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Lucille Frances Ryan "Lucy" Lawless, MNZM, was born on March 29th, 1968, in Auckland, New Zealand. She is best known for her portrayal of Xena in Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess, D'Anna Biers/Number Three in the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica series, and Lucretia in the Spartacus television franchise.

Originally, the part of Xena was meant to be a guest role, played by English actress Vanessa Angel, but due to illness, she could not make it to the set and the part went to Lucy, who had previously appeared on Hercules: The Legendary Journeys as Lyla and Lysia. When the character was proved popular, executive producers Rob Tapert and Sam Raimi created a spin-off: Xena: Warrior Princess, starring Lucy as Xena and Renée O'Connor as Gabrielle. Lawless has the distinction of being the only cast member to appear in Hercules and the Amazon Women and A Friend in Need Part II, the first and last productions, respectively, of the so-called Xenaverse.

After the success of Xena, Lucy appeared in Two and a Half Men, The L Word and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. She also landed a recurring role on the newly revamped version of Battlestar Galactica as D'Anna Biers and was a runner-up on the American reality show Celebrity Duets.

Recently, Lucy appeared in Rob Tapert and Sam Raimi's Starz television series, Spartacus: Blood and Sand, as Lucretia.

She was recently cast as a recurring character in season two of the first Marvel Cinematic Universe's TV series, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as a long time S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, Isabelle Hartly, who like Xena is handy with a knife.

Biography

Early Life

Lucy Lawless was born Lucille Frances Ryan to Kiwi natives, Julie and Frank Ryan, who was the Mayor of Mount Albert. She was the sixth of seven children, having one sister and five brothers. During her secondary school days she suffered from bullimia but this was overcome when she began to study Opera, Jazz Music and Foreign Languages at college.

Career

Lucy Renee One Against

Lucy and Renee O'Connor whilst filming the third season episode "One Against an Army"

Renaissance Pictures

Lucy appeared as a guest character in several television shows throughout the 80's and early 90's, before going for an audtion that would spark a chain of events, leading to her big break. The first audition was for the role of Lysia in Hercules and the Amazon Women. Lucy later returned when a series was created from the made-for-TV films, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. She played the part of Lyla, but her big break didn't come until she audtioned for the small part of Xena.

Another actress, Vanessa Angel, got the part, but due to an illness, she was unable to film and Lucy got the part. The character of Xena was proved to be successful and after three episodes on Hercules, the character eventually got it's own show - "Xena: Warrior Princess". Xena eventually outlived it's successful parent show and ran for six seasons.

Spartacus

In 2010, she starred alongside Andy Whitfield and John Hannah in Spartacus: Blood and Sand, a television series created by Steven S. DeKinght, Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert, based on the life of the infamous gladiator Spartacus. It features previous cast members of Xena: Warrior Princess such as Manu Bennett and Matthew Chamberlain. She then starred in the prequel series Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, which aired in early 2011, created to give star Andy Whitfield (Spartacus) time to recover from cancer. However, Andy Whitfield became ill once again and so Spartacus was re-cast altogether and filming commenced on the second season of the show, entitled Spartacus: Vengeance. Andy Whitfield passed away on 11th September, 2011. Lawless' character, thought to have been killed in the previous series, returns for this series.

Other Work

Lucy made a guest appearance in 1999 on The Simpsons in the 10th Halloween Special, "Treehouse of Horrors X". She appeared in the short "Desperatly Xeeking Xena". Although she played herself, she had the persona of Xena.

After the success of Xena, Lucy had various cameos and guest roles, most notably on Spiderman and Two and Half Men, respectively.

Lucy Rob Renee AFIN

Rob Tapert directs Lucy, whilst Renee jokes around, during the filming of the finale of Xena: Warrior Princess, "A Friend in Need Part I"

In 2004 Lucy became a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to television and film, the Kiwi equivilant of the Order of the British Empire.

In 2005 she landed the role of D'Anna Biers on the revamped Battlestar Galactica, which lasted until 2009.

In 2008 she appeared in the christmas film Bedtime Stories, alongside Adam Sandler and Courtney Cox-Arquette (the latter's sister-in-law, Alexis Arquette, had previously appeared on Xena as Caligula).

In 2009 Lucy also had a role in the film Bitch Slap, produced by members of the Xena team and starred alongside fellow Xena actors, Renne O'Connor and Kevin Sorbo, amongst many others.

Lawless had a recurring role on the fifth and sixth season of the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation as Diane Lewis, a single mother who falls for Ron Swanson.

In January 2011, Lawless played a character on U.S. series No Ordinary Family known as "Mrs X.," a possible nod to her character of Xena.

Current Work

In 2015, she had a recurring role as Countess Palatine Ingrid von Marburg on the WGN America series Salem, and appears in the series Ash vs. Evil Dead. Lawless had a recurring role on the fifth and sixth season of the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation as Diane Lewis, a single mother who falls for Ron Swanson.

Xena SOD BTS EDIT

Lucy whilst filming Xena: Warrior Princess, 1999. Notice her pregnancy: when she became pregnant, the writers created the Twilight of the Gods storyline.

Musical career

Before Xena, Lucy had considered a career in opera, and she flirted with a singing career over the years, including a run, described below, on the television show Celebrity Duets, which she dominated to such a degree that the "Flawless Diva" movement arose to support her. From January of 2007 to May of 2008, she performed in sell-out concerts. She also recorded and released an album, titled Come 2 Me, and live footage existed of her performances at the Roxy in Hollywood.

Lucy's singing in XWP (some of whose installments, like "The Bitter Suite," were musical installments) was all her own, and she was even able to contribute to the show's music score; "Burial," a dirge heard in some installments, is entirely of her authorship and composition. (Though it was unknown, as of early November of 2017, whether Lucy is able to read notation, she wrote and composed "Burial" by improvisation.)

Celebrity Duets

In 2006, Lucy was a contestant on the American reality show, Celebrity Duets, transmitted on the Fox Network. The show followed a similar format to American Idol and the British show, The X Factor, both of which the same man, Simon Cowell, had co-created. Lucy was the runner-up to eventual winner Alfonso Ribeiro, having dueted with legendary singers such as Dionne Warwick and Bonnie Tyler.

Personal Life

Lucy met her first husband, Garth Lawless, in 1987 and married in 1988. She had their only child, Daisy Lawless, on 15th July, 1988. They divorced in 1995.

During her time on Hercules and Xena, Lucy met her second and current husband, executive producer Robert Tapert. The couple have been married since 1998 and have two children together: Julius Robert Bay Tapert, who was born 16th October, 1999 and Judah Miro Tapert, who was born 7th May, 2002. The couple currently reside in their home in Mission Bay, Auckland, New Zealand, speculated at a $6 million worth.

Lucy is close friends with her Xena cast and crew members Renée O'Connor, Ted Raimi, Michael Hurst and Bruce Campbell.

Charity

She is a member of the StarShip Foundation, a charity which is a branch of the StarShip Children's Hospital. It focuses on helping out the patients, staff and families of the patients, and funding for equipment. She devotes much of her time to this cause and has performed concerts, organised events and even donated her Xena costume to a museum and gave all the proceedings to the charity.

She also became "Climate Ambassador" of the Greenpeace campaign in May 2009, which focuses on raising awareness of the state of the enviroment. Her involvement with this charity later led to an arrest (see below).

Incident on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

Lucy and kevin bike

Lucy and the late Kevin Smith taking a break during the filming of the sixth season episode "Soul Possession"

In October 1996 Lucy was filming for the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, when the horse that she was riding fell, causing her to fracture her pelvis. As she was filming for Season Two of Xena at the time, the writers had to come up with an idea to prevent the incident from causing too much of an effect to the show. In "Intimate Stranger", a storyline where Callisto and Xena switch bodies became handy, allowing the writers to extend the storyline for an extra episode and allow for Lucy to rest. The writers then came-up with a few Xena-Lites to allow for Lucy to have more time off work and fully recover.

Arrest

In February 2012, Lawless and five other Greenpeace activists boarded an oil drilling ship at Port Taranaki, New Zealand, and remained on it for 77 hours to stop it leaving for the Arctic where it was going to take part in oil exploration.[1] She was subsequently arrested and charged with burglary, which carries an imprisonment term of up to 10 years if convicted.[2] She pleaded guilty on 14 June 2012 to trespass charges regarding the February incident. Lawless said she intends for now to remain involved with Greenpeace.[3] In February 2013, she and the other six activists were each sentenced to pay a fine of NZ$651 (about US$547) and 120 hours of community service. The judge denied the $545,000 in reparations that Shell Todd Oil Services had sought from the activists. Following the sentencing, Lawless said: "I consider it a great victory that the court has struck down the reparation demand from Shell, which I think was absolutely ludicrous."[4]

Gallery

Credits

Hercules: The Legendary Journeys

  1. Hercules and the Amazon Women - Lysia
  2. "As Darkness Falls" - Lyla
  3. "The Warrior Princess" - Xena
  4. "The Gauntlet" - Xena
  5. "Unchained Heart" - Xena
  6. "Outcast" - Lyla
  7. "Judgement Day" - Xena
  8. "Stranger in a Strange World" - Xena 2
  9. "Armageddon Now Part 2" - Xena

Xena: Warrior Princess

  1. "Sins of the Past" - Xena
  2. "Chariots of War" - Xena
  3. "Dreamworker" - Xena
  4. "Cradle of Hope" - Xena
  5. "The Path Not Taken" - Xena
  6. "The Reckoning" - Xena
  7. "The Titans" - Xena
  8. "Prometheus" - Xena
  9. "Death in Chains" - Xena
  10. "Hooves and Harlots" - Xena
  11. "The Black Wolf" - Xena
  12. "Beware Greeks Bearing Gifts" - Xena
  13. "Athens City Academy of the Performing Bards" - Xena
  14. "A Fistful of Dinars" - Xena
  15. "Warrior... Princess" - Xena/Diana
  16. "Mortal Beloved" - Xena
  17. "The Royal Couple of Thieves" - Xena
  18. "The Prodigal" - Xena
  19. "Altared States" - Xena
  20. "Ties That Bind" - Xena
  21. "The Greater Good" - Xena
  22. "Callisto" - Xena
  23. "Death Mask" - Xena
  24. "Is There a Doctor in the House?" - Xena
  25. "Orphan of War" - Xena
  26. "Remember Nothing" - Xena
  27. "The Giant Killer" - Xena
  28. "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" - Xena
  29. "Return of Callisto" - Xena
  30. "Warrior... Princess... Tramp" - Xena/Diana/Meg
  31. "Intimate Stranger" - Xena/Callisto
  32. "A Solstice Carol" - Xena
  33. "The Xena Scrolls" - Melinda Pappas/Xena
  34. "Here She Comes... Miss Amphipolis" - Xena
  35. "Destiny" - Xena
  36. "The Quest" - Xena
  37. "A Necessary Evil" - Xena
  38. "A Day in the Life" - Xena
  39. "For Him The Bell Tolls" - Xena
  40. "The Execution" - Xena
  41. "Blind Faith" - Xena
  42. "Ulysses" - Xena
  43. "The Price - Xena
  44. "Lost Mariner" - Xena
  45. "A Comedy of Eros" - Xena
  46. "The Furies" - Xena
  47. "Been There, Done That" - Xena
  48. "The Dirty Half Dozen" - Xena
  49. "The Deliverer" - Xena
  50. "Gabrielle's Hope" - Xena
  51. "The Debt: Part 1" - Xena
  52. "The Debt: Part 2" - Xena
  53. "The King of Assassins" - Xena
  54. "Warrior... Priestess... Tramp" - Xena/Meg/Leah
  55. "The Quill is Mightier..." - Xena
  56. "Maternal Instincts" - Xena
  57. "The Bitter Suite" - Xena
  58. "One Against an Army" - Xena
  59. "Forgiven" - Xena
  60. "King Con" - Xena
  61. "When in Rome..." - Xena
  62. "Forget Me Not" - Xena
  63. "Fins, Femmes and Gems" - Xena
  64. "Tsunami" - Xena
  65. "Vanishing Act" - Xena
  66. "Sacrifice: Part 1" - Xena
  67. "Sacrifice: Part 2" - Xena
  68. "Adventures in the Sin Trade" - Xena
  69. "Adventures in the Sin Trade II" - Xena
  70. "A Family Affair" - Xena
  71. "In Sickness and in Hell" - Xena
  72. "A Good Day" - Xena
  73. "A Tale of Two Muses" - Xena
  74. "Locked Up and Tied Down" - Xena
  75. "Crusader" - Xena
  76. "Past Imperfect" - Xena
  77. "The Key to the Kingdom" - Xena/Meg
  78. "Daughter of Pomira" - Xena
  79. "If the Shoe Fits..." - Xena
  80. "Paradise Found" - Xena
  81. "Devi" - Xena
  82. "Between the Lines" - Xena/Arminestra
  83. "The Way" - Xena
  84. "The Play's the Thing" - Xena
  85. "The Convert" - Xena
  86. "Takes One to Know One" - Xena
  87. "Endgame" - Xena
  88. "The Ides of March" - Xena
  89. "Deja Vu All Over Again" - Annie Day/Joxer
  90. "Fallen Angel" - Xena
  91. "Chakram" - Xena
  92. "Succession" - Xena
  93. "Animal Attraction" - Xena
  94. "Them Bones, Them Bones" - Xena
  95. "Purity" - Xena
  96. "Back in the Bottle" - Xena
  97. "Little Problems" - Xena
  98. "Seeds of Faith" - Xena
  99. "Lyre, Lyre, Hearts on Fire" - Xena
  100. "Punch Lines" - Xena
  101. "God Fearing Child" - Xena
  102. "Eternal Bonds" - Xena
  103. "Amphipolis Under Siege" - Xena
  104. "Married with Fishsticks" - Xena
  105. "Lifeblood" - Xena
  106. "Kindred Spirits" - Xena
  107. "Antony & Cleopatra" - Xena
  108. "Looking Death in the Eye" - Xena/Meg (voice only)
  109. "Livia" - Xena/Meg
  110. "Eve" - Xena
  111. "Motherhood" - Xena
  112. "Coming Home" - Xena
  113. "The Haunting of Amphipolis" - Xena
  114. "Heart of Darkness" - Xena
  115. "Who's Gurkhan?" - Xena
  116. "Legacy" - Xena
  117. "The Abyss" - Xena
  118. "The Rheingold" - Xena
  119. "The Ring" - Xena
  120. "Return of the Valkyrie" - Xena
  121. "Old Ares Had a Farm" - Xena
  122. "Dangerous Prey" - Xena
  123. "The God You Know" - Xena
  124. "You Are There" - Xena
  125. "Path of Vengeance" - Xena
  126. "To Helicon and Back" - Xena
  127. "Send in the Clones" - Xena's Clone
  128. "Last of the Centaurs" - Xena
  129. "When Fates Collide" - Xena
  130. "Many Happy Returns" - Xena
  131. "Soul Possession" - Xena/Joxer/Annie Day
  132. "A Friend in Need Part I" - Xena
  133. "A Friend in Need Part II" - Xena

References

  1. Lucy Lawless boards oil drilling ship. 3news.co.nz (February 2012).
  2. Lawless charged with burglary after ship protest. Television New Zealand (27 February 2011). Retrieved on 27 February 2011.
  3. Nick Perry (14 June 2012). Actress Lucy Lawless Pleads Guilty to Trespass. ABC News. Archived from the original on 2012-06-15.
  4. Lucy Lawless sentenced, and the warrior princess is thrilled. Los Angeles Times (7 February 2013). Retrieved on 24 February 2013.

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