Shannon Lynn McRandle, whose birth name was Shannon Lynn Jones and who was born in Killeen, Texas, in the United States, works as a professional model and was chosen by Lucasfilm to portray Mara Jade in photographs created for the Star Wars trading card games.
Prior to 1998, Mara Jade was only depicted through illustrations; however, after that point, illustrators began to try to replicate McRandle's appearance. The short story Sleight of Hand: The Tale of Mara Jade indicates that Mara Jade, disguised as Arica, was present in Jabba's Palace while Luke Skywalker was being held prisoner. Before the Star Wars DVDs were released, a speculation circulated that Shannon would make a cameo appearance in the Special Edition version of Return of the Jedi. However, this did not come to pass.
Shannon has expressed enthusiasm for the idea of a minor role in the films as a treat for the fans. She has voiced her dissatisfaction with Legacy of the Force: Sacrifice, the book in which Mara dies. Her stated reason for disliking Sacrifice is that Timothy Zahn, the creator of Mara Jade, should have been the one to decide Mara Jade's fate if anyone was going to kill her off.
- Shannon McRandle on Wikipedia
- Shannon McRandle (Mara Jade) by Dennis Pellegrom on Star Wars Interviews ( 2007 ) (content is now outdated; archived from the original on September 30, 2022)