Full Name:

Lucille Frances Ryan (Lawless) (Tapert) MNZM (NZ Order of Merit Member)

Date of Birth:

Birthplace:

Mt Albert, New Zealand  

Martal Status:

Married to Robert Gerard Tapert (28 March 1998)

Children:

Three:

• Daisy Lawless born in 1988 in New Zealand

• Julius Robert Bay Tapert born on 16 October 1999 in New Zealand

• Judah Miro Tapert born on 7th May 2002 in New Zealand

Auckland, New Zealand / Los Angeles, CA, USA

Mini Biography
 

The New Zealand superstar was awarded an Order of Merit in the New Zealand Queen's Birthday Honour List in June 2004. Lucy, whose role as Xena in Xena: Warrior Princess made her a cult television star, has been involved with the Starship Foundation and has held a role on its board of trustees. She was awarded the Order of Merit for services to entertainment and the community.

Whilst she has been primarily known for her role on Xena: Warrior Princess, Lucy has also appeared in the classic TV series Battlestar Galactica in the semi-regular role of D'anna Biers amongst her other many and varied roles including the hit Adam Sandler movie Bedtime Stories. Lucy was also in several made-for-TV movies including: Locusts and Vampire Bats. She also lent her voice to the straight-to-video movies: Justice League: The New Frontier and Dragonlance: Dragons of the Autumn Twilight.

In addition to acting Lucy made her singing debut on the TV Show Celebrity Duets and followed that up with sold out concerts in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Chicago and London. She has also performed at various benefits and most recently at the 2009 Planet A Concert in her native New Zealand.

Lucy is on the board of the Starship Foundation, a New Zealand charity which raises funds for Auckland's Starship Hospital.

Lucy has taken up the role of activist for causes she passionately believes in. In May 2009 Lucy became involved with Greenpeace and their Sign On Campaign. Lucy joined other celebrities in launching a petition urging the New Zealand government to sign on to a 40 per cent cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. Lucy and other New Zealand actors/performers were ambassadors for a campaign by the international environmental group Greenpeace aimed at United Nations climate talks in Copenhagen in December.

April 2010 Lucy and Robyn Malcolm launched Greenpeace's campaign against mining in New Zealand national parks. The New Zealand Government plans to open up 3,000ha of previously protected land, for mining. Lucy launched the campaign at the Punakaiki Pancake Rocks, 50km southwest of the proposed mining sites. On May 1, 2010 Lucy led 40,000 New Zealanders on an anti-mining Greenpeace march.

Lucy will be next seen in the Starz original series "Spartacus: Gods of the Arena" as Lucretia on January 21, 2011.
 

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In June 2004, Lucy was awarded Order of Merit in the Queen's Birthday Honour List for 2004

Lucy has been given this honour for services to entertainment and the community.

The following is from the NZ Herald - 7 June 2004

Another person from the entertainment world to be honoured was Lucy Lawless, made a member of the NZ Order of Merit. The 36-year-old actor, whose role as Xena in Xena: Warrior Princess made her a cult television star, has been involved with the Starship Foundation for the past 10 years and has held a role on its board of trustees for the past four years.  Starship Foundation chief executive Andrew Young said Lawless gave freely of her time.
http://www.dpmc.govt.nz/honours/overview/nzom.html
 

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An 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.

Lucy fractured her pelvis when she was thrown from a horse while preparing for a skit for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in 1996.

Made her broadway debut in Grease in 1997 after a producer of the stage show saw her sing "I'm An Old Cowhand" on the Rosie O'Donnell Show and offered her the part of Rizzo.

Lucy ended her OE experience with her last stop in Australia splitting rocks for a gold-mining company in Kalgoolie. She married her boyfriend Garth Lawless in 1988 and they went back to New Zealand where Lucy gave birth of her daughter, Daisy.

Studied acting at the William Davis Center for Actors in Vancouver in 1991.

Found international fame as Xena in the television series Xena: Warrior Princess, which ran from 1995-2001.

Lucy has a unique fashion sense that she credits her mother for. Her fans love her for it.

Loves NZ fashion and promotes New Zealand to the world.

Lucy Quotes:

Her Children
'In addition to Daisy, who is experiencing all the joys and horrors of the early teen years, I have Julius Tapert, who's in the terrible twos. Then there's sweet little Judah Miro Tapert, my new baby. They're my greatest blessings.'

On Playing Xena:
'Xena doesn't rely on a man for help, and she doesn't come across as stupid. I loved playing her. It gave me a husband, a beautiful family and a home. It is probably the best role I will ever play in terms of scope and range.'
 

Lucy loves Fishing:
'It's become a passion -and it's a sport I share with my husband. Rob loves the sea.'

On fans being nasty:

 "I really hated the things they said about my beloved husband, who's one of the most wonderful, kindest men on the planet and the one who came up with the ideas that got them excited in the first place.

On the benefits of Ren Pics had on the NZ filming industry

"I'm really proud of the kind of company those Pacific Renaissance producers set up. I do wish they had got more recognition. I got plenty of recognition for everything I've done, more than enough. I got paid and I get all this underserved kudos. But I do mind that my husband never got the kind of credit that he should have. He employed 800 people sometimes - and for years and years and years."

On what she wants out of life:

"I would rather do two movies a year and raise my kids because that would be an interesting career. I don't know how financially lucrative that would be. But if the right thing doesn't pop then the decision is to do nothing."

Does she consider herself funny?

Usually? I don’t even consider myself usually. Soccer mom, that’s what I consider myself. Yeah, I think I’m a funny person. I started out in comedy. You know I remember the moment I realized the value of comedy is when I was eight years old and I was sitting in class and I realized that if I just acted really stupid, I could get away with a lot of stuff. And it would diffuse a lot of tension and the teachers would focus on you. I just found out the value of being a funny dunce at times.
 

On her cooking skills

I’m a terrible cook of all foods. I have no interest. I’m really good at cooking 20 minute meals that are really nutritious, pretty darn tasty and only using one pot because I don’t like cleaning up. My husband’s a chef and he makes unbelievable, ungodly mess and he doesn’t like cleaning up either. You know when you first get married, you strike some dumb deals where you go oh, I’ll cook and you clean, you go okay, that sounds fair and then you just regret it forever. I’ve renegged on that bet actually.

What does Lucy take seriously...

I don’t take business seriously, I take acting seriously. I take my job really seriously, but a lot of the job is not about acting, but I don’t take business seriously.

Lucy's Pet Hates

PET HATES:

Her 10-month pregnancy
'My due date was April 29 and Judah wasn't born until May 7. He weighed 8lb 8 oz - but those last few weeks were trying, really trying.'

Miscarriage
'After Xena wrapped, I lost what would have been my second child with Robert. Looking back, I knew that something wasn't right. It wasn't the way I felt with other pregnancies -but it's a heartbreak when it happens.'

 Pregnancy fears
'I guess they're inevitable, but waiting out the results of the amniocentesis test was torture.'

Terrorism
'It's ghastly, quite awful. I was stranded in Los Angeles when terrorists struck New York's World Trade Center last year.'

Making another Xena-like commitment?
'Episodic TV. especially a one-hour drama, is not for me right now. I'm putting my family first.'

Being a Bond girl?
"It wouldn't suit me at all. I'd want to be James Bond.'

Astrology
'I'm loath to believe in New Age mumbo jumbo.'

Unco
'It was my nickname at school. Unco stands for uncoordinated.'

Hair Dye
'I'm naturally fair-haired. It was really brutal on my hair to dye it raven black for Xena.'

Failure
"I haven't failed yet, but I live in fear.'

Being considered a role model:
'It's too much responsibility to bear because it's all I can do to be a good role model to my children. I don't need other people's kids on my plate.'

Comparisons with Madonna:
'I think Madonna's an admirable creature, but I never intended to model my career on hers. Xena's breastplates never went all pointy.

Divorce
'It's awful. You feel like you're losing your kid and you can't defend yourself. You can't speak ill of The father. There have been moments when I've had to fight every natural urge to strike back.'

Xena's costume
 'I often wished it was a kaftan, but you can't high-kick someone in a kaftan.'

Her computer ineptitude:
'I'm a computer retard.'

Her Inability to Fight
'I sat in a restaurant and watched a man hit his girlfriend outside in the street. I wanted to intervene, but I can't really fight. Instead, I talked to the woman when she came in to the restaurant, telling her she didn't have to stand for that.'

Getting Hurt
'I was covered with bruises when I was filming Xena. But you learn to live with it and your pain tolerance goes sky high. Then I was injured taping a skit on horseback for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. I got multiple pelvic fractures.

The discomfort of Xena's breastplate:
'It's very tight and heavy leather. The problem is: nothing looks like leather. Lycra films shiny. Then there's the copper plating on the outside. I felt as if my whole abdomen was in a straitjacket.'

Questions about her shoe size:
'Why would anyone be interested in that? It's a size 10.'

Fans sending gifts to her
'I'm grateful, but I make a healthy living so I beg people to keep their hard-earned cash for themselves and their families - or donate it to charity.'
 

Posing Nude for Playboy
'I've been asked - but I believe they ask every woman in show business.'