Lucy Lawless

New Zealand actress widely known for her roles in American television series, first in the title role of Xena: Warrior Princess (1995–2001), later as D'Anna Biers on the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica (2005–2009), and also as Lucretia in Spartacus: Blood and Sand (2010+) and associated series. Since 2019, she has starred as Alexa in the Australian and New Zealand murder mystery TV series My Life Is Murder.

As Xena she played a beautiful and gloriously husky Amazon on horseback, vanquishing evil in a morality play. In sword fights, delivering high kicks or flipping backwards, she dealt with wizards and warlords, demons and mythic gods. From its debut, the show became a cult favourite, spinning off into marketing of books and calendars, action figures and Halloween costumes. At a time of hunger for heroes, Xena became a model of the self-sufficient, strong and just woman, a role she performed with wit and gusto.

Lawless had recurring roles as Diane Lewis-Swanson on the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation (2012–2014), and as Countess Palatine Ingrid Von Marburg on the WGN America supernatural series Salem (2015). She also starred as Ruby on the Starz horror-comedy series Ash vs Evil Dead (2015–2018).

In 1988 at the age of 19, Lucy became pregnant by boyfriend Garth Lawless, while working together in the Australian outback. They married in Kalgoorlie and returned to New Zealand where their daughter was born. They divorced in 1995.

On 6 May 1997, Lawless inadvertently exposed 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."

She and her husband, Xena producer Rob Tapert had a son on 16 October 1999 in New Zealand. The baby, Julius Robert Bay Tapert, was as strong and husky as his mother, weighing over 5000 g (11 lbs).