10 Most Powerful Female Star Wars Villains, Ranked

A significant motif has always been the conflict between the light and evil sides, with villains like Darth Sidious and heroes like Luke Skywalker frequently stealing the show.

But since the first film’s debut, Star Wars has consistently given its female heroes—such as Rey Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano—equal weight, serving as examples of grit and tenacity.

However, in a galaxy far, far away, the female characters from the evil side still appear much less critical than the male characters. Do you concur?

Today, we’ll learn some little-known facts about female Star Wars villains, delving into their backstories and character complexities. Are you prepared to find out who is at the top?

10. Aurra Sing

A vicious bounty hunter who was formerly a Jedi.

date: 51 BBY - 13 BBY 

Species: Palliduvan

Mentors: Jedi Master An'ya Kuro

Apprentices: Boba Fett

Affiliations: Cad Bane’s group

First appearance: Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)

Lightsaber Used: Scarlet-bladed lightsaber

Nashtah, also known as Aurra Sing, is a vicious and feared bounty hunter. She is a skilled assassin and sharpshooter who works for anyone who will pay her. Her distinctive chalk-white skin and integrated comlink antenna make her incredibly noticeable.

Mace Windu trains Boba Fett, Jango Fett’s son, to follow her after she murders Jango Fett, another bounty hunter. She is killed by Tobias Beckett, ending her lengthy career, although she is unable to murder Mace.

9. Queen Miraj Scintel

The Queen of Zygerria

Date: 20 BBY, Tecora

Species: Zygerrian

Affiliations: Zygerrian Slave Empire

First appearance: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Season 4)

Miraj Scintel rose to fame for his role as the Queen of Zygerria in The Clone Wars. To regain control, she allied with Count Dooku’s Confederacy and the Zygerrian Slave Empire.

She arranges a slave sale after being impressed by Anakin Skywalker posing as Lars Quell. She considers keeping him as her bodyguard, but she finds it difficult to hold onto power when Skywalker’s resistance and Count Dooku’s demands interfere with her plans. When Obi-Wan Kenobi, a Jedi invader, is apprehended, she learns who he is.

8. Barriss Offee

In addition to being a genius, Barriss Offee is a friend. And a traitor to others.

Species: Mirialian

Mentors: Luminara Unduli, Darth Vader 

Affiliations: Inquisitorius

First appearance: Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) 

Lightsaber Used: Blue Lightsaber

During the Clone Wars, Barriss Offee, a former Jedi, turns to the dark side of the Force because he feels that the Jedi have forgotten their mission. She arranges for the Jedi Temple to be bombed to make people question the Jedi. She even goes so far as to pose as Asajj Ventress to frame her after being discovered, placing the blame on her old friend Ahsoka Tano.

She joins the Inquisitors during the Imperial Era. But after seeing their needless brutality, she rejects them and takes back her Jedi identity, becoming a travelling healer. The Fourth Sister, Lyn Rakish, formerly her Jedi Order friend, eventually pursues her and gravely wounds her.

7. Zam Wesell

Zolan’s shape-shifting Clawdite killer. 

Date: 22 BBY, Coruscant

Species: Clawdite

Affiliations: Mabari

First appearance: Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)  

She is a humanoid that resembles a reptile, yet she typically has short, tan or blonde hair and looks like a human woman.

The fact that Jango Fett hires Zam Wesell to murder Anakin Skywalker’s wife, Padmé Amidala, on Coruscant makes her famous among fans. Padmé escapes every attempt by Wesell to kill her, including blowing up her spacecraft and letting toxic creatures loose in her apartment.

Anakin and his master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, track Wesell around the streets of Coruscant after learning of her plans. They finally apprehend her in the Outlander Club. But before she can say anything, Jango Fett shoots and kills her using a Kaminoan sabre dart.

6. Darth Traya

A female Human Sith who rose to become the Dark Lord of the Sith Triumvirate.

Date: Malachor, 3951 BBY

Species: Human

Apprentices: Darth Sion, Darth Nihilus, and Meetra Surik

Affiliations: Sith

First appearance: Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords 

Kreia, also known as Darth Traya, is a Force-sensitive person with unusual and divisive views. She strives to thoroughly understand the Force as a Human female Jedi Master and historian.

She even envisions creating a new Jedi Order to liberate the galaxy’s people from the Force’s hold.

But because of her unconventional tactics—such as training Jedi Knight Revan, who subsequently rebelled against the Jedi and founded a new Sith Empire—the unstable Jedi Council banished her. She embraced the evil side of the Force, which led her on a dark journey.

5. Ta’a Chume

The Queen Mother of the Hapes Consortium.

Species: Hapan

Affiliations: Hapes Consortium, Hapan Royal House

First appearance: The Courtship of Princess Leia (novel published in 1994) 

Ta’a Chume served as the Hapes Consortium’s Queen Mother during the Galactic Civil War. She is shown as Star Wars’s most vicious female villain, willing to do anything to maintain her dominance. She plans the murders of her daughter-in-law, her younger son’s fiancée, and her firstborn son.

Her cruelty is still not entirely described by this. She tries to kill her great-granddaughter, Allana, even after being placed under house arrest for one of these killings. But Ta’a Chume is thrown into a coma after Allana’s father uses the Force to induce a brain bleed.

4. Mara Jade

trained by Emperor Palpatine as an assassin and servant.

Date: 17 BBY - 40 BBY

Species: Human

Mentors: Luke Skywalker, Darth Sidious

Apprentices: Kyle Katarn, Jaina Solo, and Anakin Solo 

Affiliations: Emperor's Hand, Car'das smugglers

First appearance: Heir to the Empire (1991) 

Lightsaber Used: Magenta-bladed lightsaber 

 Mara Jade was once the Emperor’s hand and a well-known smuggler. Under the Emperor, she obtains excellent instruction in the Force and several disciplines.

She receives a final order to kill Luke Skywalker following the passing of her lord. But she was unable to take advantage of a chance to do so.

She goes rogue after her owner dies, and she eventually joins smuggler Talon Karrde, becoming his second-in-command and one of his best smugglers. After working with him, she falls in love with Luke, and they are married.

3. Lady Qi’ra

A formidable Human female crime lord.

Date: 31 BBY, Corellia

Species: Human

Mentors: Dryden Vos, Maul

Affiliations: White Worms, Crimson Dawn

First appearance: Most Wanted (2018)  

Lightsaber Used: Apair of electro swords of Crimson Dawn

Lady Qi’ra is a human female crime lord from Corellia who grows up in harsh conditions alongside Han Solo. She is eventually captured and sold into slavery, falling under the control of Dryden Vos, the leader of the criminal syndicate Crimson Dawn. 

Initially, she acts as a supporting character in the Star Wars canon but is eventually revealed as an antagonist. Vos recognizes her potential and trains her; that’s how she quickly becomes his trusted lieutenant. 

In later years, she reunites with Han during a mission to retrieve coaxium, rekindling their relationship. 

However, after the mission goes awry, she betrays and kills Vos to save Han. But she chooses to leave him behind as she aligns herself with Maul, the true leader of Crimson Dawn, and learns about the Sith’s control over the Empire.

2. Darth Zannah 

Zannah receives training to uphold the Rule of Two and Bane’s teachings.

Species: Human

Mentors: Darth Bane 

Affiliations: Sith

First appearance: Darth Bane: Rule of Two (novel published in 2007) 

Lightsaber Used: Double-bladed lightsaber known as Bane's Heart

Darth Bane’s apprentice, Zannah, is a Dark Lord of the Sith. She receives training on how to apply Bane’s teachings and the Rule of Two, a Sith doctrine that Darth Bane created. Accordingly, there should only ever be two Siths present: a master and an apprentice.

She becomes a notable and compelling Sith figure, and Sidious even commends her skill as a great Sith Lord.

1. Asajj Ventress

An assassin who was formerly a Jedi Padawan.

Date: 50 BBY - 19 BBY

Species: Dathomirian

Mentors: Ky Narec, Darth Tyranus 

Apprentices: Quinlan Vos

Affiliations: Sith, Nightsisters

First appearance: Star Wars: The Clone Wars 

Lightsaber Used: Yellow-bladed lightsaber

Asajj Ventress stands out from other female villains in Star Wars as one of the most formidable Sith and evil figures. She goes through several phases as a Dark Jedi, a Nightsister, a Jedi Padawan, and a Force-sensitive Dathomirian woman. She has also served as a bounty hunter and a military commander in the Confederacy of Independent Systems.

She is a strong fighter trained by Count Dooku and proficient in Jedi and Sith techniques. As a young girl, she was sold into slavery, and she turned to the evil side once her master betrayed her. Because of her complicated nature and past, she is a notable and captivating character in Star Wars.

Conclusion

There are several strong and nuanced female villains in the Star Wars universe. The characters above have permanently impacted the story, from the crafty Asajj Ventress to the ambitious and vicious Ta’a Chume and Lady Qi’ra.

Every villain on the list has distinct traits and backstories that make them stand out, proving that the galaxy far, far away is defined by its solid female villains as much as its heroes.

These characters serve as a reminder that the conflict between good and evil is not simple and that the contributions of these strong women will continue to impact the galaxy as the Star Wars story develops.

Please tell us which character you most admire or one we missed. LaserPointerWorld would be thrilled to listen!