Shmi Skywalker Lars

"But you can't stop the change, no more than you can stop the suns from setting."

- Shmi Skywalker, to her son Anakin Skywalker

Shmi Skywalker Lars was the Human mother of the Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, as well step-mother to Owen Lars and the paternal grandmother of Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa.

A slave, Shmi gave birth to a son she named Anakin, who was conceived by the midi-chlorians to fulfil the prophecy of the Chosen One who would bring balance to the Force. After Anakin left to become a Jedi, she was sold to Cliegg Lars, who freed her and married her. Just before the Clone Wars, Shmi died in her son's arms after being brutally tortured by a band of Tusken Raiders.

Behind the scenes
The character was portrayed by Swedish actress Pernilla August in The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones. She reprised the role of Shmi Skywalker in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars season 3 episode "Overlords".

That Anakin Skywalker's mother would be named Shmi and that August would portray her were announced in 1998. The original trilogy was rereleased in theaters and VHS to commemorate the twenty year anniversary of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope the year before and Star Wars Trivial Pursuit was released to coincide with this. The limited edition game contained a sequestered pack of questions that served as a preview of the first new trilogy installment, two of which divulged those bits of information. One of the first drafts for her name was Shmi Warka.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
 * Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith