Her first appearance was in the movie The Phantom Menace where she and her son were slaves of a junk merchant on the desert world Tatooine. Shmi is portrayed as a loving and devoted mother who does not question the necessity of her son leaving after he won his freedom in a pod race. Sadly, mother and son had to part and they would not see each other again for ten years. Her final appearance occurs ten years later in Attack of the Clones after her son, now a Jedi-apprentice, senses through The Force that she was in pain. Anakin is able to travel to Tatooine in order to find his mother, and upon arriving learns that she had been freed by moisture farmer Cliegg Lars but had recently been abducted by the much maligned and animal-like Sand People. Young Skywalker uses his Jedi-powers to find her inside one of the sand people's encampments just in time for her to die in his arms. Enraged, Anakin slaughters every single sand person in the camp, including all the women and children. Here, we get a glimpse of Anakin Skywalker's slide into the Dark Side of the Force.
The character Shmi Skywalker is played by swedish actress Pernilla August.