Reneé O'Connor

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Renee O'Connor
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Birth name Evelyn Renee O'Connor
Born February 14, 1971 (age 35)
Katy, Texas, United States
Height 5 ft 4 in
Notable roles Gabrielle on
Xena: Warrior Princess
Spouse(s) Jed Sura (Unknown - Present)
Steve Muir (14 October 2000 - Unknown)

Reneé O'Connor (born Evelyn Reneé O'Connor on February 15, 1971 in Katy, Texas) is an American actress, best known for playing the role of Gabrielle on the television series Xena: Warrior Princess from 1995 to 2001.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Reneé O'Connor was born to Walter and Sandra O'Connor. Her mother and stepfather, Sandra and Eddie Wilson, own a famous restaurant called "Threadgill's" in Austin, Texas.[1] She has an older brother named Chris, who is a grocery store manager, and her biological father Walter is a finance manager.

Since her first role at age 8 as a caterpillar during a Theater on Wheels production, Reneé has had a passion for acting. At age 12, she began studying acting at Houston's Alley Theatre, and later attended The High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston, Texas. So that she could graduate with her friends, she transferred back to Taylor High School.

[edit] Career

She began her real career at the age of 16 in a commercial for McDonalds, later for Exxon. A string of other commercials followed (as well as a string of odd jobs such as Porky Pig at Astroworld and an aerobics instructor in L.A.) and in 1989, she landed a recurring role in a serial called Teen Angel featured on the "New Mickey Mouse Club." This led to another Disney serial called Match Point and an episode of Tales from the Crypt (directed by Arnold Schwarzenegger), though it was later cut. Reneé then went on to portray an imperiled student on an NBC special called "The Flood", Cheryl Ladd's daughter in Danielle Steel's "Changes", a woman captured by Shawnee Indians in ABC's Follow the River, an actress who hires Rockford as her bodyguard in The Rockford Files: A Blessing in Disguise, Julia Wilkes in Disney's "The Adventures of Huck Finn", and the daughter of a murdered couple in an episode of NYPD Blue. Reneé then came to the attention of Xena: Warrior Princess executive producers Robert G. Tapert and Sam Raimi with an "over-the-top" audition that won her the role of the young Deianeira in their two-hour "Action Pack" adventure "Hercules and the Lost Kingdom." They were so impressed by her performance opposite Hercules: The Legendary Journeys star Kevin Sorbo that they signed her for a starring role in "Darkman II: The Return of Durant." She was later cast as Gabrielle, Xena's sidekick on Xena: Warrior Princess. During the filming of Xena, Reneé lived in Auckland, New Zealand.

Reneé O'Connor as Gabrielle in Xena.
Enlarge
Reneé O'Connor as Gabrielle in Xena.

She was voted # 3 of the most intriguing people in 1996, # 2 in 1997, and one of the most beautiful people of 1997, by People Online. She made the cover of TV Guide on the July 29, 2000 to August 4, 2000 issue. It was one of eight collector's covers.

On 27 June 2002, O'Connor played Lady Macbeth in Shakespeare by the Sea's version of Macbeth. The play ran for five weeks and was initially located in San Pedro Point Fermin Park and toured the beach cities in Los Angeles.

On 31 May 2003 Reneé participated in the Firefighters Burn Relay to benefit the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation. The event took place in Burbank, California. She took place in the parade of fire engines. They made stops in several areas, including Beverly Hills, Burbank, Long Beach, and Santa Monica, allowing the public to make donations at each stop. Working with firefighters, educators, and burn care professionals, the foundation helps to develop new programs and services. Reneé volunteered again with the foundation in 2005 raising funds washing cars with others. They raised $2000.

Reneé is producing Diamonds and Guns, an independent film. Joseph LoDuca, who composed the music on Xena and Hercules, will be composing music for this film as well. The short film is a romantic comedy about two friends who go to Las Vegas to find true love. It was shot digitally. O'Connor has been raising funds for the movie selling numerous photos of herself with autographs and a few of her personal paintings on eBay. She has raised about $75,000 from eBay alone as of March 2006. The film is expected to be finished in 2006.

She took the lead in Eric Escobar's Sundance Short One Weekend A Month (2004) and co-starred with Bruce Campbell in the Sci-Fi channel movie Alien Apocalypse (2005). Renee will next be seen in the film Ghost Town (2007) where she will play the tomboy like character Little Jack.

O'Connor appears in Xena conventions every year. They are usually located in Burbank and Pasadena, but have also taken place in Florida and London. She even dresses up and performs skits and readings onstage. People who are a fan of the Xena series are known as "Xenites" while people being a fan specifically of Reneé are known as "ROCkers". Threadgill's was the location of the first "Xenafest".

[edit] Private life

Reneé married New Zealand native and restaurant manager Steve Muir on 14 October 2000 and their son, Miles William Muir, was born on 22 September 2001. Reneé and Steve have since divorced, and Reneé was later involved with Jed Sura (an actor she met while filming Diamonds and Guns). They have a daughter, Iris Sura O'Connor, born on 19 March 2006.

[edit] Trivia

  • Her costume continuing to shrink on Xena was a running joke.
  • Enjoys jazz dancing, kickboxing, rock climbing, horseback riding, water skiing, and painting.
  • Nicknames are "Ren", "ROC", "Stumpy" (reference to Ren and Stimpy), and "vertically challenged".
  • Has a cat named Kia Ora, which is Māori for "hello".
  • Was in three TV appearances with Bruce Campbell; Xena: Warrior Princess, Alien Apocalypse, and Campbell's directed episode of Hercules.

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Starring Roles

Year Title Role Other notes
2007 Ghost Town Little Jack
2006 Diamonds and Guns Ashley
2005 Xena: The 10th Anniversary Collection Gabrielle Video
2005 Alien Apocalypse Kelly TV
2004 One Weekend a Month Meg McDermott
2000 Rubbernecking Ashton
1998 Hercules and Xena - The Animated Movie: The Battle for Mount Olympus Gabrielle (voice) Video
1995 "Xena: Warrior Princess" Gabrielle TV Series
1995 The Rockford Files: A Blessing in Disguise Laura Sue Dean TV
1995 Follow the River Bettie Draper TV
1994 Hercules: The Legendary Journeys - Hercules and the Lost Kingdom Deianeira TV
1994 Darkman II: The Return of Durant Laurie Brinkman Video
1993 The Flood: Who Will Save Our Children? Leslie TV
1993 The Adventures of Huck Finn Julia Wilks
1993 Sworn to Vengeance Julia Wilks TV
1991 Stone Cold Tinselteeth
1991 Changes Jessica Adams TV
1990 False Identity Angela Errickson
1989 Night Game Lorraine Beasley
1989 Black Snow Jennifer Winslow
1989 Match Point Robin TV
1989 "Teen Angel" Nancy Nichols TV Series

[edit] Guest-starring Roles

Year Title Role Episode
2002 Mataku American Buyer 1.2 "The Heirloom"
1999 Hercules: The Legendary Journeys Sunny Day 5.9 "For Those of You Just Joining Us..."
1998 Hercules: The Legendary Journeys Gabrielle 4.14 "Armageddon Now: Part 2"
1997 Hercules: The Legendary Journeys The Executioner 4.5 "Stranger in a Strange World"
1997 E! News Daily Herself
1997 Hercules: The Legendary Journeys Gabrielle 3.15 "Judgement Day"
1993 NYPD Blue Rebecca Sloane 1.10 "Oscar, Meyer, Weiner"
1992 Arresting Behavior Jade Pearl
1992 FBI: The Untold Stories Ofc. Renee Lanot "Blue Fiber"
FBI: The Untold Stories Tina Marie Risico "Millionaire Murderer"
1990 Tales from the Crypt Waitress (scenes deleted) 2.2 "The Switch"

[edit] Director

Year Title Other Notes
2001 "Xena: Warrior Princess" TV Series episode "Dangerous Prey"
1999 "Xena: Warrior Princess" TV Series episode "Deja Vu All Over Again"

[edit] Miscellaneous Crew

Year Title Role Other notes
1998 StarCraft Thanks Video Game

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ threadgills.com. Retrieved 4 October 2006.
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