Parent

"Father" redirects here. For the Mortis god, see Father (Mortis).

If Luke couldn't reach him, how could I?"
"Luke is a Jedi. You're his father.Han Solo and Leia Organa, about their son, Ben Solo

Bridger family — A young Ezra Bridger with his parents, Mira and Ephraim Bridger

A parent was the biological progenitor of an offspring, or someone who looked after a person in the same way that a parent did, typically via adoption.

Biological parents

Leia, do you remember your mother, your real mother?Luke Skywalker, to Leia Organa

Midwife droid 1 — Padmé Amidala gives birth to twins, Luke and Leia.

A biological parent, or birth parent, was the biological progenitor of an offspring.^[3] Among some species, such as humans, the act of becoming a parent often involved a pair of beings conceiving a child together as biological parents.^[4] Humans were born to a male father and a female mother.^[5]^[6] Humans were also capable of having hybrid children with members of certain other species: For example, the female Twi'lek Hera Syndulla became a mother after she gave birth to the son of Kanan Jarrus, Jacen.^[7]

Anakin Skywalker, a Jedi who became known as the "Chosen One," had no known father, resulting in Shmi Skywalker Lars's great surprise when she became pregnant with him. The Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, upon being told this, speculated that Skywalker had, in fact, been conceived directly by midi-chlorians.^[5]

In some animals like fathiers, the male parent was referred to as the "sire," and the female parent as the "dam."^[8]

Some people chose to have a child without a sexual partner, such as Sola Naberrie, who delivered a daughter, Ryoo Naberrie. Sola was uninterested in having a partner, though she was comfortable with having children, a position not uncommon on her homeworld Naboo.^[9] The famed Mandalorian bounty hunter Jango Fett became a parent by requesting an unaltered genetic replication of himself from Kaminoans cloners, which resulted in the clone Boba Fett, who was raised by Jango as his own son.^[10]

Creation

AnakinLeavesHome-CGSWG — Anakin Skywalker was conceived by the Force and had no other parent than his mother, Shmi.

The human twin children Mae-ho and Verosha Aniseya had no father; they were created by Aniseya, the leader of a coven of witches,^[11] through a powerful Force vergence on the planet Brendok.^[6] The two were then carried until their birth by Aniseya's partner Koril. Aniseya and Koril raised the sisters together as their mothers.^[11]

On Dathomir, the Dathomirian witch Falta used magick to create for herself a daughter, Yenna, within a pod that served as the opposite of a burial pod. Falta refused to tell Mother Talzin, leader of the Nightsisters, the secrets of her daughter's creation.^[12]

Adoption

You really love the boy. Like he's your own."
"He is my own.Reva Sevander and Owen Lars, about Owen's step-nephew Luke Skywalker

BailBrehaLeia-hd — Leia Organa was adopted by Queen Breha and Senator Bail Organa.

The term "parent" could also refer to a caretaker of the offspring who was not biologically related to them:^[14] Adoption was a process where a person assumed the parenting for another and raised the offspring of the biological parents but was not related to them. Queen Breha Organa and her husband, Senator Bail Organa, adopted the newborn Leia Organa after Leia's biological mother, Padmé Amidala, died in childbirth, and her birth father, Anakin Skywalker, fell to the dark side of the Force.^[15] Because of near-deadly injuries sustained by the queen during her Day of Demand challenges, Bail and Breha had decided not to conceive a child and strain the queen's body, and instead talked of adopting a child one day,^[16] more specifically a baby girl.^[15]

Luke Skywalker, Leia's twin brother,^[15] was adopted by Owen and Beru Lars^[17]—Owen was Luke's father's step-brother.^[10] Owen was initially reluctant to take in Luke, as he had only met his step-brother once, and they were barely family and not even by blood. Another mouth to feed would also be a substantial burden for the struggling moisture farmers. However, Beru, who was unable to have a child of her own, wished for a family and convinced her reluctant husband to adopt Anakin's son. The moment the infant Luke was placed in her arms, Beru was smitten and loved the child as if he were her own. Owen grew to care for the boy in his own gruff way.^[3] Former Inquisitor Reva Sevander noted that Owen really loved Luke, like he was his own, to which Owen replied that Luke was his own.^[13]

The Mandalorian mercenary Din Djarin was the caretaker of the foundling Grogu, and wished for his foundling to become a true Mandalorian. This led to him officially adopting Grogu as his son, as Grogu was too young to speak the Mandalorian Creed, but parental consent would allow the foundling to join the clan as Djarin's Mandalorian apprentice without needing to recite the creed.^[18]

Parental figures

A foundling is in your care. By creed, until it is of age or reunited with its own kind, you are as its father.The Armorer, to Din Djarin

PapaMando-TMUSC — Din Djarin took the foundling Grogu as his son.

While the Force-sensitive youngling Grogu was under the care of the Mandalorian Din Djarin, The Armorer declared Grogu to be a foundling. As such, Djarin was from then on seen as Grogu's father, until Grogu was of age or Djarin returned him to his kind.^[19] Ahsoka Tano described Djarin as a father figure to Grogu,^[20] and eventually, Djarin formally adopted him.^[18]

Hunter, a former clone trooper, had taken a fatherly role with Omega, one of his fellow clones and members of Clone Force 99. As they arrived on Pabu, Shep Hazard referred to Hunter as Omega's father, saying that it was a great place to raise a child.^[21] Royce Hemlock, who was trying to kidnap Omega, was greatly surprised by how paternal Hunter acted towards her.^[22]

People who had no parents in their life would sometimes look for parental figures in others: Anakin Skywalker, who had no known father and may have been conceived directly by midi-chlorians,^[5] viewed his Jedi instructor Obi-Wan Kenobi as the closest thing he had to a father.^[10] Similarly, when Rey met Han Solo, she felt like he was the father she never had.^[23] According to Kylo Ren, Rey was looking for her parents "everywhere," first in Solo, then in Luke Skywalker.^[24] Leia Organa, Rey's Jedi instructor, came to see Rey as the daughter she never had.^[25]

Significance

Genetics

Princess Leia Organa, you are wise, discerning, kindhearted. These are qualities that came from your mother. But you are also passionate and fearless, forthright. And these are gifts from your father. Both were exceptional people who bore an exceptional daughter.Obi-Wan Kenobi, to Leia Organa

KyloRenHS-TFA — With his father's nose and his mother's eyes, Ben Solo resembled his parents, Han Solo and Leia Organa.

It was possible for a child to inherit their biological parents' physical features. As a teenager, Leia Organa looked strikingly similar to her biological mother, Padmé Amidala, and when she wore the jubilation dress that Amidala had once worn it greatly shocked Quarsh Panaka, an old friend and ally of Amidala's.^[4] Organa's own son, Ben Solo, had his father Han Solo's pronounced nose and lopsided smile, and his mother's piercing brown eyes. Organa, in turn, was sure that this feature was inherited from her own birth mother.^[3]

Other characteristics could also be passed on from a parent to their offspring. For example, the human Force-sensitive Leia Organa was described as wise, discerning and kindhearted, like her birth mother; and passionate, fearless and forthright, like her biological father Anakin Skywalker.^[26] Ben Solo's inherent Force ability came from his mother, whereas he gained his amazing reflexes and piloting skills from his father.^[27] He also hailed from a bloodline of expert pilots that included not only his father, but also his maternal grandfather.^[28] Snoke also claimed that Solo had "too much of his father's heart" in him, which was why he was unable to fully commit to the dark side of the Force.^[24]

Organa's brother Luke Skywalker was known to be a great pilot, just like his father Anakin.^[29] He also showed an aptitude for mechanical engineering, a skill that Luke seemed to have inherited from his father, along with his father's quick reflexes and love for flying. In addition, both father and son hated living on Tatooine.^[3]

DNA could only be passed down genetically: The human Rush Clovis was raised in part as the adopted son of an influential Muun family on Scipio, who treated him as though he were their own child. Because of how well integrated he was into Muun society, Clovis was unbothered by the fact he was a human,^[30] even though his species raised eyebrows to those who associated Scipio and the Banking Clan with the Muuns.^[9] According to Clovis, he almost forgot where he was from, until he looked in the mirror.^[30] Despite always knowing that she was adopted, and therefore knew any shared traits were just a coincidence, as a little girl Leia Organa used to look in the mirror to see if she shared any traits with her adoptive parents such as Breha Organa's wisdom and beauty or the kindness in Bail Organa's eyes.^[4]

The saying "the jogan doesn't roll far from the vine" referred to a child taking after their parents.^[31]

The role of parents

You sound like my parents.Young Leia Organa, to Obi-Wan Kenobi

Breakfast at Mothmas — Mon Mothma and Perrin Fertha having breakfast with their daughter Leida.

The role of a parent was associated with certain forms of behavior: For example, Sabine Wren felt that fellow Spectre member Hera Syndulla was ordering her around like she was her mother.^[33] When Obi-Wan Kenobi instructed ten-year-old Princess Leia Organa on how to behave while they were trying to escape Daiyu, Organa retorted that Kenobi sounded like her adoptive parents.^[32] When Hunter was trying to protect Omega from being kidnapped by Royce Hemlock, the latter commented on how paternal Hunter was.^[22] When Luke Skywalker dueled Darth Vader on Bespin, he observed Vader go from taunting him to praising him almost instantaneously, "as if he were...," yet he stopped short of finishing the thought. At the end of the duel, Luke was aghast when Vader revealed a stunning truth: that he, the man Luke believed had taken his father's life, was actually his father.^[34]

Other significance

Your parents threw you away like garbage."
"They didn't!"
"They did. But you can't stop needing them. It's your greatest weakness.Kylo Ren and Rey

The Jedi of the Old Republic were normally taken in by the Jedi Order when they were little, with the oldest typically being no more than five years old. Although Jedi were not expressly forbidden from communicating with their birth parents or siblings, most of them felt little connection to their biological family because they had been inducted into the Order as infants.^[3]

The revelation of one's parentage could have profound implications for an individual. Luke Skywalker was shocked upon Darth Vader, who was formerly Anakin Skywalker, telling him that he was his father.^[36] Although Luke did not accept this at first, he eventually came to believe it and used the information to bind them together and convince Vader to save him from the ravages of his master, Darth Sidious.^[2] Leia Organa, the other child of Vader, was forced to exit the Galactic Senate of the New Republic upon the truth of her parentage being revealed.^[37]

DathanReyMiramir-CGSWG — Rey's mother and father were forced to abandon their daughter in order to protect her.

Rey, an orphaned scavenger from Jakku, remained on the planet in the hope that her father and mother would one day return for her. Even after leaving the planet following the awakening of her Force powers,^[23] she sought desperately to learn the identity of her parents.^[24] Eventually, however, a journey on the planet Ahch-To and a conversation with Kylo Ren, who had killed his own father, Han Solo, led her to confront the truth: that a part of her had always known that deep down that her parents were junkers who sold her off for drinking money and were now dead in a paupers' grave in the desert wastelands of Jakku.^[24] Further revelations, however, led her to learn that they in fact had secreted her away on Jakku in order to hide her from her grandfather, the Sith Lord Darth Sidious.^[38]