Jabba the Hutt has long been a gangster on the planet of Tattooine for many years. Though legally there is a ruling official, Jabba controls money, slaves, and a great deal of the local trade. He doesn't like humans, and thus keeps Gamorreans, Weequay, Rodians, and other non-humans as his guards. His full name is Jabba Desilijic Tiure, and is from the planet Nal Hutta. He was raised by his father, a crimelord before him; though highly intelligent, he has grown slothful in old age in his estates in Mos Espa and Mos Eisley, eating nine meals a day (usually consisting of small animals).
Though uninterested in the actual proceedings, Jabba presided over podracing near Mos Espa for the sake of the money it would bring him.
Years later, smuggler Han Solo was in debt to Jabba. Jabba bestirred himself to come to the Mos Eisley spaceport, to confront Han and accept a promise of future payment. He specified, however, that if Han did not pay him, he would have the smuggler hunted down by bounter hunters.
When Han failed to repay him in time, Jabba kept his word. He received the carbonite-frozen Han Solo, from Bounty Hunter Boba Fett, who received him from Darth Vader. Glorying in this capture, he placed Solo on a nearby wall as a grotesque decoration.
Not long after, two droids showed up at his palace and claimed that they were there to bargain for Solo's return. A holographic message from Luke Skywalker, however, claimed that he was offering the droids as a gesture of goodwill. Jabba ordered R2-D2 to become a drinks server; C3-PO replaced the protocol droid who had displeased the crimelord.
Jabba was also pleased when Bounty Hunter Boussh brought Han's copilot, "the mighty Chewbacca," in chains. However, he caught Boussh releasing Han Solo from carbonite the very same evening — revealed to be the beautiful Princess Leia. As Jabba had recently killed his exotic dancer, Oola, he took the unwilling Leia as his prisoner and forced her to remain, in skimpy clothing, next to him on his moving platform.
Jedi-in-training Luke Skywalker arrived a day after, and ended up being dropped into the monstrous rancor's pit. The hideous carnivore was found by Bib Fortuna and his long-dead associate, and given to Jabba. Skywalker killed the monster by triggering a huge door to descend on its neck. Jabba was furious, and immediately sentenced Luke, Han, and Chewbacca to be fed to the Tarlacc, a desert-dwelling creature that digests people over a thousand years.
Jabba gloated over the impending death of his enemies. However, as Luke Skywalker and his allies fought Jabba's guards, Jabba himself was strangled to death by Princess Leia. After she had throttled the Hutt with a chain he was keeping her a prisoner with, Leia escaped and blew up his luxurious barge.
