Lucy Lawless

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Lucy Lawless

Lawless in 2007.
Born Lucille Frances Ryan
March 29, 1968 (1968-03-29) (age 40)
Mount Albert, Auckland City, New Zealand
Other name(s) Lucy Tapert
Years active 1989–present
Spouse(s) Garth Lawless (1988–1995),
Robert Tapert
(1998–present)[citation needed]

Lucy Lawless (born Lucille Frances Ryan; March 29, 1968) is a New Zealand actress and singer best known for playing the title character of the television series Xena: Warrior Princess.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Lawless, the fifth of seven children (five brothers and one sister), was born in Mount Albert, New Zealand. She is the daughter of Julie and Frank Ryan, who was a banker and mayor.[1] Lawless began acting in secondary school. At Auckland University, she studied foreign languages for a year. She dropped out and left for Europe with her boyfriend, Garth Lawless, to travel to Germany and Switzerland. The couple then moved to Australia, where she worked briefly as a gold miner.

[edit] Personal life

At 19, Lawless became pregnant with Garth's child. In 1988, they married in Kalgoorlie, Australia. They returned to New Zealand and had a daughter, Daisy Lawless (born July 15, 1988). The couple divorced in 1995. Lawless married Xena executive producer, Robert Tapert, on March 28, 1998. Lawless and Tapert have two sons: Julius Robert Bay Tapert (born October 16, 1999) and Judah Miro Tapert (born May 7, 2002), both born in Auckland, New Zealand.

[edit] Acting career

Lawless had a guest role in New Zealand TV series Shark in the Park (1990), around the same time as future Xena actor Karl Urban.

In 1994, Lawless appeared in "Hercules and the Amazon Women," the television pilot for Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. In that episode, she played a man-hating Amazon named Lysia. She went on to play another character, Lyla, in the first season episode "As Darkness Falls," but her key role was given to her when she was asked to play a villainous warrior woman named Xena in the episode "The Warrior Princess" – aired in March 1995. Vanessa Angel had originally been cast in the role, but fell ill and was unable to travel to New Zealand for shooting. To differentiate between Xena and the similar Lysia, Lawless' hair, naturally ash blond, was dyed black. Xena subsequently returned in two more episodes of the first season of Hercules.

Xena underwent a change of heart over the course of her several Hercules episodes, and decided to devote her life to fighting for good to make up for her past misdeeds. The character was popular enough that a spin-off series was created for her. Xena: Warrior Princess debuted on September 4, 1995 (although Lawless appeared as Lyla once again, in the second season Hercules episode "Outcast" – aired in October 1995). Xena: Warrior Princess, like its parent program, was a hit, lasting six seasons, and Lawless became an international celebrity.

Lawless even appeared as a super-powered version of herself on the The Simpsons episode "Treehouse of Horror X" (1999), though she spoke with an American accent, as she did when hosting Saturday Night Live in 1998, rather than her native New Zealander accent. In the end, she flies away carrying Bart and Lisa Simpson. Lisa points out Xena can't fly and Lawless replies that she's not Xena, she's Lucy Lawless.

In 1997, Lawless was named one of the "50 Most Beautiful People in the World" by People magazine. Days earlier on May 6, 1997, Lawless inadvertently exposed one of her breasts as she concluded a performance of the US national anthem at an NHL hockey game in Anaheim, California between the Mighty Ducks and Detroit Red Wings. Lawless was quoted in Newsweek as saying, "Obviously, I was mortified....It was quite a bit more exposure than I want".[2]

Lawless has since appeared onstage in the Vagina Monologues and as a television guest star in episodes of The X-Files, Just Shoot Me!, The Bernie Mac Show, Two and a Half Men, Something So Right and Veronica Mars. She was also featured in the short-lived television series Tarzan. Lawless has made cameo appearances in the movies EuroTrip, Spider-Man and Boogeyman (2005). She returned to television in the TV movie Locusts! and its sequel Vampire Bats.

From 2005 to 2008, Lawless has had a recurring role in the television series Battlestar Galactica. She portrays D'Anna Biers, a reporter with the Fleet News Service who works on a critical documentary about the crew of the Galactica and is later revealed to be a Cylon (Number Three). In 2007, she was slated to star in the new ABC TV series Football Wives - a remake of the ITV drama Footballers' Wives which ran for five years. Instead of soccer players, this series would have been about the wives of professional American football players. However, Lucy announced on her official website that the show had not been picked up by ABC.[3] Although her character was put in permanent stasis in Battlestar Galactica it has been confirmed that she will return to the show for the series' last season for a 2-3 episode arc.[4]

In concert at the Roxy, 2007.Photo by Amber Hewitt.
In concert at the Roxy, 2007.
Photo by Amber Hewitt.

Lawless has a cult following in the lesbian community, largely because of Xena's ambiguous relationship with traveling companion Gabrielle.[5] Although Lawless is heterosexual, she has appeared at gay pride events such as the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.[6] In a 2003 interview with Lesbian News magazine, she said that she had come to see Xena and Gabrielle's relationship as gay after viewing the series finale, though she has also stated on several occasions that she was undecided on the nature of the relationship while playing the role.[7]

Lawless competed as one of the celebrity singers on the reality TV show Celebrity Duets, which premiered August 29, 2006, on the U.S. Fox channel. She finished runner-up to Alfonso Ribeiro. She co-starred in the 2006 movie The Darkroom. Lawless also guest starred in the USA network series Burn Notice on September 13, 2007. On October 21, 2007, she guest starred as Larry David's date on HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm, after Larry's wife, Cheryl, leaves him.

Lawless provided the voice of Goldmoon for Dragonlance: Dragons of Autumn Twilight, a direct-to-DVD animated movie based on the novel of the same name. The movie was released on January 15, 2008. In addition, she provided the voice for Wonder Woman in the direct-to-video animated movie Justice League: The New Frontier.[8]

[edit] Charity

Lawless is a major supporter of the StarShip Foundation, the charity arm of the Starship Children's Health (hospital) which is part of the Auckland District Health Board. It is is set up to provide additional equipment, support and help to staff, patients and families - as an extra to state funding. Lawless has often raised money for concerts and events, donates part of her salary in favour of the institution, and has sold some Xena costumes to contribute funds. Friday, 21 September is "Lucy Lawless Feel the Love Day". The day is organised by the Official Lucy Lawless Fan Club and kicks off a week of charitable acts and donations by fans in honor and support of Lucy.

[edit] Lawless' moon

Lawless has also been referenced in astronomy. Astronomer Mike Brown nicknamed the newly discovered dwarf planet Eris - "Xena" - finding this name more convenient to use than the then-official designation, "2003 UB313." When this object was determined to be larger than Pluto, it gained international attention and forced a year-long debate among astronomers as to the definition of a planet.

The planet's nickname "Xena" was widely used in the press. So popular did the name become that, when the New Scientist magazine polled the public on their preferred final name for the tenth planet, "Xena" ranked no. 4.[9] Lawless rang Mike Brown in December 2005 to thank him for his "senseless act of beauty," and claimed that she "never dared hope [the name] would stick."[10]

Although planet "Xena" is now officially known as "Eris," Brown made an indirect tribute to Lawless by naming Eris's moon Dysnomia after the Greek goddess of lawlessness.[11]

[edit] Singing career

Come To Mama Lawless CD cover.
Come To Mama Lawless CD cover.

Since her role as Xena, Lawless has pursued a new career in singing after being a contestant on Celebrity Duets. She made her onstage debut at the Roxy in Hollywood on January 13, 2007. Lawless was welcomed by a sold out crowd for back-to-back concerts.

[edit] Concerts

  • January 13 - 14, 2007 - The Roxy Theater; Los Angeles
  • May 31 - June 1-2, 2007 - The Canal Room; New York City
  • October 5-6, 2007 - Buddy Guy's Legends; Chicago
  • January 25 - 26, 2008 - The Roxy Theater; Los Angeles
  • May 3-4, 2008 - Carling Academy Islington; London, England, UK

[edit] Albums

  • Come 2 Me
  • Come To Mama: Lucy Lawless In Concert: The Roxy Theater In Hollywood

[edit] 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

[edit] References

  1. ^ Lucy Lawless Biography (1968-)
  2. ^ Lucy Lawless - Newsweek Magazine - Her Cup Runneth Over
  3. ^ Official Lucy Lawless Fan Club
  4. ^ IGN: SDCC 07: Battlestar Galactica Gets Lawless
  5. ^ AfterEllen.com - Xena and Gabrielle: Lesbian Icons
  6. ^ Lucy and Renee in Sydney in 1999 - Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras
  7. ^ Lesbian News
  8. ^ Justice League: The New Frontier at the Internet Movie Database
  9. ^ Your top 10 names for the tenth planet - space - 08 August 2005 - New Scientist
  10. ^ Messages from Lucy
  11. ^ SkyandTelescope.com - Homepage News - All Hail Eris and Dysnomia

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Persondata
NAME Lawless, Lucy
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Tapert, Lucy; Ryan, Lucille Frances
SHORT DESCRIPTION New Zealand television and theatre actress and singer known best for her role as Xena in the American television series Xena: Warrior Princess.
DATE OF BIRTH March 29, 1968
PLACE OF BIRTH Mount Albert, New Zealand
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH