Who Is Rey From Star Wars?

Portrayed by Daisy Ridley, Rey is a young woman from Jakku, a desert planet in the Outer Rim Territories. She is the main protagnist in the Star Wars sequel trilogy and has been depicted as a scavenger who is very wise for her age. Rey is introduced as an orphaned scavenger on the planet Jakku who lives alone and does odd jobs for food and components to trade. Her skills make her self-sufficient enough to survive on the planet’s surface, although she longs for more than what Jakku has to offer.

We first see Rey in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, depicted as a desert planet survivor who’s livelihood relies on scavenging a ship graveyard. Her only friends are BB-8, a small, spherical droid that has been with her since she found him. So, who is Rey? Who are parents? And her does she fit in to the Star Wars galaxy. Let’s get into it… 

When we meet Rey she has been seemingly abandoned by her parents on the planet Jakku and has had to learn to survive by becoming thorough scavenger and gifted mechanic, all the while waiting for those who left her to return. 

There have been fan theories as to who were Rey’s biological parents. Was she related to the Skywalker bloodline? The long lost daughter of Luke Skywalker perhaps? 

In the first instalment of the sequel trilogy, Rey’s parents are all but a distant memory. Kylo Ren (originally known as Ben Solo), played by Adam Driver, reveals to Rey that she is in fact the granddaughter of Emperor Sheev Palpatine, also known as Darth Sidious. 

Desperate to have a host for his spirit, Emperor Palpatine set out to clone a human male that would be the next Sith Lord and ruler of the galaxy. Rey’s father was the cloned son, which came a huge shock to Star Wars fans across the world. 

Rey’s father was a bioengineered strandcast of Darth Sidious. Using Sidious’s genetic template Rey’s father was brought to life. However, he lacked any connection to the Force and so he was deemed a failed experiment. Disappointed, Sidious considered the young man as useless and rejected him. Rey’s clone father fled the planet Exegol, where he was created, and found love with a woman who would become Rey’s mother. 

Shortly after Rey was born her parents discovered she had inherited Sidious’ power and indeed had a strong connection to the force. This made her the only vessel that could host her grandfathers spirit. Determined to find his granddaughter, Sidious ordered one of his followers to find her and bring her to Exegol.

Equally as determined to protect their daughter, Rey’s parents went into hiding and eventually settled on Jakku. Rey’s parents were killed by one of Sidious’ followers, Ochi, after they refused to reveal their daughters location. Which brings us full circle back to where we first find Rey, owned by Unkar Plutt and a scavenger on the desert planet of Jakku. 

Rey is played by Daisy Ridley, a British actress who rose to prominence for her role in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, beginning with Star Wars: the Force Awaken in 2015. 

Ridley also played notable roles in British TV series Mr Selfridge and the awaited murder mystery picture, Murder on the Orient Express starring alongside the likes of, Kenneth Branagh, Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer and Judy Dench. 

Although there was speculation whether Rey was related to Anakin Skywalker, also known as Darth Vader, Rey’s closest relative throughout the sequel trilogy is Emperor Sheev Palpatine. Here’s a quick character family tree:

• Grandfather – Sheev Palpatine 
• Father – Bioengineered Palpatine clone 
• Mother – Unnamed 

• Leia Organa 
• Luke Skywalker  

• Jakku 

• Ben Solo 

While Rey’s biological family was small, by the end of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Rey had chosen her family by taking the name Skywalker in honour of her Jedi masters and the light side of the force and we see her firmly take her place as Rey Skywalker.