Mon Mothma is a character appearing in the 1983 film Return of the Jedi, the sixth installment of the Star Wars saga. In the film, Mon Mothma is a female political leader of the Rebel Alliance. The role was filled by veteran character actress Caroline Blakiston.
Her role in the film is a small but pivotal one. She has a scene at about the fifty minute mark in the film and is visibly recognizable as a stern-looking woman in her fifties clad in a white robe. She announces that they have received detailed blueprints of the Imperial shield generator building on the forest moon of Endor and goes on to introduce Admiral Ackbar, who has a similar but more prevalent role in the film. Her appearance largely serves to set up a shift in scene to Endor and to introduce the Admiral Ackbar character.
In the various publications relating to the Star Wars universe produced by LucasFilm, her role is significantly expanded. It is revealed that she was a political leader in the Old Republic before it was brushed aside by the Empire and eventually assumed political control over the Rebel Alliance, which made her a high-profile target of the Empire; thus, she was in hiding with the rest of the group when she makes her appearance in Return of the Jedi. She went on to become chief of state of the New Republic after the conclusion of the sixth film.
The character also appeared in Revenge of the Sith as a young senator looking to oppose the growing strength of Senator Palpatine in the Galactic Senate. Her role was minor, however, merely serving as another visual way to tie the two film trilogies together. She was played by Genevieve O'Reilly.
Caroline Blakiston is perhaps best known as a stage actress, filling minor and medium-level roles in countless Broadway productions. Her most significant film roles have come in Return of the Jedi, 1966's The Trygon Factor, and a significant role in 1987's The Fourth Protocol. She also has appeared on many television series in minor roles.
George Lucas has repeatedly referred to this character as one of the small but pivotal ones that helps to tie the Star Wars universe together, mostly because she answers a lot of questions about the related roles of various characters in the Star Wars universe.