The Skywalker family was a legendary human family that became prominent in galactic politics and history, with several generations serving as Jedi, military leaders, and public servants. The Skywalkers were originally slaves native to the planet Tatooine in the Outer Rim Territories of the galaxy. In 32 BBY, three decades before the Battle of Yavin, Anakin Skywalker was discovered to be exceptionally Force-sensitive to the extent that Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn believed he had found the Chosen One—the one who was prophesied to restore balance to the Force by destroying the Sith. After gaining his freedom, Anakin joined the Jedi Order as the apprentice of Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi. His mother, Shmi Skywalker, remained in slavery until her marriage to Cliegg Lars.
Although the Jedi Code forbade personal attachments, Anakin Skywalker became infatuated with Padmé Amidala, a former queen-turned-senator who represented the planet Naboo in the Galactic Senate. The two married in secret in 22 BBY, shortly after the start of the Clone Wars—a galaxy-wide civil war between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Rising to the rank of Jedi Knight, Anakin fought in multiple battles as a leader in the Grand Army of the Republic while his wife unsuccessfully lobbied to end the war through diplomacy. Amidala became pregnant during the waning months of the war, causing Anakin to grow fearful of losing her after experiencing premonitions of Amidala's death in childbirth. Ultimately, Anakin turned to the dark side of the Force and became apprenticed to Darth Sidious, the Dark Lord of the Sith, in the hope of preventing his wife's death. Adopting the name and persona of Darth Vader, the new Sith Lord turned against the Jedi Order and led the initial phase of their extermination while Sidious declared himself Emperor of the Galactic Empire.
Anakin's transformation into Vader did not prevent his wife's death, however. Having lost the will to live as a result of her husband's actions, Amidala died shortly after giving birth to twins, Luke Skywalker and Leia Amidala Skywalker, in 19 BBY. The children were separated and hidden from their father, with Luke being sent to live with his relatives on Tatooine and Leia joining the royal family of Alderaan as the adopted daughter of Senator Bail Organa and Queen Breha Organa. Luke would endeavor to become a Jedi Knight like his father before him, unaware at the time that Anakin and Vader were the same person. His sister, now called Princess Leia Organa, followed in the example of her late mother and adoptive father by joining the ranks of the Imperial Senate while secretly supporting the Alliance to Restore the Republic. During the Galactic Civil War, Vader sought to turn his son to the dark side but was defeated by Luke in a lightsaber duel at the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY. Despite the Emperor's desire to replace Vader with a new apprentice, Luke remained committed to the Jedi way and the light side of the Force. Sidious attempted to kill Luke but was struck down by Vader, who sacrificed his life to save his son from the Emperor's wrath. Having fulfilled the prophecy of the Chosen One by destroying the Sith, Anakin Skywalker became one with the Force.
In the aftermath of the Battle of Endor, Leia Organa married the smuggler Han Solo and gave birth to their son, Ben Solo, on the day the Empire surrendered to the New Republic in 5 ABY. With the end of the war and the Empire's reign, Organa set out to consolidate the Republic as a member of the restored Galactic Senate while her brother scoured the galaxy for knowledge in his efforts to rebuild the Jedi Order. One of Luke's first students was his nephew, Ben who possessed raw, untamed power in the Force. However, his potential also caught the attention of Snoke, the Supreme Leader of the First Order who undermined Luke's plans by turning Ben to the dark side. Inspired by his grandfather's Sith legacy, Ben became Snoke's apprentice and adopted a new identity as Kylo Ren—Master of the Knights of Ren and champion of the First Order.
In 34 ABY, the First Order overthrew the Republic and went to war with the Resistance, a group of insurgents formed by Organa. By then, both Han Solo and Luke Skywalker were dead, leaving Ren and his mother as the surviving members of the Skywalker family. Ren, who deposed and succeeded Snoke as Supreme Leader, vowed to destroy the Resistance as well as the combined legacy of the Jedi and Sith.