Who Is Vice-Admiral Amilyn Holdo in Star Wars: The Last Jedi?

The Force Awakens left the Galaxy reeling. The First Order had revealed itself to be a true threat on a galactic scale, launching a devastating attack that destroyed the capital of the New Republic. Thankfully, the Resistance had countered in an attack that destroyed Starkiller Base in turn, depriving the First Order of their most fearsome super-weapon. The Last Jedi will see the galaxy desperately attempt to organize itself against the First Order's relentless blitzkrieg, and in doing so, it will introduce us to a new character: Laura Dern's mysterious Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo.

But just who is Amilyn Holdo? Little by little, the pieces are coming together...

Amilyn Holdo's Background

Amilyn Holdo was born on the idyllic planet of Gatalenta, a beautiful world famed for its tea, poetry, and meditative retreats. The planet has a strong Jedi tradition, one that the Empire was never able to successfully quash. Although Amilyn grew up with a strong belief in the Force, she did rebel in other ways. Where Gatalentans prized serenity, she craved action and adventure. Where Gatalentans tended to live austere lives, photos from The Last Jedi have shown Amilyn dressed in sweeping gowns.

Amilyn's career in politics began in the days of the Empire, when she was enrolled in the Imperial Apprentice Legislature two years before the events of A New Hope. There, she built a strong friendship with a fellow Apprentice, Leia Organa of Alderaan. Claudia Gray's latest Star Wars novel, Leia: Princess of Alderaan, has shown the formative years of their friendship. While Leia found Amilyn disconcerting at first, she learned to understand what she referred to as "Holdo-speak," and discovered that her colleague had a fierce and inquisitive intelligence. Holdo became a willing ally of the Rebel Alliance back in those early days.

We don't know much about Holdo's career between A New Hope and The Last Jedi, but she seems to have pursued a career in the military. After all, we've been told that she's a Vice-Admiral! It's unknown whether Holdo's serving with the New Republic or with the Resistance, but the former seems more likely. It would make sense for the New Republic's military forces to seek an alliance with the Resistance in the wake of Hosnian Prime's destruction.