Princess Leia’s Early Gold Bikini Fetches $175K at Auction

A version of the iconic gold bikini Carrie Fisher wore while making 1983’s Return of the Jedi just found a new home.

The Princess Leia costume hammered down for a whopping $175,000 at Heritage Auctions’s Hollywood/Entertainment Signature event, a two-day sale that took place on July 25 and 26. The relic opened live bidding at $34,000, and the skimpy outfit eventually achieved five times that as collectors vied for Fisher’s iconic ensemble, the house said. The garment was screen-tested and worn on set by the late actress, however, it was later swapped out for a version that was more comfortable and never made it into the final version of the movie.

A slew of Star Wars memorabilia also hit the block last week; the nearly sold-out event was led by a Y-wing starfighter model that fetched an eye-watering $1.55 million. The sale of the beloved miniature now makes it the third-most valuable screen-used prop from the franchise to ever sell at auction. In October, an X-Wing model from the original 1977 Star Wars offered up by Heritage went for $3.1 million. Prior to that, a complete R2-D2 droid brought in $2.76 million in 2017.

The auction, which grossed $5.9 million, showcased over 600 items from some of the most well-known movies in Hollywood history. Another top lot was a single wand from the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone film, which sold for a record-setting $93,750. A rare first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone garnered the same amount when it hit the auction block during Heritage’s Historical Platinum Signature event on Thursday.

Also sold was original poster artwork from Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, which opened live bidding at $37,000. According to Heritage, collectors drove up the final price of the Robert Peak painting to $106,250. The poster is now the second-most expensive in the artist’s portfolio to sell, behind an Apocalypse Now original which realized $212,500 in 2021. The most valuable artwork to sell last week, however, was a Scrooge McDuck oil painting by Carl Banks ($312,500).

“I’ve said it repeatedly: Collectors’ desire to own a piece of Hollywood history remains intense and insatiable, and we take great pride and pleasure in sharing these indelible moments,” Heritage’s executive vice president Joe Maddalena said in a statement. “This auction proved that the summer blockbuster is alive and well at Heritage.”