In Star Wars, birthdays aren’t a common note of celebration among the franchise’s main players. The only way we really know characters’ ages is by estimating when they were born in relation to a significant galactic event. However, Anakin and Padmé’s age difference is a common question among fans since she seems much older than him when they first meet.
Using the years of their births in Star Wars’ unique measure of time in BBY (Before the Battle of Yavin; “ABY” years take place after), we can calculate the age difference between one of the franchise’s most forbidden and tragic romantic pairings.
How old was Anakin when he met Padmé in The Phantom Menace?
Even though “Anidala” didn’t become romantically involved until they were older, the two met when they were very young. After Padmé’s Naboo starfighter is damaged and forced to land on the remote world of Tatooine, she and her companions go off in search of help and happen to stumble upon a young slave with a dream of touching the stars.
Anakin Skywalker was 9 years old when Padmé first walked into Watto’s shop on Tatooine, but it would be a decade before the hints of romance would begin to spark between them.
What is the age difference between Anakin and Padmé?
Anakin was just a boy when he met the future love of his life, and at that time Padmé was a young teenager. She had always behaved older than her age and had recently become the youngest Queen of Naboo, but she too was still fairly young in years.
Padmé was born in the year 46 BBY on Naboo, and Anakin was born five years later, in the year 41 BBY. That makes Padmé five years older than Anakin.
How old was Padmé when she died?
In Revenge of the Sith, after giving birth to twins Luke and Leia, Padmé Amidala “lost the will to live” and died soon after naming her children. In a way, their births marked the end of an era as the Galactic Republic was also reborn as the menacing Empire.
Luke and Leia were born on the asteroid Polis Massa in the year 19 BBY, 19 years before both would play significant roles in the Rebellion’s first major step toward defeating the Galactic Empire. That would mean Padmé died at the age of 27. Anakin would have been about 22.
Who are your favorite couples in Star Wars?