The Star Wars franchise has come a long way regarding LGBTQIA+ characters. What started as queer coding moved to actual meaningful representation on screen and in the pages of books and comics. As June is Pride Month, it’s a good time to look at many of the notable queer characters in the franchise.
This list won't have every character in the Star Wars franchise because it would be delightfully long, with over 100 entries. So apologies, as someone’s favorite will be left off. Here are 65 characters in Star Wars that are part of the LGBTQIA+ community.
1. Juhani
Juhani is considered the first queer character in any Star Wars media, appearing in 2003’s Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic as a Jedi Guardian.
She is also one of the earliest examples of a positive portrayal of LGBTQIA+ characters in video games, laying the groundwork for other franchises like Dragon Age.
2. Sinjir Rath Velus
Sinjir broke the mold as one of the first LGBTQIA+ characters under the Disney era, appearing in The Aftermath trilogy.
After the Battle of Endor, Sinjir defected from the Empire and eventually joined the Rebellion to clear out the Imperial remnants and helped with major victories like liberating Chewbacca’s homeworld Kashyyyk.
3. Orka and Flix
The first on-screen queer couple of Star Wars goes to the animated series Star Wars Resistance with the lovable duo of Orka and Flix.
Running the Office of Acquisitions on the refueling station Colossus, the historic couple and their pet gorg, Bitey, have a lot of heart and many laughs together throughout the series.
4. Larma D’Acy and Wrobie Tyce
Larma D’Acy and Wrobie Tyce hold the live-action title for the first on-screen queer couple. The Resistance commander and pilot shared a kiss after the defeat of Palpatine in The Rise of Skywalker.
5. Kantam Sy
The High Republic era introduced a whole slew of new queer characters for a new era. One fan-favorite is Kantam Sy. The non-binary Jedi was the padawan of Yoda.
Kantam's coming-of-age story in Midnight Horizon by Daniel José Older has been praised for its positive portrayal of a queer romance in the YA genre.
6. Vernestra Rwoh
Vernestra is a prodigy, becoming a Jedi Knight at the age of 15, and she took on her first padawan at 16. She is aromantic and asexual, and while she isn’t the first asexual character in the franchise, Vernestra is the first aromantic person.
7. Lula Talisola and Zeen Mrala
Lula Talisola is the padawan of Kantam Sy. On a mission during the Great Disaster, she met Zeen Mrala, a Force-sensitive teenager who was too old to train in the Jedi. But Kantam took Zeen in to help her master some of her abilities.
Lula and Zeen fell in love over time, making Lula question her place in the Jedi Order.
8. Cohmac Vitus
A mystic and scholar who struggles with how the Jedi Order deals with attachments and emotions, Cohmac Vitus is a complicated character.
The demons of his past trauma haunt him, causing him to struggle as a Jedi and a master to his padawan, Reath Silas. The feelings reach a breaking point in Midnight Horizon.
9. Leox Gyasi
This Matthew McConaughey-inspired character is the spirited pilot of the ship The Vessel. Leox Gyasi is suave, bright, funny, full of heart, and will fight for his crew. He is asexual and proud of it.
10. Sylvestri Yarrow and Jordanna Sparkburn
When the spunky pilot and the no-nonsense deputy with a lightning cat get together, sparks literally fly with this couple. Sylvestri and Jordanna’s relationship is rocky at times, but the two women fall back in love with each other throughout the novel Out of the Shadows.
11. Ty Yorrick
Ty Yorrick was once a Jedi padawan. But after a tragedy, she left the Jedi Order to go out on her own as a saber for hire. She can be found throughout the High Republic Phase I books and comics, especially in her mini-series The Monster of Temple Peak.
12. Ceret and Terec
The bond twins of the High Republic comics, Ceret and Terec, are trans non-binary. These Kotabi twins are also strong Jedi Knights who work to protect the galaxy. Their minds are connected, allowing them to communicate across long distances.
13. Alys ‘Crash' Ongwa
Crash Ongwa was a human female who ran a bodyguarding business, which included, at one point, the important task of protecting Chancellor Lina Soh. She had a past with the female Taymar singer, Svi'no Atchapat, and the young women would eventually begin to date.
14. Marlowe and Vellis San Tekka
Marlowe and Vellis were husbands, part of Marlowe's great family clan of hyperspace prospectors. They worked with the Jedi and the Republic after the Great Hyperspace Disaster to understand why the tragedy occurred.
15. Beesar Tal-Apurna
Beesar’s story is one of tragedy as she looks to avenge her wife in Trail of Shadow. Seeking revenge against the Nihil raiders, Beesar aids the Jedi in their mission as a spy.
16. Sky Graf
As the scion of the Graf family, Sky was a non-binary pilot who helped their family and the Republic during the High Republic era. They were determined to be the first person to reach the mysterious Planet X, where horrific creatures called the Nameless lived.
17. Yana Ro
Yana Ro was a member of the Path of the Open Hand, a cult that worshiped the Force but believed that it shouldn’t be wielded by anyone, which put them at odds with the Jedi. Along with her girlfriend, Kor Plouth, Yana helped “liberate” Force artifacts around the galaxy for the Path.
18. Axel Greylark
As the son of the Republic’s Supreme Chancellor, Axel is a larger-than-life figure in the High Republic era. Despite his grandiose personality, Axel was a good politician, and he and Jedi Knight Gella Nattai helped negotiate a peace treaty between two planets at war.
19. Nash Durango’s two moms
Nash Durango was a pilot and racer in the series Young Jedi Adventures. In the episode “Nash’s Race Day,” her mom, Kryys, and her wife attend the festivities to watch and cheer on Nash as she battles against her rival, Raena Zess.
20. Cytharat
The Old Republic: Rise of the Hutt Cartel introduced Cytharat, a pureblood Sith character. He became the first male same-sex romance option in the game series, as only male characters can pursue him.
21. Lemda Avesta
As a prodigy getting her doctorate at 16, Lemda is a geophysicist in The Old Republic: Rise of the Hutt Cartel game. Like other characters in the games’ franchises, she is portrayed as bisexual as she can be romanced by anyone, regardless of the player’s character’s gender.
22. Theron Shan
Theron was the son of a Jedi and a military commander. He trained part of the Jedi Order until it was discovered he wasn’t Force-sensitive. Afterward, he joined the Republic Strategic Information Service as a field agent. In The Old Republic games, he can be romanced by either male or female characters.
23. Lana Beniko
Lana was a human Sith woman who lived during the Galactic War, where she worked secretly against the Order of Revan. In the Star Wars: The Old Republic franchise, Lana is bisexual and can be romanced by either male or female characters.
24. Koth Vortena
Koth was a Zakuulan male who defected from the military when he refused to kill civilians. He joined Outlander's Alliance as a pilot, hoping to bring peace to his homeworld. In The Old Republic games, he can be romanced by male or female characters.
25. Nadia Grell
Nadia was a Jedi padawan who rose to the rank of Jedi Knight before taking on the mantle of the senator of Sarkhai. In the updated versions of The Old Republic games, she can be romanced by a player’s character regardless of gender.
26. Kira Carsen
Kira is a Jedi Knight in Star Wars: The Old Republic games that lived during the Jedi and Sith Cold War. With the updated versions of the games, players can romance her, regardless of their character’s gender.
27. Scourge
Scourge is a pureblood male Sith who can be romanced by male or female characters in the updated Star Wars: The Old Republic franchise versions. Scourge couldn’t be with a Jedi character initially, but this was later changed during the Onslaught expansion.
28. Sabé
Sabé is the loyal handmaiden and bodyguard to Padmé Amidala, often taking her place as the body double for the queen. She was incredibly devoted to Padmé, becoming obsessed with revenge to find answers to Pamdé’s death.
This path led her to team up with Darth Vader, unbeknownst to Sabé that he was Padmé’s secret husband, Anakin Skywalker.
29. Saché and Yané
Saché and Yané met and served as handmaidens and bodyguards for Padmé Amidala when she was the queen of Naboo. They fell in love and eventually married. The couple was fiercely loyal to Padmé even after her death. They joined Sabé in her search for answers about who killed Padmé.
30. Obi-Wan Kenobi
While his relationship with Duchess Satine of Mandalore is well known from The Clone Wars, the novel Padawan by Kiersten White confirmed Obi-Wan Kenobi as a queer man. He's also attracted to men, though he seems to lean toward being aromantic or demisexual in the same passage.
31. Lando Calrissian
Scoundrel, smuggler, entrepreneur, Rebellion general, and more, Lando is the first of several Original Trilogy characters on this list. Solo: A Star Wars Story writer Jon Kasdan confirmed that he was pansexual, which has been explored more since the film's release.
32. Doctor Chelli Aphra
Aphra has become one of the most prominent queer characters in the franchise. She is an archaeologist who is sometimes a hero, sometimes a villain, and always a bit of a mess. Aphra is a character whom people can expect the unexpected as her books are always a heck of a ride.
33. Domina Tagge
As the head of one of the wealthiest families in the galaxy, Domina is a force to be reckoned with. Force-sensitive and possessing a Machiavellian moral code, she is a dangerous person who could be either a valued ally or a terrible enemy.
34. Lapin Tagge
Part of the powerful Tagge family, Lapin is the aide and secretary to their cousin Domina. They didn’t mind serving “in Domina’s shadow,” and Lapin would get their hands dirty to protect their family and those that worked under them.
35. Losha Tarkon and T'onga
Bounty hunters that slay together stay together. Losha and T’onga are wives who had retired from the business. But after the death of T’onga’s twin brother, T’onga seeks revenge, pulling the wives out of their peaceful farming life and back into the galaxy as they get together a bounty hunter crew once again.
36. Magna Tolvan
One of Aphra's on-and-off-again lovers, Magna was a successful Imperial Captain-Inspector until Aphra crashed into her life. Throughout their adventures, Magna eventually defected from the Empire to become the Strike Team Misericorde leader and part of Sana Starros’ crew.
37. Sana Starros
Meeting Chelli Aphra at university, Sana started a romantic relationship with her and went so far as to blackmail their teacher to help Aphra. But after Aphra suddenly broke up with her, Sana was a person who could hold a heck of a grudge for decades.
She fought for the Rebellion and became a smuggler, at one point claiming to be the wife of Han Solo.
