Padmé Amidala performer Natalie Portman
Padmé Amidala (née Naberrie) is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise, appearing in the prequel trilogy portrayed by Natalie Portman. First indirectly mentioned in Return of the Jedi, she is introduced in The Phantom Menace as the teenage Queen of Naboo, and after her reign, becomes a senator and an anti-war activist in the Galactic Senate. She secretly marries  Anakin Skywalker, a Jedi Knight, then later dies while giving birth to twins Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa. Anakin's fear of losing Padmé serves as the catalyst in driving him to the dark side of the Force and becoming Darth Vader.
Critical reception to Padmé was mixed; some praised the personal and political motives of the character, while others criticized the regression to a plot device for Anakin's fall to the dark side. Portman's performance received mixed reviews as well, though some have blamed the performance on Lucas' direction and script. Despite the mixed reaction to the character's portrayal, the role helped Portman gain international recognition. In addition to being one of three primary characters in the prequel trilogy, Padmé has also appeared in other Star Wars media such as The Clone Wars.Design and casting
According to concept artist Iain McCaig, the earliest reference to Portman came about through his designs for the character. In a 2022 interview with Star Wars Insider, he stated that Princess Ozma, the fictional ruler from the Land of Oz series of novels by L. Frank Baum, was a direct influence on his visualizations.  McCaig related the succinct instructions that Lucasfilm provided to artists for the characters, saying, "Amidala was described as 'kind of like Ozma' from The Wizard of Oz." According to McCaig, he chose Portman as a model for his designs because he felt she evoked the Oz character, saying, "She had Ozma's aura of vulnerability and strength." After producer/director George Lucas discussed this with McCaig, the producer inquired, "Do you know this girl?" McCaig replied, "No sir. But she's your queen."George Lucas, Rick McCallum, and casting director Robin Gurland auditioned over 200 actresses for the part of Padmé Amidala. They chose 16-year-old actress Natalie Portman to play the role. According to The Phantom Menace production notes, "The role required a young woman who could be believable as the ruler of that planet, but at the same time be vulnerable and open." Portman's performances in The Professional (1994) and Beautiful Girls (1996) impressed Lucas. He stated, "I was looking for someone who was young, strong, along the lines of Leia. Natalie embodied all those traits and more."Portman was unfamiliar with Star Wars at the time of her casting. She said, "My cousins had always been obsessed with the films, yet I hadn't even seen them before I got the part. When it all happened for me, my cousins were exclaiming, 'Oh, my God, you're in Star Wars!'" She told a CNN interviewer, "I really wasn't aware of how big a deal Star Wars was ... and when I saw the films, I really liked them, but I still didn't really understand how many ... were passionate fans of this film." Portman was, however, enthusiastic over being cast as the queen of Naboo, a character she expected to become a role model: "It was wonderful playing a young queen with so much power. I think it will be good for young women to see a strong woman of action who is also smart and a leader."In The Phantom Menace, Portman had to portray a character younger than herself. In Attack of the Clones, however, her character had aged 10 years. Portman had aged only three years between the two films. She remarks, "[Lucas] wants to make sure I seem older than Anakin in Attack of the Clones, so it's believable that I can be bossing him around, and he's a little intimidated. She looks at him as a little boy – at least for the first half of the film."
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