Lucille Frances Lawless (; born 29 March 1968) is a New Zealand actress and singer. She is best known for her roles as

Xena Xena is a fictional character from Robert Tapert's '' Xena: Warrior Princess'' franchise. Co-created by Tapert and John Schulian, she first appeared in the 1995–1999 television series ''Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'', before going on to ...

in the

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

'' Xena: Warrior Princess'', as

D'Anna Biers D'Anna Biers (Number Three) is a fictional character from the re-imagined '' Battlestar Galactica'' television series, played by Lucy Lawless. Within the fictional universe of Battlestar Galactica, Number Three is a Humanoid Cylon Model. Char ...

on the re-imagined '' Battlestar Galactica'' series, and

Lucretia According to Roman tradition, Lucretia ( /luːˈkriːʃə/ ''loo-KREE-shə'', Classical Latin: ʊˈkreːtɪ.a died c. 510 BC), anglicized as Lucrece, was a noblewoman in ancient Rome, whose rape by Sextus Tarquinius (Tarquin) and subseq ...

in the television series '' Spartacus: Blood and Sand'' and associated series. Lawless had recurring roles as Diane Lewis-Swanson on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

'' Parks and Recreation'' (2012–2015), and as Countess Palatine Ingrid Von Marburg on the

WGN America WGN America was an American subscription television network that was owned by the Nexstar Media Group, and was the company's only wholly owned, national cable-originated television channel. The channel in its final form under the WGN branding ra ...

supernatural series '' Salem'' (2015). She also starred as Ruby on the Starz horror-comedy series ''

Ash vs Evil Dead Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...

'' (2015–2018).

Early life

Lucille Frances "Lucy" Ryan was born in the

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

suburb of Mount Albert to teacher Julie Ryan (nee Haynes) and Mount Albert's mayor, banker Frank Ryan. She is the fifth of six siblings (four brothers and one sister). She has described her family as "this big, sprawling

Irish Catholic Irish Catholics are an ethnoreligious group native to Ireland whose members are both Catholic and Irish. They have a large diaspora, which includes over 36 million American citizens and over 14 million British citizens (a quarter of the British ...

family", and while filming in Ireland for the

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Channe ...

in 2004, told ''

Ireland on Sunday ''Ireland on Sunday'' was a national Sunday newspaper published in Ireland from September 1997 until September 2006, when it was renamed the '' Irish Mail on Sunday''. The newspaper was founded in 1996 as a sports-only newspaper called ''The Titl ...

'' that her father's family originated in

Quilty, County Clare Quilty (), historically ''Killty'',Placenames Database of Ireland
(see archival records) is a small

. Her first musical was at age 10 and she began acting in secondary school. She attended Marist College, Auckland, and began studies at

Auckland University , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

in languages. At 18, she went on her "

overseas experience Overseas Experience (OE) is a New Zealand term for an extended overseas working period or holiday. Sometimes referred to as "The big OE" in reference to the extended duration of the travel - typically at least one year, and often extended far longe ...

", travelling through

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

with her future husband, Garth Lawless. At 21, she won the 1989 Mrs New Zealand competition. Lawless has said she suffered from

bulimia Bulimia nervosa, also known as simply bulimia, is an eating disorder characterized by binge eating followed by purging or fasting, and excessive concern with body shape and weight. The aim of this activity is to expel the body of calories eaten ...

as a child, but was able to overcome the illness.

Career

Lawless's television debut was 2½ seasons in the cast of a New Zealand sketch-comedy series, ''Funny Business.'' Then she studied drama at the William Davis Centre for Actors Study in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, British Columbia, Canada. In 1994, Lawless appeared in ''

Hercules and the Amazon Women ''Hercules and the Amazon Women'' is the first television movie in the syndicated fantasy series ''Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'' and marked the debut of Kevin Sorbo as the titular character Hercules and co-starred Anthony Quinn, Michael ...

'', that became the television pilot for ''

Hercules: The Legendary Journeys ''Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'' is an American television series filmed in New Zealand, based on the tales of the classical Greek culture hero Heracles (Hercules was his Roman analogue). Starring Kevin Sorbo as Hercules and Michael Hurst as ...

.'' In that

episode An episode is a narrative unit within a larger dramatic work or documentary production, such as a series intended for radio, television or streaming consumption. The noun ''episode'' is derived from the Greek term ''epeisodion'' (), meaning th ...

, she played a man-hating Amazon named Lysia. She went on to play another character, Lyla, in the first-season episode "As Darkness Falls."

''Xena: Warrior Princess''

Lawless received her best-known role as a heroic warrior woman named

in the first season of ''Hercules''. She first appeared in the episode "The Warrior Princess" which aired in March 1995. R. J. Stewart dramatised the teleplay from a story that Robert G. "Rob" Tapert commissioned John Schulian to write. The character became a fan favourite. Vanessa Angel was originally cast in the role, but she fell ill and was unable to travel to New Zealand for shooting. To differentiate between Xena and the similar Lysia, Lawless's hair, previously an ash blonde, was dyed black. She also wore a much darker costume. Lawless returned as Xena in two more episodes of the first season of ''Hercules,'' which portrayed her turn from villainess to a good, heroic character. The character was popular enough that a spin-off series was created: '' Xena: Warrior Princess'' debuted on 4 September 1995. ''Xena: Warrior Princess,'' like its parent programme, was a huge hit and achieved high ratings and cultural significance, lasting six seasons. The series brought Lawless an immense amount of attention and she became an international celebrity. While taping an appearance on ''

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that first aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009. It resumed production on March 1, 2010 and ended on February 6, 2014. The fourth incarnation of the ...

'' in October 1996, Lawless suffered a fractured pelvis when the horse she was riding lost its footing in the studio car park. She made a complete recovery, but several episodes of the second season of ''Xena'' were rewritten to focus on background characters to minimise the time Lawless was needed on set.

LGBT rights icon

Xena's ambiguous romantic relationship with travelling companion Gabrielle (

Renee O'Connor Evelyn Renee O'Connor (born February 15, 1971) is an American actress, producer, and director, known for the role of Gabrielle on the television series '' Xena: Warrior Princess''. Early life Born in Houston, and raised in suburban Katy, Texas, ...

) led to Lawless becoming a lesbian icon, a role of which she has said she is proud. She has said that during the years she was playing the role, she had been undecided on the nature of the relationship, but in a 2003 interview with ''Lesbian News'' magazine, she said that after viewing the series finale, she had come to see Xena and Gabrielle's relationship as definitely gay, adding "they're married, man." This reputation became cemented after her "graphic lesbian sex scenes" in '' Spartacus: Gods of the Arena''. She has appeared at

gay pride LGBT pride (also known as gay pride or simply pride) is the promotion of the self-affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people as a social group. Pride, as opposed to s ...

events such as the

Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras or Sydney Mardi Gras is an event in Sydney, New South Wales attended by hundreds of thousands of people from around Australia and overseas. One of the largest such festivals in the world, Mardi Gras is the ...

. For her support of

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender ( LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, ...

, including her public support for

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

, in 2017 Lawless was given the Star 100–Ally of the Year award at the Australian LGBTI Awards ceremony.

Other work

Lawless first appeared on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

in September 1997 in the '' Grease'' revival, as the "bad girl" character Betty Rizzo. She wanted to play the lead role of Sandy and later stated her belief that the producers typecast her to play "bad girls" following her success as Xena. She said the Sandy character was very similar to her sheltered childhood, growing up in New Zealand with many protective older brothers. From 2005 to 2009, she had a recurring role in the television series '' Battlestar Galactica.'' Lawless appeared as D'Anna Biers, a reporter with the Fleet News Service who worked on a critical documentary about the crew of the ''Galactica'' and was later revealed to be Humanoid Cylon model Number Three. Lawless competed as one of the celebrity singers on the Fox reality TV show ''

Celebrity Duets ''Celebrity Duets'' was an American reality television show, of the progressive game-show type, which combined celebrities of different backgrounds with professional singers in a weekly elimination competition. History The show was a take-off of ...

'' in 2006, finishing as the runner-up to winner

Alfonso Ribeiro Alfonso Lincoln Ribeiro (born September 21, 1971) is an American actor, comedian and television host. He is best known for his roles as Alfonso Spears on the sitcom ''Silver Spoons'', Carlton Banks on the NBC sitcom ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ...

. Lawless has also performed as a voice actor in several animated features: In 2008, Lawless voiced the animated character of

Diana Prince Diana Prince is a fictional character appearing regularly in stories published by DC Comics, as the secret identity of the Amazonian superhero Wonder Woman, who bought the credentials and identity from a United States Army nurse named Diana Pri ...

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...

in the direct-to-video superhero animated film, '' Justice League: The New Frontier'', adapted from the

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

limited series. In 2014, Lawless voiced the militaristic "Queen of the Ants" in the American animated television series ''

Adventure Time ''Adventure Time'' is an American fantasy animated television series created by Pendleton Ward for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television. The series follows the adventures of a boy named Finn (Jeremy Shada) and ...

'' on the Cartoon Network. In 2007, Lawless was to appear as one of the leads in the ensemble cast of the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

television series, ''

Football Wives ''Footballers' Wives'' is a British television drama about fictional Premier League football club Earls Park F.C., its players, and their wives, broadcast on ITV from 2002 to 2006. The show initially focuses on three very different couples, bu ...

,'' based on the popular British series ''

Footballers' Wives ''Footballers' Wives'' is a British television drama about fictional Premier League football club Earls Park F.C., its players, and their wives, broadcast on ITV from 2002 to 2006. The show initially focuses on three very different couples, but ...

''. The series did not continue past the pilot episode, but the network extended the options on its contracts with Lawless and the other actors slated to star in the series, including

Gabrielle Union Gabrielle Monique Union-Wade ( Union; born October 29, 1972) is an American actress. Her career began in the 1990s, when she made dozens of appearances on television sitcoms, prior to landing supporting roles in 1999 teen films ''She's All That' ...

Kiele Sanchez Kiele Michelle Sanchez ( ; born October 13, 1977) is an American actress who starred in the A&E Network drama '' The Glades''. Previously, she had starred as Anne Sorelli in The WB comedy-drama ''Related'' and as Nikki Fernandez on the main cast ...

Ving Rhames Irving Rameses Rhames (born May 12, 1959) is an American actor. He is best known for his supporting roles as IMF Agent Luther Stickell in the ''Mission: Impossible'' film series and gang kingpin Marsellus Wallace in ''Pulp Fiction''. He also a ...

, and James Van Der Beek. Lawless returned to television on 10 November 2008 in a guest-starring role on the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

television series ''

CSI: Miami ''CSI: Miami'' (''Crime Scene Investigation: Miami'') is an American police procedural drama television series that ran from September 23, 2002 until April 8, 2012 on CBS. Featuring David Caruso as Lieutenant Horatio Caine, Emily Procter as Dete ...

,'' in a Season 7 episode, "Cheating Death", playing a madam with connections to a murder and helping Horatio "H" Caine with his inquiries. In 2009, Lawless appeared in two episodes of the final season of ''

The L Word ''The L Word'' is a television drama that aired on Showtime from January 18, 2004 to March 8, 2009. The series follows the lives of a group of lesbian and bisexual women who live in West Hollywood, California. The premise originated with Ilene ...

'' as Sergeant Marybeth Duffy. She played a role in the Adam Sandler movie '' Bedtime Stories'' released December 2008. Also in 2008, Lawless appeared with her former ''Xena'' stuntwoman

Zoë Bell Zoë E. Bell (born November 17, 1978) is a New Zealand stuntwoman and actress. Some of her most notable stunt-work includes doubling for Lucy Lawless in '' Xena: Warrior Princess'' and for Uma Thurman in ''Kill Bill''. As an actress, Bell has a ...

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

(

Crackle Crackle or crackling may refer to: Foods * Cracklings, the tissue remaining after lard and tallow have been extracted from animal fats ** Pork rinds in American English, pork scratchings in British English when served in small pieces as a snac ...

)'s new web series '' Angel of Death,'' written by

Ed Brubaker Ed Brubaker (; born November 17, 1966) is an American comic book writer, cartoonist and screenwriter who works primarily in the crime fiction genre. He began his career with the semi-autobiographical series '' Lowlife'' and a number of serials i ...

, which debuted online in early 2009. In 2009, Lawless guest-starred in the HBO series ''

Flight of the Conchords Flight of the Conchords is a New Zealand musical comedy duo formed in Wellington in 1998. The band consists of multi-instrumentalists Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement. Beginning as a popular live comedy act in the early 2000s, the duo's come ...

'' as Paula, assistant to the

Prime Minister of New Zealand The prime minister of New Zealand ( mi, Te pirimia o Aotearoa) is the head of government of New Zealand. The prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, leader of the New Zealand Labour Party, took office on 26 October 2017. The prime minister (inform ...

. Lawless co-starred in the Starz original series '' Spartacus: Blood and Sand.'' The show was based on the life of

Spartacus Spartacus ( el, Σπάρτακος '; la, Spartacus; c. 103–71 BC) was a Thracian gladiator who, along with Crixus, Gannicus, Castus, and Oenomaus, was one of the escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major slave uprisin ...

, the famous gladiator, and the slave revolt he led, and was produced by long-time ''Xena'' producers Sam Raimi and "Rob" Tapert, her own husband. Lawless played the role of

, the wife of

Lentulus Batiatus Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Vatia (also called Lentulus Batiatus by Plutarch) was the Roman owner of a gladiatorial school in ancient Capua. It was from this school that, in 73 BC, the Thracian slave Spartacus and about 70 to 78 followers escaped. T ...

, who were both the owners of a gladiator

ludus Ludus may refer to: * ''Ludus'' (ancient Rome) (plural ''ludi''), several meanings around "play, game, sport, training" **''Ludi'', public games held for the benefit and entertainment of the Roman people * Luduș, a town in Transylvania, Romania ...

, which also saw Lawless doing

nude scenes In film, nudity may be either graphic or suggestive, such as when a person appears to be naked but is covered by a sheet. Since the birth of film, depictions of any form of sexuality have been controversial, and in the case of most nude scen ...

for the first time. Lawless won the 2011 Saturn Award as Best Supporting Actress for her role as Lucretia in ''Spartacus: Blood and Sand.'' Lawless reprised her role as Lucretia in '' Spartacus: Gods of the Arena,'' which chronicled life in the Ludus before Spartacus's arrival, and she also returned for the sequel '' Spartacus: Vengeance.'' Lawless provided the voice of

Goldmoon Goldmoon (also known as ''Goldmoon of the Que Shu tribe'' or just ''Goldmoon of the Que Shu'') is a fictional character from the ''Dragonlance'' fantasy series of List of Dragonlance novels, novels and Role-playing game, role playing games, origin ...

for '' Dragonlance: Dragons of Autumn Twilight,'' a direct-to-DVD animated movie based on the novel of the same name. From 2012 to 2015, she had a recurring role on the NBC series '' Parks and Recreation'' as Diane, the love interest and eventual wife of

Ron Swanson Ronald Ulysses Swanson is a fictional character portrayed by Nick Offerman from the situation comedy television series ''Parks and Recreation'' on NBC, created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur. In the series, Ron is the director of the Parks ...

. In 2014, Lawless guest starred in ''

Agents of Shield ''Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' is an American television series created by Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon, and Maurissa Tancharoen for ABC, based on the Marvel Comics organization S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and ...

'' as Isabelle Hartley in the season two premiere, and reprised the role later in episode 15 of season two, ' One Door Closes.' In 2015, Lawless landed the recurring guest role of Countess Palatine Ingrid Von Marburg in

's '' Salem''. Countess Marburg is presented as one of the last remaining survivors of the legendary line of ancient German witches. The series ended in 2017. In March 2015, it was announced that she would be portraying the role of Ruby in Starz horror-comedy series ''

''. The series ended in 2018. Lawless is currently playing Alexa Crowe, a private investigator in ''

My Life Is Murder ''My Life Is Murder'' is an Australian and New Zealand murder mystery, crime comedy-drama television series, broadcast on Network 10 and TVNZ 1. The ten part series premiered on 17 July 2019, at 8:40 pm. In the United States, the series began ...

''. The Acorn TV series began in 2019 and has been renewed for a 3rd season, expected to be released in 2022.

Singing career

Lawless, who has a background in musical theatre, played Betty Rizzo on Broadway in a production of ''Grease'' in 1997. She continued to sing during the run of ''Xena,'' even contributing dirge music of her own composition; this made it into the episode "The Path Not Taken" as the dirge "Burial," which she sang for the first time in the episode. Two musically-oriented episodes, "The Bitter Suite" and "Lyre, Lyre, Heart's on Fire," also showcased not only her singing but also that of some of her castmates. (''See also'' List of ''Xena: Warrior Princess'' episodes ''for details.'') Lawless was encouraged to resume her singing career after being a contestant on ''

,'' which she finished as runner-up to

. She made her solo debut at the Roxy in Hollywood, a venue of 500 seats, on 13 January 2007, with a sold-out crowd for consecutive concerts.

Charity

Lawless is a member of the board of trustees of the ''StarShip Foundation,'' the charity arm of the

Starship Children's Health Starship Children's Hospital is a public children's hospital in Auckland, New Zealand. Opened on 18 November 1991, it was one of the first purpose-built children's hospitals in New Zealand, and is the largest such facility in the country. Altho ...

which is part of the Auckland District Health Board. It is set up to provide additional equipment, support and help to staff, patients and families. She helps fundraising for the organisation. She recently sat for the New Zealand television series
The Sitting
'' an arts series where celebrity portraits are produced during an interview session, with the portraits later auctioned for charity. Since 2006, 21 September marks "Lucy Lawless Feel the Love Day/Week." The day, organised by the Official Lucy Lawless Fan Club, begins a week of charitable acts and donations by fans in honour and support of Lawless.

Activism

In May 2009 Lawless became a "climate ambassador" for the

Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth t ...

"Sign On" campaign. In February 2012, she and six other Greenpeace activists boarded an oil drilling ship at

Port Taranaki Port Taranaki is a port complex located in New Plymouth, New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ...

, and remained on it for 77 hours to stop it leaving for the

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenland), Finland, Iceland, N ...

where it was going to take part in

oil exploration Hydrocarbon exploration (or oil and gas exploration) is the search by petroleum geologists and geophysicists for deposits of hydrocarbons, particularly petroleum and natural gas, in the Earth using petroleum geology. Exploration methods Vis ...

. She was subsequently arrested and charged with burglary, which carried an imprisonment term of up to 10 years if convicted. She pleaded guilty on 14 June 2012 to trespass charges regarding the February incident. Lawless said she intended for now to remain involved with Greenpeace. In February 2013, Lawless and the other six activists were each sentenced to pay a fine of NZ$651 and undertake 120 hours of

community service Community service is unpaid work performed by a person or group of people for the benefit and betterment of their community without any form of compensation. Community service can be distinct from volunteering, since it is not always performe ...

. The judge denied the NZ$545,000 in reparations that

Shell Todd Oil Services The Todd Corporation is a large private New Zealand company with a value of $4.3 billion, owned and controlled by the Todd family and headquartered in Wellington, New Zealand. The corporation is currently led by chairman of the board, Henry Tait ...

had sought from the activists. Following the sentencing, Lawless said: "I consider it a great victory that the court has struck down the reparation demand from Shell, which I think was absolutely ludicrous."

Astronomy

Astronomer

Michael E. Brown Michael E. Brown (born June 5, 1965) is an American astronomer, who has been professor of planetary astronomy at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) since 2003. His team has discovered many trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs), including ...

nicknamed his newly discovered

dwarf planet A dwarf planet is a small planetary-mass object that is in direct orbit of the Sun, smaller than any of the eight classical planets but still a world in its own right. The prototypical dwarf planet is Pluto. The interest of dwarf planets to ...

"Xena"; its then-official designation being 2003 UB313. When this object was initially determined to be larger than

Pluto Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the Sun. It is the largest ...

, it gained international attention and forced a year-long debate among astronomers as to the definition of a planet. (Observations made by New Horizons subsequently found Pluto to be marginally larger than the object, which was ultimately named Eris.) The object's nickname "Xena" was used in the press. ''

New Scientist ''New Scientist'' is a magazine covering all aspects of science and technology. Based in London, it publishes weekly English-language editions in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. An editorially separate organisation publish ...

'' magazine polled the public on their preferred final name for the so-called tenth planet; "Xena" ranked number 4. Lawless rang Mike Brown in December 2005 to thank him for his "senseless act of beauty," and claimed that she "never dared hope

he name He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

would stick." Eventually, both it and Pluto were deemed not to be true planets, and were instead classified as

s. Although "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.

Personal life

In 1988, she became pregnant from her boyfriend Garth Lawless while working with him in the Australian outback. They married in

Kalgoorlie, Western Australia Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is sometimes referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, as the surrounding urban area include ...

, that year, then returned to New Zealand where their daughter, Daisy, was born. They divorced in 1995. On 28 March 1998, Lawless married ''Xena's'' executive producer, Pacific Renaissance Pictures CEO, Robert G. "Rob" Tapert. They have two sons.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

* '' Hunted: The Demon's Forge'' (2011), as Seraphine

Stage

*1997: '' Grease!'' – On Broadway, NY USA *2002: ''

The Vagina Monologues ''The Vagina Monologues'' is an episodic play written in 1996 by Eve Ensler which developed and premiered at HERE Arts Center, Off-Off-Broadway in New York and was followed by an Off-Broadway run in at Westside Theatre. The play explores c ...

'' – Auckland, NZ *2005: '' Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'' – Seattle, USA *2011: BARE For Christchurch – Auckland, NZ *2013: Chicago The Musical – Hollywood Bowl, LA, USA *2013: Chicago The Musical – Auckland, NZ *2014–2015: Sleeping Beauty and Her Winter Knight – Pasadena, CA, USA *2017: Pleasuredome The Musical – Auckland, NZ

Discography

; Albums *''Come 2 Me'' *''Come To Mama: Lucy Lawless in Concert: The Roxy Theater in Hollywood'' ;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'' *''Lucy Lawless Live at The Roxy Theater: Ho Down'' *''Lucy Lawless Live in Concert: Welcome to the Pleasuredome'' ;Other songs *"Little Child" on '' Unexpected Dreams – Songs From the Stars'' *"4 All of Us" with

Pauly Fuemana Paul Lawrence Fuemana (8 February 1969 – 31 January 2010) was a Niuean-New Zealand singer, songwriter and musician from Auckland. One of the first globally successful pioneers of his country's unique style of hip-hop, Fuemana was one of New ...

( OMC) *"Little Child" on ''The Starship Christmas Album'' 2012 –

Starship Foundation Starship Children's Hospital is a public children's hospital in Auckland, New Zealand. Opened on 18 November 1991, it was one of the first purpose-built children's hospitals in New Zealand, and is the largest such facility in the country. Althou ...

Honours

In the 2004 Queen's Birthday Honours, Lawless was appointed a

Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...

, for services to entertainment and the community.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lawless, Lucy 1968 births 20th-century New Zealand actresses 21st-century New Zealand actresses LGBT rights activists from New Zealand Living people Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit New Zealand expatriates in Australia New Zealand expatriate actresses in the United States 20th-century New Zealand women singers New Zealand film actresses New Zealand people of Irish descent New Zealand stage actresses New Zealand television actresses New Zealand video game actresses New Zealand voice actresses People educated at Marist College, Auckland People from Auckland 21st-century New Zealand women singers