Lucy Lawless biography, height, age, children, husband, family 2024

Biography of Lucy Lawless

Lucy Lawless is a New Zealand actress who gained worldwide fame for her leading role in the TV series "Xena: Warrior Princess," which aired in the late 1990s. Lawless is also known as a model, singer, director, producer, and Greenpeace activist. In 2024, her fans were delighted by the news that the actress returned to the screen as Lucretia in the series "Spartacus: House of Ashur."

Childhood, Youth, Family

Lucille Frances Ryan (the actress's maiden name) was born in the spring of 1968 to Frank and Julie Ryan in the suburb of Mount Albert, Auckland, New Zealand.

Her father, a banker, and her mother, a teacher, also raised five older children—four sons and a daughter. Lucy, as she was called at home, showed her character from an early age, participating equally with her brothers in all childhood pranks and mischief. Eventually, her parents enrolled the lively girl in a school at a convent, hoping it would somewhat tame her spirit. There, Lucy developed an interest in reading English classics and eagerly participated in school events.

Retro Lucy Lawless Commercial (1986)

At the age of 17, she entered the University of Auckland, where she continued studying literature at the philology department while also taking vocal lessons in a student studio. However, she did not complete her studies, deciding it was a waste of time, and left the university to travel the world.

Funny Business- ANUS fragrance (with Lucy Lawless)

Returning home as a married woman, Lucy participated in the "Mrs. New Zealand" beauty pageant and won. Following this, Lawless worked as a photo model and was then invited to television for the sketch project "Funny Business."

Acting Career

At the initial stage of her career, Lawless was given only small roles. In the early '90s, she appeared in the anthology series "The Ray Bradbury Theater," playing Liddy Barton, and then worked with Jon Voight and Sam Neill on the project "Rainbow Warrior."

Soon, the actress was cast in the adventure fantasy "Hercules and the Amazon Women," where she played the villainous character Lysia. Afterward, she replaced a sick actress in the series "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys," transforming into the Amazon Xena. Her character became so popular that producers changed the original script, which had Xena dying.

In 1995, Lawless received her first leading role in a series created specifically for her, transforming into the Amazon queen Xena in the eponymous project.

It's Rude to Stare - Xena: Warrior Princess

Lawless performed almost all her stunts on set herself. Safety techniques were top-notch, and she did not get injured once in six years of filming, unlike during a night show where her Xena appeared on horseback. The organizers failed to consider that the animal was not accustomed to the spotlight and loud music: the horse stumbled and threw Lucy off. After a hip injury, the actress took nearly a year to recover, and then she started appearing in blockbuster films but in supporting roles.

Lawless's filmography includes "The X-Files" (super soldier Shannon McMahon), "Spider-Man" (punk rock girl), and "Boogeyman" (Tim's mother).

Lucy Lawless Interview - ROD Show (1996)

She landed leading roles in the horror films "Locusts" and "Vampire Bats" (both released in 2005). In 2007, she played the main role of Tanya Austin in the film "Football Wives."

Lawless named her favorite role as Lucretia in the series "Spartacus: Blood and Sand" and "Spartacus: Gods of the Arena," for which she was awarded the Saturn Award and a prize at the Monte Carlo Television Festival as the Best Actress in a TV Series.

Spartacus: Blood and Sand - Lucretia

Lucille was also awarded the iHorror Awards as the Best Actress in a Horror Series for "Ash vs Evil Dead."

Lucy Lawless Talks Her Role & Nudity In Spartacus At Comic-Con

In 2019, Lawless acted as a producer and played the lead role in the crime drama "My Life Is Murder." During the lockdown, she and actress Renee O'Connor organized an online marathon for fans of the film "Xena: Warrior Princess" with discussions and chat interactions.

Personal Life of Lucy Lawless

Lucille was in her senior year when she fell in love with her peer, Garth Lawless. The young couple decided to travel the world, taking odd jobs along the way.

While at an Australian mining site, the couple decided to get married. They worked at a gold mining company for several months until they learned that Lucy was expecting a child. Returning to Auckland, she gave birth to their daughter Daisy in July 1988.

The relationship between the young spouses began to deteriorate when Lucy started actively acting in films. After she landed the lead role in the TV series about Xena, Garth insisted on a divorce.

In 1998, Lawless remarried—to executive producer Robert Tapert. They have two sons: Julius Robert Bay and Judah Miro. The actress carefully guards her private life and rarely shares photos or information shedding light on this aspect of her life. It is only known that Lawless prefers family comfort and time with her husband and children over acting ambitions.

Additionally, Lucy became an activist for Greenpeace and, along with like-minded people, fights for environmental cleanliness. Once, she and fellow Greenpeace activists occupied an oil drilling ship, demanding to leave the Chukchi Sea alone, where new drilling was planned. For this action, the activists were arrested and sentenced to 120 hours of community service.

Lucy Lawless Now

In 2024, the actress made her debut as a documentary director with a film about war photojournalist Margaret Mott titled "Never Look Away".

Additionally, Lawless accepted an offer to participate in the series "Spartacus: House of Ashur", where she will reprise her role as Lucretia. The actress's task is to create an alternative history to the series "Spartacus: Blood and Sand", literally changing the timeline.

The version of events, in which the central character Ashur is portrayed by Nick Tarabay, involves the Battle of Vesuvius. His character miraculously survived and was tasked with killing Spartacus and suppressing the uprising in exchange for the House of Batiatus. Alongside Lawless, the series stars Graham McTavish, Tenika Davis, and Jamaika Vaughn.

Interesting Facts

As a child, Lucy Lawless dreamed of a singing career. She was just ten years old when she was invited to play the lead role in a school musical. The success inspired Lucy so much that she decided to study opera at the University of Auckland after school. Although music became just a hobby for her, Lawless performs at concerts, recorded the album Come To Mama Lucy Lawless In Concert, and wrote the soundtrack for several films she starred in.
Few people know, but the worldwide hit "Xena: Warrior Princess" almost didn't exist. Initially, Lucy Lawless's character appeared in several episodes of the series "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys," where her character was supposed to die. However, the actress was so well-received by viewers that she outshone even the main character played by Kevin Sorbo. Producers took note of the popularity of Xena/Lila, brilliantly played by Lawless, and created a separate series for the actress.
Originally, Xena was supposed to be blonde, but it was later decided that the character would be stocky, dark-haired, and clad in bronze armor as a brutal warrior. The visual prototype for the character was the Argentine tennis player Gabriela Sabatini. Lucy was pleased with this decision as she doesn't particularly like experimenting with her hair, especially such drastic changes.
Lawless admits that she is a terrible cook, although she can prepare a nutritious and quite edible meal in twenty minutes. Early in her family life with her second husband, who wanted to impress her with his culinary talents, she negotiated the right not to cook, provided she would wash the dishes after all the masterpieces her husband prepared. She didn't enjoy this task either, and soon the arrangement changed, although she never learned to cook well.

Important Life Events

1985: Enrolled at Auckland University. Dropped out after a year.
1988: Married Garth Lawless, worked at a gold mine in Australia.
1989: Daughter Daisy was born. Became "Mrs. New Zealand." Started appearing in advertising projects.
1991: Appeared in the film "For the Love of Mike."
1992: Appeared in the film "The Ray Bradbury Theater."
1993: Appeared in the film "Rainbow Warrior."
1994: Appeared in the film "Hercules and the Amazon Women."
1995: Got a role in the series "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys," was cast in the lead role in the series "Xena: Warrior Princess."
1996: Divorced Garth Lawless.
1997: Received the Saturn Award for Best TV Actress.
1998: Married producer Robert Tapert.
1999: Son Julius Robert Bay was born.
2002: Son Judah Miro was born.
2003: Appeared in the film "Tarzan."
2005: Played lead roles in the films "Boogeyman," "Locust."
2007: Played the lead role in the film "Football Wives."
2010: Played the lead role in the series "Spartacus: Blood and Sand." Received the Saturn Award and a prize at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival for Best TV Actress.
2011: Played the lead role in the film "Spartacus: Gods of the Arena."
2014: Appeared in the series "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."
2015: Appeared in the film "Salem." Received the Fangoria Chainsaw Awards for Best Supporting Actress.
2016: Appeared in the series "Ash vs Evil Dead." Received the iHorror Awards for Best Horror Series Actress.
2019: Played the lead role in the film "My Life is Murder."
2024: Played the lead role in the series "Spartacus: The House of Ashur."