Jeigh Esse was a female Stellan, who was born with an aggressive temperament. As this was at odds with the passive nature of the Stellan, she was launched off her homeworld and into space, as was the custom for her people whenever a child proved to be particularly menacing. She was later discovered by Rodian bounty hunters and raised by them. Esse eventually became a bounty hunter as well.
Jeigh Esse maintained a menacing appearance, which matched her demeanor. She was born an overly aggressive being, which was at odds with the more passive nature of her people, although exceptions had been known to arise in the past. She relished dispatching her enemies with the more unique items in her arsenal, and took satisfaction from a job well done. Esse possessed pale white skin.
Jeigh Esse boasted a wide array of weapons in her arsenal, but the most unique of them all was her polarizer, which could high-energy charges several meters ahead of the wielder. It was adapted from a BlasTech Industries EG-7 blaster. Esse also made use of a standard blaster rifle.
The character of Jeigh Esse was created by Chris Cowdrill through the "Design An Alien" contest held in the Star Wars Galaxy magazine. The contest began in Star Wars Galaxy Magazine 3 (1995), and Cowdrill, aged 15, submitted his entry, which was later published in Star Wars Galaxy Magazine 7 (1996), having won second place in the "Under 16 years old" subdivision. The winner of that division was the Critokian design. Leland Chee, the Star Wars continuity editor, later confirmed that the published "Design an Alien" material was to be considered canon.