Shannon Lynn McRandle (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Jones, born August 28, 1969 in

Killeen, Texas Killeen is a city in Bell County, Texas, United States. According to the 2020 census, its population was 153,095, making it the 19th-most populous city in Texas and the largest of the three principal cities of Bell County. It is the principal city ...

) is a model and makeup artist from Killeen. In 1999, she gained recognition for her portrayal of the Star Wars character

Mara Jade Mara Jade Skywalker is a fictional character in the '' Star Wars'' franchise. She appears in the now non-canon ''Legends'' series as the wife of Luke Skywalker and mother of Ben Skywalker. She has been voiced by Heidi Shannon, Edie Mirman and K ...

in photographs for the

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

card games, having been selected for the role by

Decipher, Inc Decipher, Inc. is an American gaming company based in Norfolk, Virginia, US. They began with three puzzles called "Decipher" then moved on to party games and ''Pente'' sets, but since 1994 produced collectible card and role-playing games. Their ...

. In addition to her modeling work, McRandle also works as a commercial hair and makeup stylist, providing services for print and video shoots.

Early life

Born Shannon Lynn Jones on August 28, 1969, in Killeen,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, US, to Leonard Jones (stationed at Fort Hood, drafted into the army for the Vietnam War) and Barbara Kubiszewski Walsh. She has two younger half-sisters, Hillary and Adrienne, from her step-father (John Meador). She began modeling at the age of three for department store fashion shows in the Richmond, Virginia area.

Education and career

After high school, she moved to

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

for four years, earning her

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in

Communication Studies Communication studies or communication science is an academic discipline that deals with processes of human communication and behavior, patterns of communication in interpersonal relationships, social interactions and communication in differen ...

(1993) from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, with an emphasis on Public Relations and a minor in Sociology. Since the age of twelve, McRandle's modeling career included photography shoots, runways, and character modeling. In Las Vegas, she worked as a promotional model at the Las Vegas Convention Center, Bally's Mirage, MGM, and in the Roman Festival at Caesar's Palace. She also worked as a

make-up artist A make-up artist, also called a makeup artist, and often shortened to MUA, is an artist whose medium is the human body, applying makeup and prosthetics on others for theatre, television, film, fashion, magazines and other similar productions inc ...

in the Hampton Roads and Virginia Beach areas.

Star Wars

Before 1998, the character of

appeared only as illustrations created by various artists based on the descriptions provided of her appearance in novels in the

Star Wars expanded universe '' Star Wars'' has been expanded to media other than the original films. This spin-off material is licensed and moderated by Lucasfilm, though during his involvement with the franchise ''Star Wars'' creator George Lucas reserved the right to ...

. A long-time fan of the ''Star Wars'' franchise, McRandle auditioned to be cast as an image for Mara Jade after LucasFilm decided to use a photographic likeness as a model for Mara. At the time the photographs were taken in 1999, she was known as Shannon Baksa from her first marriage in 1994. LucasFilm Ltd. used McRandle's likeness for merchandise of Mara Jade. Illustrations of the character were influenced by McRandle's appearance.

Personal life

Shannon Lynn married United States Navy veteran Jamie McRandle on September 18, 2002. They have three children. She and her family live in

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

. In 2013, Shannon McRandle was diagnosed with

Ankylosing Spondylitis Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a type of arthritis characterized by long-term inflammation of the joints of the spine typically where the spine joins the pelvis. Occasionally areas affected may include other joints such as the shoulders or hip ...

and Stage 3

Rectal Cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel ...

. The cancer is in remission, but the radiation and chemo caused severe osteoporosis in her back and hips, and resulted in a severely-weakened immune system as well as several other medical issues. None of the AS treatments were successful. She has a

GoFundMe GoFundMe is an American for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses. From 2010 to the b ...

page to raise funds for treatments.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McRandle, Shannon 1969 births Living people People from Texas University of Nevada, Las Vegas alumni