Star Wars' Warwick Davis Pens Heartbreaking Tribute To Wife After She Died At 53

Warwick Davis as Willow in Disney+ series
(Image credit: Disney+)

For over three decades, Star Wars’ Warwick Davis has had his wife, Samantha, by his side. They share three children and worked together on multiple professional projects over the years. In heartbreaking news, Samantha Davis died on March 24 at the age of 53. Amidst Warwick Davis dealing with the grieving process, the actor has penned a tribute to his late wife. 

In a statement (per the BBC), Warwick Davis opened up about how the tragic death has affected himself and other loved ones close to them. In his words:  

Her passing has left a huge hole in our lives as a family. I miss her hugs… [She was my] most trusted confidant and an ardent supporter of everything I did in my career.

Warwick Davis met his wife on the set of 1988’s Willow, and the couple married three years later. Samantha Davis is the daughter of Warwick Davis’ business partner Peter Burroughs. In the statement, Davis called his late wife his “favorite human,” along with saying this: 

She was a unique character, always seeing the sunny side of life. She had a wicked sense of humour and always laughed at my bad jokes.

Samantha Davis was an actress who also appeared in Leprechaun 2 and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 with Warwick Davis. The pair also started Little People UK, an English charity that provides support to people of short stature and their families. As the website shares, there’s an estimated 652,000 people in the world with dwarfism, yet there are specific challenges that come with it that their organization is committed to assisting people with. 

Their kids are Annabelle, Lloyd and Harrison. Annabelle has become an actress in her own right, starring in the TV series for Willow, which was among the Disney+ shows that were cancelled in 2023. Their kids added to the statement by saying that their mother’s “love and happiness carried” them through their “whole lives.” Warwick Davis also said this: 

With her by my side, I was sure I could achieve anything, it was like having a super-power. Without Sammy, there would have been no Tenable quiz show, no Willow series. No Idiot Abroad Series 3… She was passionate about helping people, without judgment. She had time for everyone and a genuine listening ear.

Warwick Davis is famous for playing multiple roles in the Star Wars franchise, including quite a few in Solo: A Star Wars Story. The actor first played Wicket in 1983’s Return of the Jedi and has since been in eight other projects from the franchise, including doing a nod to his first appearance in 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker. Here's a photo of the couple together from October: 

As Warwick Davis shared in the tribute, without his wife, much of the work he did within his career, which includes over 90 credits, would not have been possible without the love and support of his wife. We here at CinemaBlend send our deepest condolences to the family, friends and other loved ones of Samantha Davis. May she rest in peace.

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Sarah El-Mahmoud
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Sarah El-Mahmoud has been with CinemaBlend since 2018 after graduating from Cal State Fullerton with a degree in Journalism. In college, she was the Managing Editor of the award-winning college paper, The Daily Titan, where she specialized in writing/editing long-form features, profiles and arts & entertainment coverage, including her first run-in with movie reporting, with a phone interview with Guillermo del Toro for Best Picture winner, The Shape of Water. Now she's into covering YA television and movies, and plenty of horror. Word webslinger. All her writing should be read in Sarah Connor’s Terminator 2 voice over.