Lucy Lawless life and biography

Lucy Lawless is a New Zealand actress and singer. She is best known for playing the title character of the internationally successful television series Xena: Warrior Princess, which ran from 1995 to 2001. She is also known for the role of D'anna Biers (Number Three) on the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica. Most recently she appeared on the television series Spartacus: Blood and Sand and its prequel Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, playing the major character Lucretia.

Born Lucille Frances Ryan in the Mount Albert suburb of Auckland, New Zealand, Lucy is the daughter of Julie, a teacher, and Frank Ryan, who was a banker and Mount Albert mayor. The fifth of seven children, she has five brothers and one sister.

Lawless began acting in secondary school. During her adolescence, Lucy suffered from bulimia, but was able to overcome the illness in college, the Auckland University. There she studied foreign languages for a year, including German, Italian, and French, and she also studied opera for three years. But soon after, after learning that opera required changes in her lifestyle she was not ready to make, she gave up on both and moved herself to a course of violin and jazz.

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 recently won Best Supporting TV Actress In A Drama Series from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films - Saturn Award for her role as Lucretia in Spartacus: Gods of the Arena in June 2011.

Lucy will be next seen in the Starz original award winning series Spartacus. "Spartacus: Vengeance" continues the story of the Thracian rebel Spartacus. Lucy plays the role of Lucretia. Spartacus: Vengeance premieres in January 2012.

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