Padme Amidala was a surprisingly strong character for most of the prequel trilogy. The character was also a vessel for making Natalie Portman one of the biggest stars in Hollywood.

She was never quite a damsel in distress and she smartly used tactics and wit to evade and defeat her enemies.

And it always helps to have handsome Jedi that want to protect you.

I was quite impressed with her battle on Geonosis where she fought off that alien beast without much training or Jedi powers.

Her biggest mistake was falling in love and marrying Anakin Skywalker.

Anakin Skywalker ironically joined the Dark Side to save her, which in turn just doomed her to die.

Dying of literal sadness, which was pretty lame. George Lucas could have least had given her complications from childbirth and depression was the reason she couldn’t fight to stay alive. But what do I know?