Separatist invasion of Scipio and her almost dying for them to make up.
• Relationship Upgrade: Her and Anakin. They start off as friends when they first meet in The Phantom Menace; Padmé saw herself as a surrogate Cool Big Sis to him while a young Anakin instantly fell in love with her. By the end of the film, they part ways (Padmé continuing her reign as Queen of Naboo before entering politics and Anakin taken in by the Jedi Order) but remain in each other's thoughts during their ten year separation. When they meet again in Attack of the Clones, Anakin is still deeply and obviously in love with Padmé, but it takes her a little bit before she returns his feelings. However, Padmé thinks it would be best to remain friends because of the potential hurt they would be put through if they enter into a romance. Anakin begrudgingly but respectfully agrees to her wishes. This changes when they both are held prisoners and Padmé thinks they will die, leading her Anguished Declaration of Love to Anakin before sharing a kiss with him. By the end of Attack of the Clones, the two decide to marry in secret.
• Requisite Royal Regalia: Since Padmé is a Queen, she is seen wearing a variety of royal clothing.
• Rescue Romance: She starts to seriously consider Anakin as a Love Interest after he saves her from Zam Wesell's second assassination attempt.
• Retirony: A variation. She implies in Revenge of the Sith that the Queen will make her retire from politics due to her pregnancy and she makes plans to return to Naboo to raise her and Anakin's children in a safe and peaceful environment. Unfortunately, it's a Foregone Conclusion that this ain't happening and poor Padmé dies in childbirth near the end of the film (helped along by a Face-Heel Turned Anakin).
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: She comes from a well-off family and she is both the Queen and Senator of Naboo and is one of the nicest, most responsible characters in the Canon. It's indicated that her parents raised her to use her privileged position to help those less fortunate, with her father even taking her with him on relief missions when she was a child. Padmé is quite an active queen, in part because she posed as one of her own maids-in-waiting whenever she wasn't needed for royal duties, allowing her to get involved in important but "unofficial" matters.
• Sadistic Choice: The Trade Federation try to force one on her in The Phantom Menace; she can sign a treaty making their invasion legal and thus sign away her people's freedom and rights, or refuse to sign and be Forced to Watch her people be violently oppressed and locked up in detention camps. She initially picks the latter, hoping that the Senate will intervene, and upon being rescued by Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, agrees to travel to Coruscant to appeal to the Senate directly.
• Saved by Canon: In Attack of the Clones and The Clone Wars, we know that any attempts on her life will ultimately fail, mainly because she still needs to give birth to Luke and Leia. On the flipside, it's also established in Return of the Jedi that she didn't live long after this.
• Schrödinger's Canon: In Legends, Padmé's true cause of death was concealed by claiming that she'd been killed by the Jedi, as the Empire had put out a story that they'd killed several senators as part of the justification for The Purge. It's still the case that her true cause of death was concealed, as the shot of her body in her funeral procession shows she still appears to be pregnant, but how it was done in new canon remains to be seen.
• Screaming Birth: In Anakin's nightmares, this is played straight, though when the scene occurs in reality, she sobs and winces in pain, but doesn't actually do a lot of screaming. Considering she's dying and just went through one hell of a Trauma Conga Line, it's pretty impressive she isn't screaming her head off.
• Screw Destiny: When Anakin tells her about his premonitions of her death in childbirth, she stubbornly insists it was a just a dream and she'll be fine. Unfortunately, Anakin's active attempts to avert the prophecy cause it to come true.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!:
  • In Attack of the Clones, Padmé wants to go rescue Obi-Wan from the Separatists, but Anakin says the Jedi Council have ordered him to stay on Tatooine. Padmé points out that they told him to keep her safe and she's going to save Obi-Wan, so "[Anakin] will just have to come along". Previously, she also disobeyed orders to remain on Naboo to accompany Anakin in finding his mother, even taking her own starship to do so.
  • In The Clone Wars, Padmé wants to meet with Senator Mina Bonteri to try and open the channel for diplomacy with the Separatists, but the Senate have made it illegal for such meetings to occur. She is able to persuade Ahsoka to use her clearance as a Jedi to travel to a neutral world, then secretly board a ship to Raxus.
  • A more subtle example in Revenge of the Sith - even though the Jedi have been declared traitors, Padmé doesn't even seem to consider turning Obi-Wan in when he comes to her for help.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Following the Empire's formation, she goes to Anakin on Mustafar and begs him to run away with her and raise their child somewhere safe, urging him to "leave everything else behind while they still can." Her concerns are well-founded, as Padmé is known to be unsupportive of the Empire, has harboured Jedi fugitives and in the following days many of her like-minded friends in the Senate are rounded up and arrested for treason, with some even being executed. In the novelization of Revenge of the Sith, it's strongly implied she fears she won't live much longer for this very reason. She's also clearly afraid for her unborn child(ren)'s safety (and given what Palpatine's plans were for Luke and Leia if he got his hands on them, this is a very realistic fear too).
• Secret Relationship: She secretly marries Anakin at the end of Attack of the Clones. Deconstructed in "The Rise of Clovis", which comes to show that a marriage built on lies isn't a very healthy one. She even tells Anakin how messed up their relationship has gotten after he nearly beats Clovis to death, leading her to decide that they keep some distance for a while. It does end up working in their kids' favor however, making it easier to keep their true identities hidden.
• Security Cling: In the climax of Revenge of the Sith, with everything having gone to hell, Padmé runs to and embraces Anakin on Mustafar, then clings to his arms as she asks him if Obi-Wan was telling her the truth about his Face–Heel Turn. When she realizes it is true, however, she lets go of him and begins Backing Away Slowly...
• Selective Obliviousness: In regards to Anakin in Revenge of the Sith. She initially refuses to accept that he's turned to the Dark Side, despite the evidence against him piling up. Given she heads off to confront Anakin about it directly, it's strongly indicated she suspects it is true, but is desperately hoping it isn't.
• Sexy Backless Outfit:
  • One the gowns she wears on Naboo in Attack of the Clones includes this. Notably, this is the scene where she and Anakin have their first kiss.
  • She wears a backless purple evening gown in The Clone Wars episode "Senate Spy".
• She Is All Grown Up: In Attack of the Clones, where she's in her early twenties (she was just fourteen back in The Phantom Menace).
  Padmé: My goodness, you've grown!
  Anakin: So have you.
• Sheltered Aristocrat: As Queen, she's actually Wise Beyond Their Years and concerned with nothing but helping her people, but she is shown to have little knowledge of worlds outside Naboo and is rather naive about the state of the Senate. Shortly after becoming a senator in Queen's Shadow, she's also shocked to learn even highly developed planets like Coruscant have very poor areas. In her subsequent appearances she is more worldly and experienced, though she retains her idealistic outlook.
• Sickeningly Sweethearts: A little bit with Anakin during the balcony scene in Revenge of the Sith. Half the stuff they say to each other doesn't even make much sense, though it could be justified in that they haven't seen each other in months and they're both giddy with happiness at Padmé being pregnant.
• Significant Wardrobe Shift:
  • In The Phantom Menace, she wears very elaborate and regal gowns in her Queen Amidala persona to appear more commanding, whilst wearing much simpler and more practical clothes when she’s disguised as 'Padmé the handmaiden'.
  • In Attack of the Clones and The Clone Wars, she wears similar gowns to her queen persona - though less elaborate - on Coruscant, whilst occasionally switching to more colorful, floaty, and revealing outfits whenever she’s with Anakin, indicating how she is more relaxed and carefree around him.
  • In Revenge of the Sith, she tends to wear rather dark and concealing clothes, both for the practical purpose of hiding her pregnancy and to highlight her vulnerability in the twilight of the Republic and everything she holds dear.
• Silk Hiding Steel: Despite her regal and feminine appearance and kindly disposition, she has Nerves of Steel and even catches Darth Sidious off-guard with her courage and determination. However, she begins to lose this trait in Revenge of the Sith as things increasingly go to hell, culminating in her crossing the Despair Event Horizon.
• Simple, yet Opulent: The few times she wears anything that isn't a Pimped-Out Dress, it's usually this. Some notable examples include her handmaiden gowns in The Phantom Menace, her nightgowns and some of her Stylish Protection Gear.
• Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Zigzagged. While it's shown that Padmé loved Anakin even with his troubling nature, she's also shown to admire his more heroic qualities. Sadly, she thought I Can Change My Beloved which ended in tragedy. The novelization of Revenge of the Sith also notes the better traits Padmé loved about Anakin.
  "[Anakin] is not a perfect man: he is prideful, and moody, and quick to anger—but these faults only make [Padmé] love him the more, for his every flaw is more than balanced by the greatness within him, his capacity for joy and cleansing laughter, his extraordinary generosity of spirit, his passionate devotion not only to her but also in the service of every living being. He is a wild creature who has come gently to her hand, a vine tiger purring against her cheek. Every softness of his touch, every kind glance or loving word is a small miracle in itself. How can she not be grateful for such gifts?"
• Skilled, but Naive: In The Phantom Menace, she's only fourteen years old and newly elected as Queen of Naboo. She's clearly rather ignorant and overly idealistic when it comes to wider galactic politics and the state of the Senate, particularly compared to the older and more experienced protagonists, but she is nevertheless demonstrated to be intelligent, brave, charismatic and a crack shot with a blaster. She is also the one who comes up with The Plan to liberate Naboo after the Senate fail to intervene, which is ultimately successful.
• Slain in Their Sleep: Zam Wesell tries to kill her in her sleep by putting poisonous insects in her room, but Anakin and Obi-Wan sense she's in danger and burst into the room in time to save her.
• Slave Liberation: Queen's Shadow reveals that before being asked to become Naboo's senator, Padmé wanted to dedicate her time to ending slavery on Tatooine. She attempts to broach the subject within the Senate and even has Sabé travel to Tatooine to find Shmi Skywalker in the hopes of freeing of her, though she's unsuccessful. In Attack of the Clones, she readily travels to Tatooine with Anakin to find and rescue his mother, who as far as they know is still enslaved.
• Sleek High Rise Apartment: She lives in a very fancy and spacious penthouse apartment on Coruscant. It includes water features, statues and other artifacts from Naboo, has its own private landing pad for small starships, and skyline views of the rest of the city and the Jedi Temple.
• So Happy Together: She and Anakin have a few moments in Revenge of the Sith, though one that stands out in particular is their happy reunion after the Battle of Coruscant, where Padmé tells Anakin she's pregnant and then discusses her baby plans with him. In the very next scene, Anakin has a nightmare about her dying in childbirth, which is essentially the beginning of the end.
• Spanner in the Works: She unknowingly ruins or at least temporarily derails a number of Palpatine's plans, starting in The Phantom Menace. Though he's largely able to work around this, he comes to regard her as an annoyance and is far from sad when she finally dies, not least because it fuels Vader's fury and detachment from the light. However, even posthumously she manages to be a thorn in Palpatine's side, especially when her kids wreak absolute havoc across his Empire and eventually trigger his downfall.
• Spy Catsuit: In Attack of the Clones and The Clone Wars, she wears a white, form-fitting bodysuit on missions.
• Starcrossed Lovers: With Anakin. Due to their respective roles as Jedi and Senator requiring them to be on different planets, they were often literally star crossed. They're also forced to keep their relationship secret, as Jedi are not allowed romantic or familial attachments, whilst Padmé's political reputation is also at stake. Even their romance theme was entitled "Across the Stars". By Revenge of the Sith, this overlaps with Dating Catwoman to an extent. Anakin sides with Chancellor Palpatine while Padmé leads the political opposition against him. Hints of this are shown earlier in which he talks about how much he hates politicians and that a system with a benevolent dictator would be superior, while Padmé is a firm supporter of democracy. It ultimately ends in tragedy.
• The Strategist: In The Phantom Menace. She swaps places with Sabé shortly after the Trade Federation invade Naboo, so that they're not focused on her when they inevitably takeover Theed, allowing her to act from behind-the-scenes on her way to Coruscant to appeal to the Senate to intervene. When that fails, in a rather short space of time she almost single-handedly comes up with a new plan to take back Naboo. She has their new allies, the Gungans, fight the droid army in open battle as a distraction, whilst she leads strike teams into the royal palace to free their starfighter pilots. While the pilots take out the droid control ship orbiting the planet, Padmé and her team will capture Viceroy Gunray. Aside from a few hiccups, such as Darth Maul's arrival and Padmé and her team being captured (where her swapping places with Sabé pays off), her plan works brilliantly.
• Strong Family Resemblance: Padmé is noted to look very similar to her older sister, Sola.
• Stylish Protection Gear: She wears pretty and fashionable clothing even when fighting in a battle; heck, she even makes a Hazmat Suit look good, donning a fancy yellow one in "Blue Shadow Virus". Even some of her formal outfits have built-in protection such as blaster-proof fabrics.
• Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Only in The Phantom Menace. As Queen Amidala, she makes a show of being aloof and commanding, only occasionally showing emotion, while being her more usual friendly and cheerful self when disguised as a handmaiden (unless Qui-Gon's irritating her). Notably, during Naboo's victory parade at the end of the film, Padmé lets her true self show through by smiling widely at Anakin.
• Superior Successor: She's apparently seen as one to Naboo's previous monarch, King Veruna (not that this is too difficult by all accounts). Veruna became "embroiled" with the Trade Federation and foreign bankers. He abdicated after a reign of thirteen years when the people finally got sick of him. In contrast, Padmé stands up to the Trade Federation, willingly steps down once her term has ended, greatly improves relations with the Gungans and is generally very well thought of.
• Surprise Pregnancy: Padmé and Anakin definitely weren't intending to have children, especially considering it would make keeping their marriage secret almost impossible. But despite living in a high-tech environment which presumably has some form of birth control, Padmé still unexpectedly gets pregnant with twins, and the rest is history...
• Sympathy for the Devil: Even after realizing the full extent of his crimes and being grievously injured by him Force-choking her, Padmé still asks Obi-Wan if Anakin is alright and believes he's redeemable.

T-Y

• The Team Normal: Of the main trio of the Prequel trilogy, Padmé is the sole Badass Normal while the other two (Anakin and Obi-Wan) are Force-sensitive Jedi.
• Tearful Smile: A tragic example. She gives a brief one to her son Luke after he's born, while she's clearly in a lot of pain and dying.
• Technical Pacifist: She won't condone a course of action that will lead to war and she worked for a year to defeat the Military Creation Act, but she will partake in some "aggressive negotiation" when pushed. She'll shoot Battle Droids with few qualms but when faced with flesh and blood opponents, she may try to talk them down or disarm them rather than go straight to killing. A notable example is when Padmé was taken hostage by Lolo Purs, which results in Padmé specifically getting her blaster away from Lolo and then knocking her out by sucker-punching her in the face instead of trying to shoot her.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork:
  • A bit with Qui-Gon Jinn in The Phantom Menace. She is clearly put out by his maverick ways and risky plans, but goes along with it because there's no one else to help her. Despite this, she came to greatly respect Qui-Gon; she was saddened by his death and continued to honor his memory once a year alongside the others who lost their lives during the occupation of her planet.
  • Also with Thrawn in the Flashback scenes in Thrawn: Alliances. She disapproves of his more ruthless and calculating methods, yet also finds herself troubled by his Armor-Piercing Question about the origin of the Clone Wars: why didn't the Republic simply allow the Separatists to leave?
• Tempting Fate: In Revenge of the Sith, she repeatedly tells Anakin she's not going to die in childbirth, at one point even saying "Women don't die in childbirth on Coruscant". She does indeed die in childbirth (in a medical facility on Polis Massa, in the Outer Rim) and Anakin inadvertently plays a large role in it.
• This Cannot Be!:
  • Heroic variation in Revenge of the Sith. Her initial reaction to learning about Anakin's turn to the Dark Side is to go into denial.
    Obi-Wan: Padmé... Anakin has turned to the Dark Side.
    Padmé: You're wrong. How could you even say that?!
  • This is also her reaction to a grinning Anakin suggesting they overthrow Palpatine and rule the galaxy as man and wife, realising that Obi-Wan was telling her the truth about Anakin's fall to the Dark Side.
    Padmé: I don't believe what I'm hearing. Obi-Wan was right. You've changed!
• This Is Gonna Suck: Upon arriving on Mustafar to confront Anakin about turning to the Dark Side, there's a moment where she pauses in her ship and rests her hand on her forehead, with a troubled expression.
• This Is Reality: When Anakin is trying to persuade her to give into their feelings for each other in Attack of the Clones, she says "We live in the real world, come back to it" (albeit in a reality with space wizards etc.) before plainly pointing out that their respective lifestyles and commitments won't allow them to be together and that a Secret Relationship would force them to live a lie. Anakin concedes she's right...but in the end they decide it's worth the risk anyway and get married. And then pretty much all the potential issues Padmé brought up end up becoming serious problems for them.
• Thousand-Yard Stare: Briefly develops this from shock when Obi-Wan tells about Anakin's Face–Heel Turn. She snaps out of it to turn towards him and ask if he's going to kill Anakin.
• Too Good for This Sinful Earth: Or galaxy. She's one of the kindest and most idealistic characters in the Star Wars Canon and tragically dies after she gives birth to her children. She dies because she loses the will to live after suffering a Trauma Conga Line, including the Republic turning into a tyrannical dictatorship and her husband turning evil and attacking her, after she had tried to help him.
• Took a Level in Badass: In the final act of The Phantom Menace, having tried and failed to resolve the Trade Federation's occupation of Naboo diplomatically, Padmé heads home to take back her planet by force. She almost single-handedly comes up with a plan of attack involving multiple stages, leads one of the strike teams into the royal palace and personally captures Viceroy Nute Gunray.
• Tough Leader Façade: Padmé's gowns make her look larger than life, and her painted white face is firm but never emotional. Where the queen cannot go, Padmé Naberrie does, leaving her handmaid Sabé to take her place as a decoy, letting Padmé be both The High Queen and an Action Girl.
• Tragic Dream: Raising her and Anakin's unborn children peacefully on Naboo, considering it's a Foregone Conclusion that Anakin turns to the Dark Side and Luke and Leia grow up without their biological mother.
• Tragic Keepsake: Her japor snippet, gifted to her by Anakin when they first met during the Invasion of Naboo. Upon her death after delivering her two children, she is laid to rest with it on Naboo.
• Tragic Mistake: Going to meet Anakin on Mustafar, which directly results in her death when he decides to Kick the Morality Pet in a rage. The really tragic part is that Padmé herself isn't really doing anything morally wrong; her main mistake is believing the man she loves would never harm her.
• Tranquil Fury: On the few occasions she loses her temper, it results in this. She rarely yells or even raises her voice much, remaining coldly polite as she makes her displeasure known or sometimes just settling for a stern glare. Occasionally, she'll break out the snark too.
• Trauma Conga Line: She experiences several traumatic events over the course of the Prequel Trilogy and The Clone Wars (nearly getting killed many times and losing or being betrayed by several close friends), but her terrible experiences in Revenge of the Sith is what finally breaks her spirit - everything she worked for is utterly torn down and stomped on, the Republic becomes a tyrannical dictatorship which she herself inadvertently had a hand in, her husband turns to the Dark Side and tries to kill her and their unborn children.
• Tritagonist: Besides Anakin and Obi-Wan, she's one of the most important and influential characters in the Prequel era. She does get Demoted to Satellite Love Interest in Revenge of the Sith (the subplot where she helps found the future Rebel Alliance unfortunately had most of its scenes cut in the theatrical release), but she's still a central figure in the story, particularly in Anakin's turn to the Dark Side.
• True Blue Femininity: She sometimes wears blue in varying shades, especially in Revenge of the Sith, and is depicted as a gentle and graceful noblewoman. Notably, her final onscreen outfit is a beautiful blue gown resembling a river, which her body is dressed in for her funeral.
• True Love is Exceptional: Padmé's two known previous love interests, Palo and Clovis, were both older than her, Tall, Dark, and Handsome and involved in politics (or at least Palo was part of the Legislative Youth Programme before he decided to go into art instead). Padmé's husband Anakin is five years younger than her and is a Jedi who doesn't much care for politics. And while he is tall and handsome, his hair is dark blond or brown.
• Underestimating Badassery: Her status as the newly crowned queen in The Phantom Menace ironically causes Palpatine to frequently underestimate her. He assumes that she is "young and naive" enough to sign the treaty with the Trade Federation, and is surprised when she managed to escape all the way to Coruscant to ask for the Galactic Republic's aid. Likewise, he's confused when Padmé returned to reclaim Naboo with the help of the Gungan army, remarking that it's "too aggressive" and "foolish." During The Clone Wars, Padmé continues to be a thorn to Palpatine as Senator of Naboo, temporarily halting a budget bill meant to expand the Clone Army with a passionate speech in "Pursuit of Peace", which Palpatine begrudgingly acknowledges her strength against his. It's not surprising considering that she's the mother of Luke Skywalker.
• Understanding Boyfriend: Gender-flipped and a marriage example. She tries to be one to Anakin, particularly in Revenge of the Sith, trying to get him to open up about his problems with the Jedi and his nightmares. Unfortunately, Anakin's gradual Face–Heel Turn leads him to become increasingly alienated from her, until he's outright lying to her face about what he gets up to.
• Undying Loyalty: She displays this towards the Galactic Republic. Despite gradually becoming aware of its many many flaws, Padmé remains steadfastly faithful that the Republic can uphold its ideals of justice, security, diplomacy and freedom. She refuses to even consider leaving the Republic or taking a course of action she believes will infringe on the constitution, tends to put her duty to the Republic's people before everything else and willingly risks her life on multiple occasions in service to the Republic. It's only in Revenge of the Sith that she finally starts to realize the Republic is a shell of itself; even then, deleted scenes show she's still trying futilely to keep the democracy intact. Watching it collapse altogether and become the Empire is devastating for her, marking the start of her descent past the Despair Event Horizon.
  Padmé: This war breaks my heart more than I can say. The wounds run deep. But I still believe in what the Republic stands for. Everything we've worked so hard to build. I've given it my whole heart. My whole life. And I have to believe that the Republic will emerge from this war more united than ever.
• Universally Beloved Leader: In Attack of the Clones, it is mentioned that the Naboo loved Padmé as their Queen so much that they tried to amend the constitution to keep her in office longer. However, she graciously declined, as this was undemocratic, and then accepted the new queen's request to represent Naboo in the Galactic Republic Senate...which probably just made them love her more, as her funeral is attended by thousands of people. This is probably due to the lengths Padmé went to save them from the Trade Federation, as well as bringing unity between the Naboo and the Gungans. Decades after her death, she is fondly remembered; her mortician calls her a "great queen" and attempts to endure torture to protect her secrets, and Lor San Tekka refers to her as "one of the great heroes of galactic history".
• Unlimited Wardrobe: She provides the trope image and is the subject of the page quote. Padmé wears a different dress in nearly every scene she's in, and each dress seems to be more regal and elaborate than the last. This is lampshaded in The Phantom Menace. When stranded on Tatooine, one of the things that Obi-Wan suggests in order to get money to repair the hyperdrive is to sell the Queen's wardrobe.
  • Also lampshaded by Carrie Fisher in the commentary for Return of the Jedi:
  "[Han/Harrison] wears the same outfit for three flicks. And I was complaining that I wear, like, six outfits. And my mother, Natalie Portman, she wears three million. She walks through a doorway and there’s another outfit. It’s like the Liberace of sci-fi changing of clothes."
  • Padmé's handmaidens also have their own ever-changing assortment of robes, to show hers to greater advantage.
  • Padmé's wardrobe actually has its own page on Wookiepedia.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: While it's more to do with Anakin's reactions to the situation, but marrying Anakin has some truly disastrous long-term consequences she could never have foreseen. Not only does it end in her own death, it also factors into the creation of Darth Vader and The Empire (and by extension the First Order), causing untold death and destruction across the galaxy.
• Unwitting Pawn:
  • In The Phantom Menace, when Palpatine manipulates her into calling for Valorum's resignation.
  • During the Clovis arc in The Clone Wars, she was this to Clovis and by extension Count Dooku. She gets manipulated by Clovis into helping him expose corruption in the Banking Clan so he can take control. Clovis actually did have good intentions, but unfortunately for him, he chose to trust Dooku, who was using both Clovis and Padmé to further his own ends.
  • In a heroic example, she becomes one for Obi-Wan in Revenge of the Sith's climax. After she refuses to believe him about Anakin turning to the Dark Side and won't help to locate him, Obi-Wan secretly stows away in her ship as she prepares to leave Coruscant, correctly anticipating that she is going to find Anakin and letting her unknowingly bring him right to him. Unfortunately, this ends up backfiring as the moment Anakin sees Obi-Wan, he completely loses it, accusing Padmé of intentionally bringing Obi-Wan to kill him. Before Obi-Wan can do anything, Anakin Force-chokes Padmé, seriously injuring her and leaving Obi-Wan horrified.
• Uptown Girl: She could be considered this for Anakin. When they first meet, she's Queen of Naboo (though she was disguised as a handmaiden at the time) while he's a slave. However, by the time they actually become a couple, Anakin has moved up in the world a bit to become a Jedi Knight (in training), making them a case of Lady and Knight.
• Violently Protective Girlfriend: Downplayed. While she's an Action Girl and becomes a Battle Couple with Anakin, she doesn't protect through violent means most of the time but through persuasion and deals, as she did in The Clone Wars' pilot movie. When Anakin's body is carelessly tossed to her by a T-series Tactical Droid in "Shadow Warrior", Padmé immediately goes to cradle him while giving the departing General Grievous a hateful and cold Death Glare.
• Waif-Fu: Padmé is small and petite but she is still a major Action Girl who can kick ass.
• Wakeup Makeup: In Attack of the Clones, The Clone Wars, and Revenge of the Sith, Padmé looks as gorgeous as ever when she's just woken up, with perfect hair.
• Walking Spoiler: It's difficult to talk about her without bringing up that she and Queen Amidala are the same person, which is a plot twist in The Phantom Menace (albeit one that's now widely known and even gets mentioned in the opening credits of the next movie). To an even greater extent, what happens to her in Revenge of the Sith spoils pretty much the entire movie (although it is a Foregone Conclusion), given that Anakin’s fear of losing her and her subsequent death is one of the main catalysts for him becoming Darth Vader.
• Wartime Wedding: She and Anakin get married in secret shortly after the outbreak of the Clone Wars.
• Watching Troy Burn: In Revenge of the Sith, she watches helplessly from her apartment as the Jedi Temple burns and begins sobbing when C-3PO tells her Anakin is still there. Of course, she doesn't know at this stage that Anakin is the reason the Temple is burning.
• Water Is Womanly: Padmé has a water motif. Her name comes from "padma" (Sanskrit for lotus, the water-growing flower), she often wears blue, her planet Naboo is filled with bodies of water, she spent her happiest days in the Lake Country, and her apartment on Coruscant is adorned with fountains. And she is a gentle, elegant woman often dressed in ornate gowns who serves as the Queen of Naboo.
• What the Hell, Hero?: She calls Anakin out on his Jerkass behaviour in The Clone Wars a few times, especially in the "The Rise of Clovis" after he inflicts a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown on Clovis and repeatedly refuses to listen to her reasons for working with him. She also does this in Revenge of the Sith when she realizes he's turned to the Dark Side and keeps trying to justify his actions as I Did What I Had to Do.
• What You Are in the Dark: When she's alone with Anakin on Mustafar following his Face–Heel Turn, he offers her the chance to rule the galaxy at his side once he's overthrown Palpatine, saying that they could "make things the way they want them to be" and that they can finally be together openly. Padmé proves to be as incorruptible as Luke, as she doesn't even seem to consider accepting his offer and says she can't follow her husband down this path.
• White Shirt of Death: She dies wearing a long white hospital gown.
• Wide-Eyed Idealist: Certainly the most idealistic senator in the Republic. In a deleted scene in Revenge of the Sith, one of the senators lampshades this, saying she underestimates the level of corruption in the Senate. She also dies firmly believing Anakin can be redeemed, although in that case, she was ultimately proved right.
  Mina Bonteri: You are an idealist. [...] That's not a bad thing.
  Padmé:I know. [...] I have worked very hard at it.
• Wise Beyond Their Years: She was elected to be the leader of the Naboo while still in her adolescence. In The Phantom Menace, she is seen being commanding to her enemies and humble toward her allies.
• Working with the Ex: In The Clone Wars, she is placed in a couple of situations that force her to work with her former boyfriend Rush Clovis. It does not end well, both because of Anakin getting extremely jealous of Clovis (to the point of violence) and because Clovis turns out to be working with the Separatists, nearly resulting in Padmé's death.
• World's Most Beautiful Woman: Anakin seems to think so at any rate; when they first meet he asks her if she's an angel, a species from the moons of Iego who are said to be "the most beautiful creatures in the universe."
• Wrong Side All Along: By Revenge of the Sith, she's started to grow suspicious of Chancellor Palpatine and fears that her side is no longer the 'right one' in the war, due to the Republic's increasing corruption and propensity for violent solutions. Obi-Wan later confirms that Palpatine has actually been Evil All Along and masterminded the Clone Wars, deceiving all of them to further his own ends. Realizing that she unwittingly aided a vicious tyrant in enslaving the galaxy and that her husband knowingly supports him sends her into a Heroic BSoD. She doesn't recover.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are:
  • When Padmé says she's not sure she was ready for responsibility of ruling Naboo, Anakin points out her people certainly thought she was and that he's glad she chose to serve as a senator, because the Republic needs her.
  • In "Pursuit of Peace", Padmé has to give a speech in place of Bail Organa after he's injured by bounty hunters, to persuade the Senate not to put more funding into clone troopers. She expresses doubt over her ability to sway the Senate and lack of political clout compared to Bail, prompting Onaconda Farr to point out she's actually very respected, while Teckla Minnau states she's ideal for the task because she actually listens to the people and understands what they're going through.
• You Are Too Late: To apprehend Dooku at the end of Attack of the Clones. After waking up in the Geonosian desert, she rallies some clone troopers and makes for a nearby hangar to assist the Jedi in stopping Dooku. Unfortunately, they get there too late to stop Dooku from escaping or from seriously injuring Obi-Wan and Anakin. They do make an attempt to shoot Dooku's ship down, but he ultimately gets away to continue causing havoc in The Clone Wars.
• You Did Everything You Could: She tells Anakin pretty much this, saying "There are some things no one can fix. You're not all-powerful", after his mother dies and he blames himself. Anakin doesn't take it to heart, instead eventually becoming obsessed with gaining the power to save his loved ones.
• You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: A variation. As she's helping Anakin prepare for the Boonta Eve Classic - which her plan to get off Tatooine to save Naboo hinges around him winning - he casually confesses to her that he's never actually even finished a race before. Padmé gapes at him, uttering a disbelieving "Never even finished?" Luckily, it all works out.
• Young and in Charge: She has been involved in politics since her early teens, being only 14 when she was elected Queen of Naboo. By 24, she's representing Naboo in the Galactic Senate and is considered the de facto leader of the senators opposing the Military Creation Act, over older and more experienced politicians.
• Younger Than They Look: As Queen, the make-up and clothes she wears make her seem older than her fourteen years, helping her blend in better when she disguises herself as a handmaiden. Out of her regal outfit, she sounds and acts much like the teenager she is, while she makes an effort to come across as more adultlike when she's fulfilling her royal duties.
• You Remind Me of X: On a number of occasions, Ahsoka states that Padmé reminds her of Anakin at times. Although she's initially oblivious, it's all but stated she eventually figured out the two were in a relationship.

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"So this is how liberty dies - with thunderous applause."

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