Femi Taylor (born 8 April 1961) is a Nigerian-born British

dancer Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

and actress, best known for portraying

Jabba the Hutt Jabba Desilijic Tiure, better known as Jabba the Hutt ( ) is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. Initially performed by Declan Mulholland as a human in the original ''Star Wars'' film, Jabba first appeared properly in the 198 ...

's Twi'lek slave dancer Oola in the 1983

motion picture A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, since ...

Return of the Jedi ''Return of the Jedi'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi'' is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand from a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas. The sequel to '' The Empire ...

''. She is the Sister of

Benedict Taylor Benedict Sean Taylor (born 18 April 1960) is a British actor. Taylor was born in Hampstead, London, the eldest of six children of Richard, a documentary film maker, and Allegra, a writer. Taylor lived in Nigeria until 1965 and then was brought ...

Career

Taylor portrayed the slave dancer Oola in ''

'', the last film of the original trilogy. She reprised the part fourteen years later, filming new scenes for the 1997 Special Edition release, and was the only performer from the original to do so. Because of this role, she appears at

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

and ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...

'' conventions around the world. Taylor was cast as Tantomile in the 1981 original London production of the musical ''

Cats The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...

'', during which she learned she had been cast as Oola for ''Return of the Jedi.'' She appeared in the 1998 TV movie version of ''Cats'' as Exotica, a character that was created specially for her and exclusively for the film.

Personal life

Taylor lives in

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (after Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2025, the city proper had a population of 185,480 while Odense Municipality had a population of 210, ...

, Denmark, has two children and is married to Claus Skytte.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

*
TheForce.Net
- Interview with Femi Taylor
2021 interview
1961 births Living people British film actresses English female dancers Nigerian female dancers Nigerian dancers Place of birth missing (living people) Nigerian emigrants to the United Kingdom British emigrants to Denmark Yoruba actresses 20th-century British actresses Black British actresses 20th-century English women 20th-century English people Nigerian film actresses {{UK-film-actor-stub