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Princess Leia’s Famous Hairstyle Has A Fascinating Backstory

It's not what you'd expect...

With the sad news of Carrie Fisher’s death, the world has been looking back at her most iconic films like When Harry Met Sally and The Blues Brothers – but of course it’s hard to look past the Star Wars franchise.

Fisher’s role as Princess Leia inspired a whole generation of girls to believe that a princess can do her own rescuing, so it makes sense that even her character’s hairstyle was inspired by strong women in history.

RELATED: Carrie Fisher’s Life After Leia

George Lucas revealed in a 2002 interview with Time that he was looking for something more than just fashion. He looked back to the women of the Mexican revolution and drew inspiration from their hairstyles.

“In the 1977 film, I was working very hard to create something different that wasn’t fashion,” he said. “I went with a kind of Southwestern Pancho Villa woman revolutionary look, which is what that is. The buns are basically from turn-of-the-century Mexico.”

Star Wars fan recently took to Facebook to remind people of the revelation after seeing an exhibit about the characters. 

Was at the Star Wars exhibit at the Denver Museum of Art recently and learned that her iconic hairdo was lovingly hijacked from women of the Mexican revolution. This is how you defeat the empire.” he wrote.

It’s encouraging to see these strong female characters with strong origins (down to their hairstyles!) in film, and Princess Leia certainly was a trailblazer. 

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