"You are a star. Light up the world!"
― Leona's Mirror Mantra Leona's Unlucky Mission
Leona is one of the twelve main characters in the Star Darlings animated and book series. She is the main point of view for the third Star Darlings book Leona's Unlucky Mission. She first appears in the episode Star Charmed and is voiced by Corrin Reto (Star Charmed), Alisha Wainwright (episodes 2-12) and Dana Davis (The Power of Twelve). Leona's roommate at Starling Academy is Scarlet and her first Wisher on Wishworld is Lily.
Story
History
Leona has all the sparkle it takes to become a top Wish-Granter! Since her first glow, however, all she's wanted to be is a star glittering world-famous pop star!
Attending Starling Academy was Leona's way of breaking away from her existence in the lifeless town of Flairfield. Her family thinks it's excellent that Leona has ambition, but they don't get the whole "I have to be in the spotlight" thing. Instead, Leona's parents want her to work as a bookkeeper in her father's shoe repair shop. Nevertheless, Leona has her head in the stars, and there's no way she'll let that happen. Leona doesn't just stand out in a crowd; she consumes it! Leona also can't stand being cold. She loves to lie out in the sun in the Time of Lumiere.
Leona has two sisters and two brothers. There's Felix, who received a promotion to assistant manager of the family's shoe shop (Leona won't tell him that his boss is their father), Garfield, who claims he has a girlfriend, and Jada, who secretly admires Leona. Because of Leona's confidence, singing voice and her dream to be a pop star, Jada wants to be just like her! And finally, Duchess.
Appearance
Leona is an African-American teenager with a large golden blonde messy curly afro and golden hazel eyes with golden glittery lips. Her fashion usually consists of something vibrant and full of color. Her style's bright, bold, and noticeable, giving her a "Look at me and WATCH ME SHINE!" look. Her outfit consists of a golden yellow loose off-the-shoulder 3/4 sleeve mesh sheer blouse over a light yellow tank top, a brown belt with star and circle shaped buckles, golden glittery yellow leggings with glowing white stars and a pair of wedge open toed ankle boots to complete the look. Like all starlings, she has sparkly glitter on her cheeks. Her Wish Pendant is a golden wrist cuff with a bold metallic golden star that sizzles with wish energy. On Wishworld, the bracelet helps Leona find her Wisher. After her own Wish Mission, Leona's cuff became rough and as black as soot. By the end of Gemma and the Ultimate Standoff, her cuff has been restored.
On Wishworld, Leona's golden hair and eyes becomes real brown with just a few curls of color for her hair and her skin loses its sparkle. Her outfit consists of a mesh short-sleeved golden T-shirt, dark grey jeans, orange socks and light yellow sneakers to complete her look.
Personality
Leona is confident, optimistic and ambitious and has always dreamed of singing under the spotlight! Leona is a powerhouse; she has a beautiful voice and wants to be a famous pop star. Because of her parents wanting her to work as a bookkeeper in her father's shoe repair shop, escaping to Starling Academy was her chance to pursue her dream. Leona doesn't just stand out in a crowd; she consumes it!
Because of all her glimmering self-confidence, Leona sometimes forgets that it isn't always about her. She is vain and egoistical, often centering herself as the main attraction. She is also arrogant and dramatic and often puts others down because of being bossy and stubborn. Just like Sage, she is also prone to losing her temper.
Leona's Room
Main article: Leona/Room
Leona's space is dazzling. The gold colors twinkle and shine almost as much as Leona does! The bed's starlight curtain and ball light keep her bathed in brightness.
She has her own stage, too―a mini star-shaped platform that rises up from the floor when she wants to rehearse or perform for her friends. Leona's holo-wall includes a premium sound system and other holographic audience settings. She can switch among a small café audience, students cheering at the band shell, and a megawatt stadium crowd!
Powers and Abilities
Starling Physiology
Being a Starling, Leona possesses all of the natural traits that the species has.
- Wish Energy Manipulation - Leona harnesses positive wish energy for most of her abilities.
- Energy Blasts - As displayed in The Power of Twelve, wish energy can be used to fire streams, bursts, orbs, and waves of offensive power against opponents.
- Force Fields - Demonstrated in the above special, Libby can conjure shields as defense.
- Extended Lifespan - In Scarlet Discovers True Strength, it’s confirmed that Starlings can live for thousands of years, as Mira’s grandmother is over thousands of years old. Before that, in Leona's Unlucky Mission it was hinted that a few decades wasn’t too long in comparison to Starling lifespans. However, they do not have eternal youth, as Professor Elara Ursa is stated to be among one of the oldest wish granters and has clearly aged in a similar manner to a wishling elder.
- Disease Immunity - In Scarlet Discovers True Strength, it states that the wish energy surrounding Starlings keeps them from contracting illnesses.
- Superhuman Knowledge - In Leona's Unlucky Mission, Starlings are shown to be nigh-perfect at mathematics from birth. Astra's Mixed-Up Mission also implies that Starlings are the same way towards towards literature and similar subjects such as language and grammar.
- "Manipulate" People - In Just Dancing, Libby and Leona use their wish energy to move Vega's body so that can show Vega how to dance.
- Star catching - In Shoot for the Stars, Leona challenges Sage to catch as many stars as they can.
- Painting with Wish Energy - In Paint By Numbers, Lady Stella assigns Vega and Leona to paint how they feel after looking at four objects presented at them.
- Positive Singing Power - With the power of her voice, Leona can turn any negative actions into positive ones.
Wish Mission Signature Powers
The Star Darlings each gain a power that is meant to assist with carrying out their wish missions. It is unknown if this is exclusive to them, or if they only work on Wishworld, as Adora uses hers to heal Vega in the The Power of Twelve.
- Super Hearing - In Leona's Unlucky Mission, Leona discovers that she has super hearing after hearing her wisher sing in the shower.
Trivia
- She is named and based after the fifth zodiac sign, Leo.
- Her opposite is Adora, who is based after Aquarius.
- She gets care packages from her parents.
- In Leona's Unlucky Mission, It is implied that Leona and her family already knew Clover before starting at Starling Academy, since in Leona's letter to her parents, she asked them if they remember Clover and tell them that her family is the Flying Molensas, the circus where Leona's family used to go to annually.
- Leona and three out of her four siblings (Felix, Garfield, and Duchess) each have a cat-related name.
- Leona's own name means lioness while her brothers both share the names of two popular cartoon cats. Meanwhile, Duchess is the name of another Disney character from The Aristocats.
- Leona is the only character in the animated series to have a total of three voice actors, having been voiced by Corrin Reto, Alisha Wainwright and Dana Davis.
- Leona has an official Spotify playlist that can be listened to here.
- Leona's name derives from the Latin word for lion, Leo.
- She's the only Star Darling to directly contain the name of the zodiac she's based on in her name.
Gallery
Main article: Leona/Gallery
| The Star Darlings |
|---|
| Sage, Libby, Leona, Vega, Scarlet, Cassie, Piper, Astra, Tessa, Adora, Clover, Gemma |