Padmé Amidala

**Padmé Amidala** is a main character in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. She was the Senator of the planet of Naboo during the Clone Wars and was secretly married to Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker.

## **Overview**

Born in 46 BBY during the Age of the Republic, Padmé Naberrie was raised by her parents, Ruwee Naberrie and his wife Jobal, on the peaceful Mid Rim world of Naboo. Despite the humble background of the Naberrie family, Padmé was identified early for her potential in public service. Devoting her life to civic duty, she was elected queen and, therefore, adopted the regnal name "Amidala" in 32 BBY. Due to the machinations of her advisor, Senator Sheev Palpatine, Amidala's reign was put to the test by the Trade Federation's blockade and subsequent invasion of Naboo. Unable to fight the Federation's army of battle droids without assistance, the queen beseeched the Galactic Senate on Coruscant for help, only to see her efforts hampered by bureaucracy and procedure. Although she ultimately liberated her homeworld with the help of the Jedi Order and the Gungan Grand Army, her decision to cast a Vote of No Confidence against Finis Valorum enabled Palpatine to become the Supreme Chancellor.

Following her reign, Amidala joined the Senate and struggled to resolve the Separatist Crisis through diplomacy, becoming a leading voice in the Loyalist Committee by 22 BBY. After surviving an assassination attempt, she was removed from the capital and sent back to Naboo under the protection of Padawan Anakin Skywalker. Though the Jedi Code forbade personal relationships, deeming attachment, and possession unbecoming of a Jedi, the two gradually became closer as their feelings for each other grew. In the aftermath of the First Battle of Geonosis, Amidala secretly married her Jedi protector, despite her own reservations about their relationship and the consequences they would face if the truth ever came to light. Their subsequent interactions were limited throughout the Clone Wars, with Amidala continuing to advocate peaceful solutions in the Senate while Skywalker served on the front lines as a Jedi General in the Grand Army of the Republic. In the waning months of the pan-galactic conflict, Amidala revealed to her husband that she was pregnant. As a result of Skywalker's fear of loss, he was seduced by the dark side of the Force, believing that by becoming a Sith Lord he would gain the power to prevent his wife from dying in childbirth. Amidala, who learned of her husband's transformation into a Sith, ultimately died of a broken heart after giving birth to the twins Luke Skywalker and Leia Amidala Skywalker. With her dying breath, she claimed that there was still good in the former Anakin Skywalker, who embraced the persona of Darth Vader throughout the reign of the Galactic Empire.

### Season 1

**The Malevolence**

Amidala was sent on a mission by Palpatine to negotiate with a representative of the Banking Clan about withdrawing from the war. She, along with C-3PO, traveled to the rendezvous. However, Amidala learned that it was all a trap when she came out in the middle of a battle between the Republic fleet and the Confederacy's heavy cruiser, the *Malevolence*. She tried to move away from the heavy cruiser, but was pulled in by the *Malevolence's'* tractor beam. Though she urged the Republic fleet to continue their attack, refusing to allow herself to become a bargaining chip, her husband ordered them to stop. As her ship set down in the hangar bay, Amidala rigged it to blow in the hopes that it might take Grievous with it. The ship did indeed explode with the general aboard, taking several battle droids with it, but he survived. She and C-3PO then escaped from General Grievous into the bowels of the *Malevolence*. She was able to contact Skywalker and Kenobi, who had boarded the ship to rescue her.

The two groups met at a point halfway between them, though Skywalker and Amidala soon became separated from Kenobi, Threepio, and R2-D2. While Kenobi was forced to delegate the rescue of 3PO to R2, to ensure that the hyperdrive stayed offline, Skywalker and Amidala made their way to the bridge to make adjustments to the navicomputer that would cause the *Malevolence* to fly into a moon. Both missions proved a success, and the group managed to escape the *Malevolence*. While Grievous personally took his starfighter, the *Soulless One*, and several other fighters that attacked the group as they attempted to dock with the Republic fleet, the *Malevolence* began to move towards a near moon, before colliding with it, destroying the heavy cruiser instantly. With the loss of the *Malevolence*, Grievous fled the battle, and Amidala and her companions reached safety.
**Rodian crisis**

Amidala traveled to Rodia with C-3PO and Representative Jar Jar Binks in an effort to persuade her old friend Onaconda Farr to remain loyal to the Republic. Unfortunately, when she arrived, Amidala learned that Farr had already pledged his system to the Separatists, as Viceroy Nute Gunray could provide them with supplies and protection, unlike the Republic. Amidala was imprisoned to await Gunray's arrival, while Threepio was scheduled to be scrapped and Binks evaded arrest. Wearing a discarded Jedi robe he found within Amidala's cruiser, Binks mistakenly caused his pursuers to believe he was a Jedi. After hearing word of a Jedi being nearby, Amidala managed to outsmart the battle droids and escape her cell. Amidala then proceeded to rescue Threepio, and was dismayed to learn that the Jedi she had heard about was merely Jar Jar in disguise. Amidala found herself in trouble once again, after Gunray arrived on the planet and captured her. However, Binks and a Kwazel Maw called "Bogey" happened to cause chaos among the Viceroy's guard, forcing him to attempt to escape, only to find himself at gunpoint. Gunray was confident Farr would rescue him from Amidala; however, he soon learned that the two senators had planned to capture him the entire time.
A Republic cruiser subsequently arrived, and Gunray was taken into custody. While Farr requested that Amidala accept his apology for his brief betrayal, she remained adamant that it was the Republic that owed him an apology for forgetting that just because Rodia was not a particularly powerful ally did not make it any less important than any other system. Following Gunray's capture and escape, Amidala was with Palpatine when he received word from Hondo Ohnaka's pirate gang that they had captured the leader of the Separatists, Count Dooku. Being that Dooku was a powerful Sith Lord, the Jedi Council, the Chancellor and Amidala found it difficult to believe that mere pirates could capture him. Amidala counseled Palpatine, advising him to have the Council send two Jedi to confirm the validity of Hondo Ohnaka's claims before sending diplomats to deliver the ransom that he demanded.

**The Blue Shadow Virus**

Amidala and Binks were then recalled to Naboo by Queen Neeyutnee. The queen revealed that a squad of battle droids had been found and destroyed onworld, and requested that Amidala petition the Senate or the Jedi Council to help protect Naboo. Unfortunately, Amidala knew that more evidence would be needed to warrant action by the Senate or the Jedi. She took it upon herself to search the swamplands for signs of a greater Separatist presence on her homeworld, as had been indicated by a captured tactical droid and a bug on it. After following a tainted water stream, Amidala and Binks came across a hatch which they proved unable to open. Amidala contacted Captain Gregar Typho to give him the location of the lab. During their attempts to open the hatch, they became surrounded by battle droids and were swiftly captured. The pair was taken before Separatist scientist Doctor Nuvo Vindi, who revealed that he had perfected the long-thought-eradicated disease the Blue Shadow Virus, which he planned to release into the galaxy. Fortunately, her Jedi allies Skywalker, Kenobi, and Ahsoka Tano arrived on Naboo to aid her. Tano, with the help of Gungan native Peppi Bow, located the secret lab of Doctor Vindi.
When Skywalker and his troops came to rescue her, Vindi threatened to kill Amidala and Binks. Following a struggle, Skywalker rescued them. When Skywalker pursued Vindi, Amidala and Binks went with him and his troops. When they joined Tano and Rex, Kenobi told them that Vindi had activated the bombs and that one of the bombs was missing. Amidala then remembered that Vindi had given a little droid the bomb. When everyone split up, the Naboo senator and Binks found the droid. At first, Amidala tried to get the bomb nicely back from the droid, but the droid growled at them and tried to run away with it. However, Jar Jar grabbed the droid and secured the bomb. Tano then brought the bomb squad, and the bomb was deactivated. The Jedi and a squad of clones were then able to captured Vindi for trial.

As the Jedi prepared to take the mad scientist to trial on Coruscant, Amidala and the clones discovered that one of his virus bombs was missing the vial that contained the virus, meaning that it may have found its way into the wrong hands and could still be released. As they had suspected, the virus had fallen into Separatist hands, those of Vindi's assistant droid, who released it within the laboratory, causing the facility to lock down with Tano, Amidala, Binks, and several clones trapped inside. The few remaining battle droids then started slicing the exits, hoping to release the virus into Naboo's atmosphere. The remaining Republic forces in the lab began to pick off the droids before they could break out. While being attacked by droidekas, Amidala's biohazard suit was breached and she became infected with the virus. However, she persevered, and eventually the remaining droids were destroyed. Amidala and Tano contacted Skywalker and Kenobi on the surface, telling them not to open the lab, so as to prevent the virus escaping. The transmission was cut off before Amidala could say her last goodbye to her husband, but Skywalker refused to abandon his wife to her fate. After the skirmish, two clone troopers died from the virus. Subsequently Amidala said she that she hoped that their sacrifice would help bring peace to the galaxy, a sentiment agreed to by Tano. Soon after, Tano lost consciousness, due to the virus. However, before the virus could kill Amidala and Tano, Skywalker and Kenobi arrived with the cure, freeing the survivors from the contaminated compound and ensuring that Naboo, and the galaxy, was safe from the virus.
**Held Hostage**

Amidala was present during the Senate Hostage situation in which Cad Bane led a team of bounty hunters into the Senate Hall, taking several representatives, including Amidala, hostage. The bounty hunters intended to kill the Senators if Ziro the Hutt was not released from the Republic prison. Only after the intervention of Anakin Skywalker were the officials saved.

## Appearances

* The Clone Wars

 👁 | Appears with no lines/in newsreel
 🖼 | Appears in a photograph