Here's the real-life inspiration to Princess Leia's (Carrie Fisher) iconic hair buns in Star Wars. Released in 1977, the film kicked off the George Lucas-created media franchise which remains to be as popular as ever more than four decades later. Among the key characters debuted in the movie is Leia Organa, Princess of Alderaan, who was sporting a weirdly interesting hairstyle when she first appeared on the screen.
Star Wars, in general, is known for its unique character designs — whether that be for its main characters or supporting ones. Leia particularly had some of the most iconic looks from the franchise, which includes her sporting a gold bikini in Return of the Jedi and her all-white ensemble in The Empire Strikes Back. However, among all her memorable ensembles in the film series, nothing is as synonymous to her than the two hair buns she had in the original Star Wars movie.
Given the elaborate world that Lucas created in Star Wars, there was an assumption that Princess Leia's hairstyle was his sole idea. That's until he offered an explanation about it in 2002 where he revealed that he worked "very hard to create something different that wasn't fashion” for the character. He was ultimately inspired by the Southwestern Pancho Villa woman revolutionary, with the buns particularly based on the turn-of-the-century Mexican style. This confused some as there were no images of adelitas (as they're called locally) supporting the filmmaker's claims. There were other claims that it was instead based on the traditional hairstyle of Hopi Native American tribe, but that, too, was debunked by African and African Diaspora Studies associate professor, Erick Tang, further confusing the public.
As it turns out, however, Lucas was indeed inspired by the Mexican revolutionary women as he initially claimed with evidence seen on a 2016 Star Wars exhibition at Denver Art Museum. The display featured sketches of Princess Leia's bun, as well as a photo of Mexican soldadera and guerrilla fighter Clara de la Rocha, who's sporting the iconic hairdo as seen in an article by Snopes. De la Rocha's photo is said to be provided by Lucas' Museum of Narrative Art Archives at Skywalker Ranch, although when asked to confirm, Lucasfilm did not give any comment. While the snap used in the art exhibit only featured de la Rocha's, the original version of it sees her standing beside her father, General Herculano de la Rocha.
De la Rocha was a noted colonel during the Mexican Revolution between 1910 and 1920 and was a prominent figure in leading the movement against dictator Porfirio Diaz. She died in 1970, just seven years before the first Star Wars movie came out with Princess Leia donning the same hairstyle the real-life revolutionary did while fighting for the freedom of her people. Learning more about de la Rocha and how she inspired Princess Leia's buns in the franchise, however, it's clear that the women have more things in common than sharing the same hairstyle. Like de la Rocha, Leia devoted her life fighting the good fight, initially against the Galactic Empire and eventually the First Order. Leia may not have been a Jedi like her brother Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), but her contributions to the Rebellion and Resistance are unparalleled.