As Star Wars: The Force Awakens is poised to make roughly a bajillion dollars at the box office, fans around the world are more infatuated with the space saga than ever before. While a new crop of young actors will undoubtedly become huge stars, it’s also fun to look back at the original films and the impact they’ve had, most notably in the form of Princess Leia.
In film and television, you won’t find a hairstyle more iconic than Leia’s hair buns, nor will you find an outfit that drives nerds wild quite like the metal bikini Leia as forced to wear while imprisoned by Jabba the Hut in Return of the Jedi. The two looks are so huge that they’ve spawned countless imitators, including on popular television shows.
So it’s time for a classic Star Wars debate. While no one can touch the original Princess Leia, Carrie Fisher, here are four memorable TV moments from the last two decades of women dressing up as [SPOILER ALERT] Luke Skywalker’s sister.
Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green, Friends
During one of the many times Ross and Rachel were NOT on a break, Jennifer Aniston‘s character fulfilled the nerdy paleontologist’s fantasy by dressing up like slave Leia in the bedroom as he hummed the Stars Wars theme song.
Yvonne Strahovski as Sarah Walker, Chuck
In the first season of this NBC spy dramedy, Chuck’s handler and fake girlfriend Sarah showed up to a Halloween party in the iconic costume all nerdy guys dream about. Even though they weren’t really a couple at the time, it proved that Sarah would do absolutely anything for the Intersect.
Kym Johnson with Joey Fatone, Dancing with the Stars
In the third week of DWTS season 4, N’Sync member Joey Fatone got to do a Tango set to the Star Wars theme song, but the really winners were viewers as his pro partner, Kym Johnson, donned the hair buns and skimpy metal bikini as his Leia.
Laura Prepon as Donna Pinciotti, That ’70s Show
She may not have worn the metal bikini, but that’s only because Return of the Jedi didn’t come out until the ’80s. Eric still got the thrill of a lifetime because when it comes to Princess Leia, it’s not about her body, it’s about her buns.
(Image and videos courtesy of NBC , ABC and FOX)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
John watches nearly every show on TV, but he specializes in sci-fi/fantasy like The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural and True Blood. However, he can also be found writing about everything from Survivor and Glee to One Tree Hill and Smallville.
