| 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. 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 bear a daughter.
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 ironically 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.
FAMILY
Family Name: Ryan
Family Background: Irish, Catholic
Parents: Julie (born 1937) - homemaker
Frank (born 1932) - Mayor of MT. Albert 1968-90, currently a councilor for Auckland City
Siblings: 5 brothers (4 older) and 1 sister
Daughter: Daisy Lawless (born July 1988)
Sons: Julius Robert Bay Tapert (born 7:01 AM on October 16, 1999 in NZ)
Judah Miro Tapert (born 11:46 PM on May 7, 2002 in NZ)
Husband: Robert Gerrard Tapert - Renaissance Pictures Executive Producer (born 1955 - Detroit Michigan)
Married March 28, 1998 (Santa Monica California)
Ex Husband: Garth Lawless - former bar manager, now a computer expert (married 1988 - divorced 1995)
PERSONAL
Home: Auckland NZ and Studio City LA
Birth date: Friday March 29, 1968
Middle Name: Frances
Height: 5' 10 ½"
Eyes: light blue
Hair colour: Naturally blond as a child, later changed to light brown
Languages spoken: English (of course), good German, OK French and some Italian
Schooling: Auckland University (1 year - 1986)
Wesley Intermediate
Marist Sisters College
Favourite foods: lamb shanks, frozen yogurt, wine and scotch
Nickname: Unco (for uncoordinated)
Books: psychology
Exercise: yoga
Music: jazz and opera
Titles: Crowned Mrs. New Zealand in 1989
CAREER
1988: Commercials for NZ's ASB Bank
Funny Business (TV comedy troupe) - first real acting job
1990: A Bitter Song (as Nurse 1)
Within the Law (as Verity)
1991:
For the Love of Mike (TV Comedy Series - as Helen)
End of the Golden Weather (as Joe's Girl)
mid 1991 - early 92: William Davis Center for Actors Study - 8 months in Vancouver Canada
1992: Ray Bradbury Theatre (as Liddy Barton in "Fee Fie Foe Fum")
Adventures of the Black Stallion (as Sarah McFee in "Riding the Volcano")
Movie: Rainbow Warrior (as Jane Redmond)
1992 & 93: Co-host of Air New Zealand Holiday
1993: Mini series: Typhon's People (as Mink Tertius)
1994: TV Movie: Hercules and the Amazon Women (as Lysia)
1995: Peach (Short film)
High Tide episodes:
Shanghaied (as undercover policewoman)
Dead In The Water (as Sharon List)
Hercules episodes:
As Darkness Falls (as Lyla)
Warrior Princess (as Xena)
The Gauntlet (as Xena)
Unchained Heart (as Xena)
Outcast (as Lyla) - Lucy's last Herc appearance before the XWP series
Fall 1995 - Spring 2001: Xena Warrior Princess (as Xena)
1997: Animated Movie: Hercules and Xena - The The Battle for Mount Olympus (as Xena)
Something So Right (TV brief appearance as herself)
Broadway: Grease (as Rizzo) Sept. 2 - Oct. 19
1998: I'll Make You Happy (New Zealand film - cameo appearance)
1999: The Simpsons: "Treehouse of Horror X" (Featuring the voice of Lucy Lawless)
Burt Bacharach: One Amazing Night (Musical Video)
2000:
In Search of the Lonesome Yodel (TV Documentary)
Ginger Snaps (Voice of Announcer on School PA System)
2001:
Dealing With Donna (Comedy)
Just Shoot Me (TV Comedy - guest appearance as Stacy the Call Girl)
Lucy Lawless: Kiwi Superstar (TV Documentary)
X-Files - Nothing Important Happened Today: Part 1 and 2 (guest appearance as Shannon McMahon)
2002:
Spider Man (filmed in 2001 and released in 2002) - small cameo appearance
The Vagina Monologues - Auckland
Bernie Mac (September 18 - guest appearance as herself)
2003:
The Ugly Americans (Movie: Comedy)
Tarzan (WB TV Series - cancelled after a few episodes)
Warrior Women (Discovery Channel series of 6 shows profiling real warrior women, hosted by Lucy Lawless)
Eurotrip (2004) | |
