Born of a Sith and raised as a princess, she became a leader in the Galactic Revolution. General Leia Organa's story will continue in Star Wars: Episode VIII, but probably not beyond that, due to the death of actress Carrie Fisher. The character herself led an amazing life, and deserves an amazing obituary. Malcolm Sheppard provides that obituary for us. It covers Leia's entire life, particularly her Rebel Alliance activities.
While Leia Organa’s letters, doctrines and later, command directives formed the ideological-strategic core of the Alliance, she avoided the leadership roles assumed by her father and Mon Mothma. Indeed, she used the courtesy title Princess (afforded by her adopted parents, as elected officials in Alderaan’s post-monarchic democracy) sparingly, and purely for political effect. She became a field operative instead, managing diverse intelligence assets under the cover of diplomatic and sapient-relief travel. Before the Battle of Scarif, her missions shared intelligence with numerous Alliance cells. Her uncanny ability to predict the actions of enemies and allies alike made her essential, but the Alliance treated her warily, concerned she might manipulate its forces for her own ends.
Leia overcame that wariness to rise to the rank of general in the Alliance, but not without some criticism of her handling of those she had personal ties to: Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, and Kylo Ren. Read the entire account of Leia Organa's life at Sheppard's site. -via Metafilter