Rey’s biological parents in Star Wars canon are a man named Dathan and a woman named Miramir ; Dathan is a non–Force-sensitive clone (strandcast) of Emperor Palpatine, which makes Rey Palpatine’s descendant by blood, though she ultimately chooses the name “Rey Skywalker.”

Core canon answer

  • In Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker , it is revealed that Rey’s father is the son/clone of Emperor Palpatine, and her mother is an ordinary woman who tried to protect her.
  • Expanded materials later name them as Dathan (a Palpatine strandcast) and Miramir , confirming they lived as “nobodies” and junk traders who hid Rey on Jakku to keep her safe.
  • Because Dathan is a Palpatine clone, Rey is effectively Palpatine’s biological descendant, even though the film frames it as her being his “granddaughter.”

How this fits the sequel trilogy

  • In The Last Jedi , Kylo Ren tells Rey her parents were “nobodies,” which is later reframed in The Rise of Skywalker as “nobodies” by choice: they rejected Palpatine and lived a small, hidden life.
  • The films show that Rey’s parents were killed on Palpatine’s orders after refusing to reveal where they had hidden her on Jakku, reinforcing that they sacrificed themselves for her safety.
  • At the end of The Rise of Skywalker , Rey rejects the Palpatine legacy and chooses the surname “Skywalker,” aligning herself spiritually with Luke and Leia rather than with her bloodline.

Fandom and “who should they have been?”

  • Before The Rise of Skywalker , fan theories on forums and blogs widely speculated Rey might be Luke’s daughter, Obi-Wan’s descendant, or unrelated to any legacy character, reflecting how open-ended The Force Awakens left her origins.
  • After the Palpatine reveal, many discussions and think-pieces argued about whether retconning the “nobody” angle was a mistake, with some preferring the idea that Rey’s power did not have to come from a famous bloodline.
  • More recent commentary often distinguishes between what is canon (Palpatine lineage through Dathan and Miramir) and what various fans feel would have been more satisfying narratively.

Quick FAQ style recap

  • Who are Rey’s parents in Star Wars?
    Dathan (a non-Force-sensitive Palpatine clone) and Miramir, junk traders who hid her on Jakku.
  • Is Rey really Palpatine’s granddaughter?
    Canonically she is treated as his “granddaughter,” but technically she descends from his strandcast “son,” making the relationship more like daughter of a clone than a traditional grandchild.
  • Why did they abandon Rey?
    They left her on Jakku to hide her from Palpatine and were eventually killed for refusing to reveal her location.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.