Mara came to "life" when Shannon Baksa posed as Mara for Decipher Inc.'s Star Wars collectible card game. First a professional model and make-up-artist, Shannon has brought to life the most popular expanded Universe character. A Texas native, Shannon earned her B.S. in Public Relations from University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Even before becoming Mara Jade (Skywalker), she was an avid Star Wars fan (a huge reason for fans to love her). She saw the movies of the original Star Wars trilogy many times as a child and couldn't get enough of the toys. She was Princess Leia for Halloween and Han Solo's biggest fan by the release of "Empire". After being picked for the part of Mara Jade, Shannon researched Timothy Zahn's series of Star Wars novels to better know and understand the popular character.