Owen Lars was a human male moisture farmer from the desert planet Tatooine. He was the son of Aika and Cliegg Lars, and he became the stepbrother of Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker when Cliegg married Anakin's mother, Shmi Skywalker. In 22 BBY, Shmi was killed by Tusken Raiders, and Cliegg passed away soon after. Lars married his girlfriend, Beru Whitesun, and they toiled to maintain the homestead.

In 19 BBY, Lars and his wife were contacted by Skywalker's Jedi Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and they were tasked with caring for Skywalker's infant son, Luke. Lars believed that Skywalker had died due to his role as a Jedi, so to protect Luke, the farmer forbade Kenobi from visiting or training the boy. In the following years, Lars prevented Luke from knowing the truth about his father, and he kept the boy busy with farm work.

In 0 BBY, Lars and Luke Skywalker purchased the droid R2-D2, who, unbeknownst to them, possessed stolen plans for the Death Star, an Imperial superweapon. Imperial stormtroopers tracked the droid to Lars' homestead, where they interrogated and murdered both him and his wife. When Skywalker discovered that his family had been killed, he left Tatooine with Kenobi to train as a Jedi, joining the Rebel Alliance and destroying the Death Star in the Battle of Yavin.