Rey’s biological parents are a man named Dathan and a woman named Miramir, who lived as “nobodies” and hid her on Jakku to keep her safe.
On-screen explanation
In The Last Jedi , Kylo Ren tells Rey that her parents were nobodies who sold her and died in a pauper’s grave, which frames them as insignificant junk traders. The Rise of Skywalker later adds that they hid Rey on Jakku and were killed after refusing to reveal her location to agents of Emperor Palpatine.
Connection to Palpatine
The Rise of Skywalker reveals that Rey’s father, Dathan, is the son or strandcast clone of Emperor Palpatine, making Rey Palpatine’s granddaughter by blood. Her mother, Miramir, is not from a famous Force-using bloodline, and together they chose to live anonymously rather than near Palpatine’s power.
Expanded canon details
Later canon sources such as novels clarify that Dathan is a non–Force- sensitive strandcast created from Palpatine’s genetic material, who escaped Exegol and started a family with Miramir. These stories emphasize that, despite Rey’s blood tie to Palpatine, her parents’ defining act was sacrificing themselves to protect her, not their connection to the Sith.
Rey’s chosen identity
At the end of The Rise of Skywalker , Rey chooses the name “Rey Skywalker,” signaling that her true family is the one she claims through her beliefs and mentors rather than her ancestry. This moment is meant to show that her destiny is shaped by her choices, not by being Palpatine’s granddaughter.
