Lucy Lawless facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lucy Lawless MNZM
Lawless at the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con
Born	Lucille Frances Ryan (1968-03-29) 29 March 1968 (age 57) Mount Albert, Auckland, New Zealand
Occupation	Actress singer
Years active	1989–present
Spouse(s)	Garth Lawless ​ ​ (m. 1988; div. 1995)​ Robert Tapert ​ ​ (m. 1998)​
Children	3

Lucille Frances Lawless (born 29 March 1968) is a talented actress and singer from New Zealand. She is famous for playing strong female characters. Her most well-known role is Xena in the TV series Xena: Warrior Princess. She also starred as D'Anna Biers in Battlestar Galactica and Lucretia in Spartacus: Blood and Sand. Since 2019, she has been the main character, Alexa, in the TV show My Life Is Murder.

Lucy Lawless has also had important roles in other TV shows. She played Diane Lewis-Swanson in Parks and Recreation (2012–2014) and Countess Ingrid Von Marburg in Salem (2015). From 2015 to 2018, she starred as Ruby in the horror-comedy series Ash vs Evil Dead.

Early Life and Education

Lucille Frances "Lucy" Ryan was born on 29 March 1968 in Mount Albert, Auckland, New Zealand. Her mother, Julie Ryan, was a teacher, and her father, Frank Ryan, was a banker and the mayor of Mount Albert. Lucy is the fifth of six children in her large Irish Catholic family. Her father's family came from Quilty, County Clare, Ireland.

Lucy started performing in musicals at age 10 and began acting in high school. She went to Marist College, Auckland and later studied languages at Auckland University. When she was 18, she traveled through Europe and Australia with her future husband, Garth Lawless. In 1989, at age 21, she won the Mrs New Zealand competition. Lucy has shared that she overcame an illness when she was younger.

Acting Career Highlights

Lucy Lawless began her TV career in the New Zealand comedy show Funny Business. She then studied drama in Vancouver, Canada.

In 1994, Lucy appeared in Hercules and the Amazon Women. This TV movie was the start of the series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. In this movie, she played an Amazon warrior named Lysia. She later played another character, Lyla, in the first season of Hercules.

Becoming Xena: Warrior Princess

Lawless at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2010

Lucy Lawless got her most famous role as Xena, a heroic warrior woman, in the first season of Hercules. She first appeared in an episode called "The Warrior Princess" in March 1995. Another actress was first chosen for the role, but she became sick. So, Lucy was cast instead. To make Xena look different from her previous role, Lucy's hair was dyed black, and she wore a darker costume. Lucy returned as Xena in two more Hercules episodes, where her character changed from a villain to a good hero.

Xena became very popular with fans. Because of this, a new TV show called Xena: Warrior Princess was created. It started on 4 September 1995. Like Hercules, Xena: Warrior Princess was a huge success. It ran for six seasons and made Lucy Lawless an international star.

In October 1996, while on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Lucy had an accident. The horse she was riding slipped, and she broke her pelvis. She fully recovered, but some episodes of Xena's second season had to be changed. This allowed her to spend less time on set while she healed.

Other Notable Roles

In September 1997, Lucy Lawless performed on Broadway in the musical Grease. She played the character Betty Rizzo. She had wanted to play the lead role of Sandy, but she felt she was chosen for "bad girl" roles because of her success as Xena.

From 2005 to 2009, she had a recurring role in Battlestar Galactica. She played D'Anna Biers, a reporter who was later revealed to be a Humanoid Cylon.

Lucy has also done voice acting for animated movies and shows. In 2008, she voiced Wonder Woman in the animated film Justice League: The New Frontier. In 2014, she voiced the "Queen of the Ants" in Adventure Time.

In 2008, Lucy appeared in the Adam Sandler film Bedtime Stories. She also starred with her former Xena stuntwoman Zoë Bell in the web series Angel of Death in 2009. In the same year, she was a guest star in the HBO series Flight of the Conchords.

Lucy co-starred in the Starz series Spartacus: Blood and Sand. This show was about the famous gladiator Spartacus. It was produced by her husband, "Rob" Tapert. Lucy won an award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Lucretia in Spartacus: Blood and Sand in 2011. She played Lucretia again in Spartacus: Gods of the Arena and Spartacus: Vengeance.

From 2012 to 2014, she had a recurring role in the NBC series Parks and Recreation as Diane, who became the wife of Ron Swanson. In 2014, Lucy guest-starred in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as Isabelle Hartley. From 2015 to 2017, she played Countess Marburg in Salem. In March 2015, she was cast as Ruby in Ash vs Evil Dead, which ended in 2018.

Since 2019, Lucy Lawless has been playing Alexa Crowe, a private investigator, in the series My Life Is Murder.

Filmmaking Work

In 2023, Lucy Lawless helped write and directed a film called Never Look Away. This movie is based on the life of Margaret Moth, a photojournalist from New Zealand. The film was shown for the first time at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2024 and has been featured at other film festivals since then.

Music Career

Lawless performing at the Roxy, 2007

Lucy Lawless has a background in musical theatre. She sang in the Broadway production of Grease in 1997. She also sang during her time on Xena, even writing some of her own music. Two episodes of Xena, "The Bitter Suite" and "Lyre, Lyre, Heart's on Fire", featured her singing and the singing of other cast members.

Lucy was encouraged to sing again after being a contestant on Celebrity Duets, where she finished as the runner-up. She had her first solo concert in Hollywood on 13 January 2007, and it was completely sold out.

Supporting Important Causes

Lucy Lawless is known for supporting LGBT rights. She is proud to be seen as an icon for the lesbian community. She has attended gay pride events, such as the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. For her support of LGBT rights, including her public support for same-sex marriage, she received the Star 100–Ally of the Year award in 2017.

Lucy is also a member of the board for the StarShip Foundation. This charity helps the Starship Children's Health hospital in Auckland by providing equipment and support for staff, patients, and families. She helps raise money for the organization.

Since 2006, 21 September is celebrated as "Lucy Lawless Feel the Love Day/Week." During this week, her fans perform acts of charity and make donations to support Lucy's causes.

In May 2009, Lucy became a "climate ambassador" for Greenpeace to help protect the environment. In February 2012, she and six other Greenpeace activists boarded an oil drilling ship for 77 hours. They wanted to stop it from going to the Arctic for oil exploration. She was later charged with trespass and pleaded guilty. In February 2013, Lucy and the other activists were fined and had to do community service. The judge did not make them pay the large amount of money that the oil company had asked for. Lucy said this was "a great victory."

Personal Life

Lawless with her husband Robert Tapert in 2018

In 1988, Lucy married Garth Lawless, and they had a daughter. They later divorced in 1995.

On 28 March 1998, Lucy married Robert Tapert, who was an executive producer for Xena. They have two sons together.

Recognition and Awards

In 2004, Lucy Lawless was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her work in entertainment and her community service.

In 2003, astronomer Michael E. Brown nicknamed a newly discovered dwarf planet "Xena." This object was thought to be larger than Pluto at first, which led to a big discussion about what makes a planet a planet. Even though it was later named Eris, the nickname "Xena" was widely used. Lucy Lawless called Michael Brown in 2005 to thank him. In 2006, the dwarf planet was officially named Eris. However, Michael Brown honored Lucy by naming Eris's moon Dysnomia, after the Greek goddess of lawlessness.

Awards and Nominations

Filmography

Film Roles

Television Roles

Video Games

• Hunted: The Demon's Forge (2011), as Seraphine
• Evil Dead: The Game (2023), as Ruby Knowby

Stage Performances

• 1997: Grease! – Broadway, New York, USA
• 2005: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes – Seattle, USA
• 2013: Chicago The Musical – Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, USA
• 2017: Pleasuredome The Musical – Auckland, New Zealand

Discography

• Come 2 Me
• Come to Mama: Lucy Lawless in Concert: The Roxy Theater in Hollywood

Concert DVDs

• Come to Mama: Lucy Lawless in Concert: The Roxy Theater in Hollywood
• Gimme Some, Sugar: Lawless, NYC
• Lucy Lawless Live in Chicago: Still Got The Blues
• Lucy Lawless Live at The Roxy Theater: Ho Down
• Lucy Lawless Live in Concert: Welcome to the Pleasuredome

Other songs

• "Little Child" on Unexpected Dreams – Songs From the Stars
• "4 All of Us" with Pauly Fuemana (OMC)
• "Little Child" on The Starship Christmas Album 2012 – Starship Foundation

See also

In Spanish: Lucy Lawless para niños