Female Sith are not terribly common within Star Wars, nevertheless some powerful examples do exist. The Sith are individuals dedicated to exploring the sinister dark side of the Force. Anger, hate, and greed are some of the driving emotions behind a Sith’s actions. Let’s explore 8 of the most powerful female Sith in Star Wars.
Note that the stealthy and formidable Asajj Ventress is not on the list. Although Ventress wields red-bladed lightsabers and works for the Sith Lord Darth Tyranus (i.e. Dooku), she is considered an assassin of the Sith Order and not considered a Sith herself (though she wishes to be).
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1. Darth Zash
Darth Zash, a human female individual, is a Sith Lord and Sith sorcerer affiliated with the Sith Empire during the Old Republic era. She develops a voracious appetite for researching ancient Sith rituals and magic. Zash trains Sith Acolytes at the Sith Academy on the planet Korriban. She presents her new apprentice with a red-bladed lightsaber. Zash had wielded the lightsaber during her own years as a Sith apprentice.
Despite Zash’s power and expertise in ancient Sith rituals, her research and dark side energy decays her health and she falls into physical decline. While searching for a cure for her condition, she conjures a Force illusion to mask her decrepit appearance.
When she attempts to undertake a ritual to transfer her consciousness to her apprentice’s body, the apprentice’s companion-through-Force-bond, Khem “Shadow Killer” Val intervenes. Although Val kills Zash, her consciousness transfers over to the Shadow Killer.
In addition to transferring to the wrong host body, another aspect of the ritual doesn’t go as planned. Instead of fully taking over the body, Zash and Val are forced to share consciousness within the same body. Within the new body Zash must also serve her apprentice in fulfillment of Val’s Force-bond with the individual. The apprentice eventually becomes Darth Nox. Darth Zash appears in the Star Wars: The Old Republic video game.
2. Darth Maladi
Darth Maladi, a female Devaronian individual, is a Legacy era Sith Lord and member of Darth Krayt’s One Sith. She is born on Devaron and lives with her mother and father, a Devaronian Jedi. After Darth Krayt comes to the planet and slays both her parents, he notices her Force potential. He raises her and trains her on the Sith homeworld Korriban.
Maladi ascends to the rank of Sith Lord. She becomes a distinguished practitioner of Yuuzhan Vong bioengineering and Sith alchemy. She serves many important functions within Darth Krayt’s One Sith Empire including: scientist, primary physician of the One Sith Empire and Director of Sith Intelligence and Assassination.
In 122 ABY, she successfully sabotages the Ossus Project, a massive humanitarian campaign to heal and revitalize hundred of planets across the galaxy. The failure of the project causes massive suffering, prompting the start of the galaxy-wide Sith-Imperial War. Maladi also develops Omega Red, a powerful and deadly Sith toxin capable of killing any species except members of the One Sith.
3. Kreia (Darth Traya)
Kreia, a human female individual, ascends to the rank of Jedi Master within the Jedi Order during the Old Republic era. A Jedi historian and Consular, she trains several Jedi Padawans through the years including the individual who would become known as Revan. She comes to prefer seeing things through the Force rather than with her eyes. Her eyes eventually atrophy due to lack of use.
As some point Kreia feels disillusioned with the Jedi Council and its methods. She secretly takes on the name Darth Traya and trains Darth Sion and Darth Nihilus as Sith apprentices. She comes to reject the Force’s concept of predestination and the distinction between the light side of the Force and the dark side of the Force. Watching her Sith students spread death and destruction, though, increases her feelings of cynicism and leads her to plot to destroy the Force itself. Darth Traya appears in the video game Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords (2004).
4. Darth Zannah
Darth Zannah, a human female individual, is an Old Republic era Jedi who falls to the dark side and becomes a Sith. During the Ruusan campaign of the New Sith Wars, she becomes separated from her fellow Jedi and presumed dead. Laa, an individual native to Ruusan, saves her. The pair become friends. When Jedi scouts kill Laa, Zannah becomes enraged and falls to the dark side. She murders the Jedi that killed her friend.
Darth Bane, the lone Sith survivor of the war, discovers her and takes on Darth Zannah as his apprentice. He establishes the Rule of Two, a rule stipulating that only two Sith may exist at a time. Over time Zannah develops expertise as a Sith sorcerer and plots against her master. He takes on a new apprentice, Darth Cognus. Zannah eventually confronts and duels her master, injuring him with sorcery. Severely wounded, Bane attempts to transfer his consciousness into Zannah’s body in order to preserve his existence. She defeats him, however. His forsaken spirit becomes trapped in the void of the Force for eternity. She takes on Darth Cognus as her apprentice, fulfilling the Rule of Two.
5. Darth Noctyss
The mysterious and powerful Darth Noctyss is an ancient female Sith. She wields a distinctive sickle-bladed red lightsaber. According to legend, even though she is capable of conquering the galaxy, Noctyss instead pours all of her time and energy into achieving immortality. She reasons that even galaxy-wide power is meaningless and fleeting without immortality.
Her brutal quest ravages planets. She eventually discovers the Sith Lord Darth Sanguis, a decrepit and twisted individual who achieved immortality, on the planet Exegol. She discovers his lab and he becomes her servant. After preforming a three-day immortality ritual, she sacrifices Sanguis to complete the procedure. As a result, she turns into a decrepit and twisted individual just like Sanguis. Darth Noctyss appears in a flashback in “A Life Immortal”, a short story in the Dark Legends short story collection.
6. Darth Talon
Darth Talon, a female Lethan Twi’lik individual and third-generation Sith Lord, serves Darth Krayt’s Galactic Empire during the Legacy era. Krayt selects Talon and Darth Stryfe as his two Hands, two of his most loyal and trusted servants. Darth Talon is responsible for exclusively carrying out some of the most important missions. Additionally, she exclusively takes orders from Emperor Krayt himself. She wields a red bladed lightsaber that appears to be an organic, twisted Yorik coral construction.
A cold and unmerciful warrior, Talon develops an acrobatic lightsaber combat style. She hones many additional complementary Force skills including: unleashing Force lightning, stealing memories and information, developing an animal bond (to control an animal), and a powerful Force push. She demonstrates skill in covert tracking as well.
According to Paul Duncan, film historian and author The Star Wars Archives books, George Lucas intended to feature Darth Maul and Darth Talon as villains in the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy.
7. Darth Mekhis
Darth Mekhis, a human female individual, serves the Sith Empire during the Old Republic era. A brilliant scientist and powerful Sith Lord, she sits on the Dark Council. She manages to survive and escape an encounter with Jedi Satele Shan and Republic forces. During the Cold Wars she develops many weapons including the Javelin Dreadnought, an experimental warship capable of wiping out all life in a 3 km radius on a planet’s surface. She also develops the Sith Knights, an army of cybernetic Sithspawn slaves. She forms the Sith Knights from captured Jedi who refuse to willingly turn to the dark side of the Force.
The secret son of Satele Shan, Theron Shan eventually defeats and destroys Darth Mekhis. Darth Mekhis appears in the comic book series Star Wars: The Old Republic—The Lost Suns (2011). The series is a tie-in to the Star Wars: The Old Republic video game.
8. Darth Nyriss
Darth Nyriss, a powerful and ambitious female Pureblood Sith individual, sits on the Sith Empire’s Dark Council during the Old Republic era. Her impressive twenty-year tenure as Council member is one of the longest incumbencies of the era. The extremely competitive, cutthroat and plotting nature of the Sith Empire made Council seats a hotly contested and coveted prize. Some Council member seat tenures are as short as a few months.
Darth Nyriss develops expertise in Sith rituals. She is also know for her conquest of Drezzi and for the destruction of Melldia. She captures the Jedi Revan around the time she begins plotting to assassinate the Sith Emperor. Lord Scourage tells the Emperor of her plans. He also teams up with two Jedi, Revan and Meetra Surik. Nyriss easily defeats Scourag and Surik. She conjures a powerful storm of dark side energy, unleashing the blast at her three opponents. Revan manages to absorb and redirect the blast. The energy hits her full blast, reducing the Sith Lord to a pile of ash.
A Few More Female Sith
Darth Atroxa An Old Republic era Sith Lord, Atroxa fights to defend the Sith homeworld Korriban against an attack from the Eternal Empire.
Darth Cognus An Old Republic era Sith apprentice of Darth Zannah
Belia Darzu A Dark Lord of the Sith, Sith alchemist and shape-shifter who develops a virus that turns victims into mutated cyborgs—technobeasts
Vergere A Jedi-turned-Sith, Vergere works with Lumiya, a self proclaimed Dark Lady of the Sith, to turn Jacen Solo to the dark side of the Force.
