Padmé Amidala had many handmaidens during her short life. We’ve already covered Sabé, her decoy from The Phantom Menace, who played a large role in a recent Darth Vader comics run. Now, we’re turning our attention to Dormé, a woman who appeared in the second Star Wars prequel film, Attack of the Clones, played by Rose Byrne.
Dormé, whose name, according to the Padmé trilogy of books, is Dorra, undertook security training under Gregar Typho, Padmé’s chief of security. She became quite close to the senator and became friendly with her family. Dormé was quite skilled at wood carving, a skill her great-grandmother taught her. According to Ruwee Naberrie, Padmé’s father, Dormé’s skill was unlike anything he had ever seen. This prompted Padmé’s older sister, Sola, to joke that her father wanted to adopt Dormé.
Like the senator’s former handmaidens, Dormé was deeply devoted to Padmé and served her well. She served as decoy for the senator when Count Dooku’s forces tried to kill Amidala and the Jedi were forced to get involved, leading to Padmé’s romance with Anakin Skywalker.
Padmé and Dormé became like sisters, and the senator could always turn to her handmaiden for advice when she needed it and vice versa.
In The Know
When Padmé welcomed the Arthurian delegates, Dormé couldn’t help as she had to return home due to a family emergency. With Dormé out, Padmé decides to go to Anakin’s Padawan, Ahsoka Tano, for help instead. What’s more, Tano was reluctant to help, pointing out that there were other handmaidens there and Captain Typho would assist too. Padmé wouldn’t take no for answer, and Ahsoka ended up helping.
Dormé, like many of Padmé’s handmaidens, was aware of their mistress’s forbidden marriage to Anakin. She was understanding and discreet. She even criticised the couple for their lack of subtly.
When Padmé unexpectedly died, Dormé attended her funeral. She joined the Amidalans, a group of loyalists who believed that their mistress’ death was no accident.
