Was Leia really a senator, general, princess, and a doctor? You better believe it. Twitter user Dr. Becca Harrison, a lecturer at the University of Glasgow, gave fans even more of a reason to love Star Wars on Saturday when she tweeted that Princess Leia got her Ph.D at 19. It seems director George Lucas made the reveal in the 2004 commentary for A New Hope, and writer Carolyn Cocca mentioned it in her book Superwomen: Gender, Power, and Representation, which Dr. Harrison appears to have been reading when she was inspired to send out the tweet alerting the world to the little known Leia accomplishment.
Cocca wrote that Lucas said,
"She's like a very sophisticated, urbanized ruler, a senator, so she's a politician. She's accomplished, graduated, got her Ph.D. at 19 and she rules people."
If Star Wars fans didn't already realize how incredible Leia is, this amazing fact should confirm it. Getting your doctorate is no easy task under normal circumstances, so to get it at the age of 19 in a war-torn galaxy is a whole new level of cool. And it makes all the more glaring that she was never referred to as Dr. Organa. She worked hard for that title, people.
Even though Leia is perhaps best known as a princess, it's already common knowledge that her list of titles extends far beyond royal nomenclature. This is a woman who was ruling people as a member of the government while her twin brother was hanging out in Tatooine. She's introduced in Star Wars: A New Hope as a senator, and her role as a diplomat is one of her greatest accomplishments.
Leia has been a role model since the moment she arrived on the big screen. Her ability to be a ruler who could kick butt when necessary, while also being one of the most capable people in the Galaxy has long made Leia a Star Wars standout. Having her also carry the title of princess was an added bonus of awesome, because unlike some of the early Disney princesses, she was almost always presented with total agency.
Dr. Leia Organa has a nice ring to it too though, as does her title in Star Wars: The Force Awakens — General Organa. This news is a reminder that Leia should never be underestimated. She may not have been the one with the special Force-sanctioned journey, but she is the one who inspired multiple generations of young women that there are no limits to what they can accomplish in this galaxy.
And there's nothing more badass than that.
