Lucy Lawless
Biography
Best
known for her role as the fearsome Xena: Warrior Princess in the
long-running series of the same name, athletic worldly beauty Lucy
Lawless didn't achieve the fame in her native New Zealand that flooded
her in the U.S. until much later in her career, due to the fact
that the wildly popular adventure series didn't air there until
long after it was a staple of American television.
Born
into water at her home in Mount Albert, Aukland, New Zealand, in
1968 to the mayor of that city, Lawless began acting early and frequently
appeared in school plays in her youth. A active child of diverse
interests and with many siblings, Lawless went on to study German,
French, and Italian at Aukland University for a year before traveling
through Europe with boyfriend and eventual first husband Garth Lawless.
They worked odd jobs to finance their trip and eventually ending
up in Australia. Working in a gold-mining camp in Kalgoorlie to
finance the final leg of their journey, the couple was married in
Australia in 1988 and soon returned home to have her daughter, Daisy
(born 1989).
Crowned
Mrs. New Zealand the following year, the busy new mother got her
first acting experience in Funny Business, a popular TV comedy troupe.
Studying acting in Vancouver, Canada, at the William Davis Center
for Actors Study, Lawless soon landed small roles in films (The
End of Golden Weather [1991]) and television (For the Love of Mike
[1991]), with her next regular job as of co-host on television's
Air New Zealand Holiday. After appearing in The Rainbow Warrior
in 1992, Lawless landed the role that would propel her to stardom
and become her calling card into the new millennium.
Initially
appearing in the role of Lysia in Hercules and the Amazon Women,
Lawless went on to appear as Xena in three episodes of Hercules
before spinning off into her own series in 1995. It was a physically
demanding adventure series in which the sporty actress performed
many of her own stunts; Lawless broke her pelvis after falling off
of a horse while preparing to make a grand entrance on The Tonight
Show With Jay Leno in 1996. After a quick recovery, Lawless made
her Broadway debut as Rizzo in Grease the following year. Her first
marriage dissolved, Lawless was remarried to Xena producer Rob Tapert
in October 1999, two years before the final episode of Xena. The
couple have two children, Judah Miro (born May 7, 2002) and Julius
Robert Bay (born October 16, 1999).
Lucy Lawless Filmography
Locusts (2005) (TV) ....
Maddy Rierdon
Boogeyman (2005) .... Mary Jensen
EuroTrip (2004) .... Madame Vandersexxx
"Tarzan" (2003) TV Series .... Kathleen Clayton
Spider-Man (2002) .... Punk Rock Girl
Ginger Snaps (2000) (voice) (uncredited) .... Announcer on School's
PA System
Hercules and Xena - The Animated Movie: The Battle for Mount Olympus
(1998) (V) (voice) .... Xena
"Xena: Warrior Princess" (1995) TV Series .... Xena
Peach (1995) .... Peach
Hercules and the Amazon Women (1994) (TV) .... Lysia
Typhon's People (1993) (TV) .... Mink Tertius
The Rainbow Warrior (1992) .... Jane Redmond
... aka The Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior
The End of the Golden Weather (1991) .... Joe's Girl
"For the Love of Mike" (1991) TV Series .... Helen
A Bitter Song (1990) .... Nurse 1
Within the Law (1990) .... Verity
"Funny Business" (1987) TV Series .... Various (1989) |
