When talking about important and strong female characters in pop culture, many women make the list, but someone never left off this list is Princess Leia. This might seem like an easy decision as there are millions of Star Wars fans, but Leia wasn’t perfect so it’s not as easy as it seems. However, without Princess Leia we probably wouldn’t have seen the likes of Ripley, Korra or Xena. Not only that but she carries a blaster and has doughnut hair!

While we will talk about Princess Leia being on this list of important female characters, we don’t talk about why she is on this list. Not only is she spunky but she also sees the best in people. Namely a rogue smuggler named Han Solo.

All this being said, is anyone really surprised the Princess Leia tattoo is such a popular choice for so many Star Wars fans? Princess Leia is first and foremost, a princess. This is how George Lucas introduces her. So Princess Leia’s home planet is blown up and she ends up being held captive and needs to be saved by two strapping young men. Even though Princess Leia is tough in the face of her enemies and has a great deal of bravery, she is still the prize to be saved.

Knowing that, it can make it easy to forget what came before that. Princess Leia isn’t some soft-spoken princess that can’t take care of herself. She doesn’t even call herself a princess. In fact, the first time she meets Darth Vader on the Rebel Blockade Runner, she doesn’t identify herself as Princess of Alderaan, instead, she says she is a member of the Imperial Senate. Princess Leia is a politician and an important one to boot.

We also learn that Leia is a top member of the Rebel Alliance and a leading voice the center of the insurgency. We can come to the conclusion that Leia’s life wasn’t all silver spoons knowing the Empire had been around her whole life and that Bail Organa was fighting against it the whole time. Princess Leia was raised by a family of politicians that were working toward a goal of overthrowing the dictators in power.