Lucy Lawless Biography
Standing almost 6′ tall, with her natural honey brown hair dyed black and exhibiting a distinctive flair for martial arts, Lucy Lawless went from being an obscure New Zealand actor to international fame as “Xena: Warrior Princess” (syndicated, 1995-2001).
As a college student, Lawless (born Lucy Ryan) decided she did not have the passion for opera she had thought and dropped out of school to travel throughout Europe. Joined by her high school sweetheart Garth Lawless, she landed in Australia where she found herself pregnant. After a hasty marriage, Lawless and the family (which now included a daughter) moved to British Columbia for a short spell so she could study acting. Returning to New Zealand, she landed bit parts in international co-productions. In 1994, Lawless made two guest appearances on the internationally syndicated series “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys”, as a renegade Amazon lieutenant and an unrepentant villain who gives birth to a baby centaur. American actress Vanessa Angel had been cast as Xena, the female counterpart to Hercules, in three episodes of the series. When she fell ill, the producers turned to Lawless to make additional “Hercules” guest shots. A three-part storyline turned into the “Xena: Warrior Princess” spin-off series, which became the international syndication hit of the 1995-96 season, and garnered a devoted fan following on par with fans of “Star Trek.” Lawless not only convincingly embodied Xena’s combative, tough-as-nails demeanor, she was also extremely potent in the series’ more emotional scenes and had fun with the are-they-or-aren’t-they? relationship between Xena and her sidekick Gabrielle (Renee O’Connor). Her marriage to Garth Lawless was a casualty of her burgeoning career, ending in divorce in 1995, but she married “Xena” producer Rob Tapert in 1998.
After the series went off the air in 2001, Lawless had a key role in a two-part episode of the even bigger cult hit “The X-Files” titled “Nothing Important Happened Today: Part 1 and Part 2,” playing a “super solider” who claims to have driven the missing Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) into hiding. Demonstrating a knack for snappy one-liners and physical comedy, Lawless was next seen in a cameo as a Punk Rock Girl commenting on “Spider-Man” in the superhero blockbuster (directed by her friend and “Xena” executive producer Sam Raimi) and as the sexy/scary dominatrix Madame Vandersexxx in the funny frat-mentality comedy “EuroTrip” (2004), bolstered by especially amusing guest stints on the sitcoms “Less Than Perfect” and “Two and a Half Men” in 2004 and 2005, respectively. She returned to genre fare with turns in the horror feature “Boogeyman” (2004) as the mother of a traumatized young man (Barry Watson), and the telepic “Locusts” (2005), a less-than-impressive insect invasion-fest that cast her as an investigator for the Department of Agriculture struggling to protect America from a deadly breed of bioengineered locusts. Much better was her recurring stint–complete with her natural accent–on SciFi’s high-quality reimagination of the cult series “Battlestar Galactica” as D’anna Biers, a journalist allowed unprecedented access to the starship who is also secretly a Cylon spy.
- Also Credited As:
Lucy Frances Ryan - Born:
on 03/29/1968 in Mount Albert, Auckland, New Zealand - Job Titles:
Actor, Picked grapes in Germany, Worked in gold mine in Austria sawing rocks
Family
- Brother: Daniel Ryan. younger
- Daughter: Daisy Lawless. born in July 1988
- Father: Frank Ryan. born in 1932; formerly served as mayor of Mount Albert, New Zealand
- Mother: Julie Ryan. born in 1937
- Son: Julius Robert Bay Tapert. born on October 16, 1999 in New Zealand
Significant Others
- Husband: Garth Lawless. high school sweetheart; married in 1987 when Lawless became pregnant; divorced June 1995
- Husband: Robert Tapert. born c. 1955; executive producer of “Xena”; married on March 28, 1998
Education
- Auckland University, Auckland, New Zealand, languages and opera, 1986-87
Milestones
- 1986 Traveled throughout Europe at age 18 (date approximate)
- 1987 Moved to Australia with then-boyfriend, later husband
- 1992 Acted in the film “Rainbow Warrior”
- 1994 Made two guest appearances on the syndicated series “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys”
- 1995 Starred in her own syndicated series, “Xena: Warrior Princess”
- 1997 Broadway debut as Rizzo in the revival of the musical “Grease”
- 2001 Made guest appearance in the two-part season opener of “The X-Files” (Fox)
- 2002 Cast as herself on an episode of “The Simpsons”
- 2003 Cast as Kathleen Clayton on the WB series “Tarzan”
- 2004 Appeared in the comedy “Eurotrip,” as Madam Van Der Sexxx
- 2005 Cast in the thriller “Boogeyman” opposite Barry Watson
- Born and raised in New Zealand
- Returned to New Zealand; appeared in small roles in numerous international co-productions
- Studied acting in Vancouver, Canada
Catherine Bell Biography
A beguiling dark-eyed beauty with a statuesque figure, Catherine Bell rose to prominance on the military-themed television series “JAG” (1995 -2005) as Maj. Sarah “Mac” MacKenzie. Born in London, Bell emigrated to California with her Iranian mother at the age of two and began acting and modeling as a child. After a stint as a fashion model in Japan, Bell first got a foothold in Hollywood as a body double, performing a nude scene for Isabella Rossellini in director Robert Zemeckis’ “Death Becomes Her” (1992). Small roles in TV movies, C-level action flicks, sydicated fare including “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys” and racy TV series such as HBO’s risque comedy “Dream On” and the erotic cable anthology “Hot Line”–which made great advantage of her enviable physique–followed.
She made her “JAG” debut on an 1996 episode as Lt. Diane Schonke, the love interest of lead character Harm (David James Elliott). After return engagements her character was tragically killed off, but Bell learned that “JAG” producer Don Bellasario was looking for a new regular female lead for the series and wrote Bellasario a letter, suggesting that it would be intirguing if the new character were the spitting image of Harm’s lost love. Bellasario agreed and Bell joined the cast as a new character, Maj. Sarah “Mac” MacKenzie when the show switched networks from NBC to CBS in 1997. She parlayed her visibility and the show’s mainstream popularity–especially with military supporters–into several magazine covers and roles in telepics, ultimately landing a high-profile movie role as the object of Jim Carrey’s lust in the comedy “Bruce Almighty” (2003). When her co-star Elliott announced his attention to leave the show following its tenth season in 2004-2005, producers initially planned to reshape the series around Bell, but the network ultimately pulled the plug on the show.
- Born:
on 08/14/68 in London, England - Job Titles:
Actor, Model
Family
- Grandparents: spoke Farsi
Significant Others
- Husband: . Adam
Education
- University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, pre-med
Milestones
- 1971 Moved to Los Angeles with family (date approximate)
- 1992 Served as Isabella Rossellini’s body double in “Death Becomes Her”
- 1993 Had supporting role in the NBC movie “Mother of the Bride”
- 1995 Feature acting debut “Men of War”
- 1997 Joined cast of “JAG” playing Sarah ‘Mac’ MacKenzie when show moved to CBS
- 1998 Co-starred with Maureen O’Hara in the CBS TV-movie “Cab to Canada”
- 2003 Returned to the big screen in the comedy “Bruce Almighty”
- Spent several months in Japan as a model
Jacinda Barrett Biography
Although Jacinda Barrett was born in Australia, her all-American good looks and convincing accent have paved the way for numerous acting roles in the USA. Tall and slim, with long honey blonde hair and a freckled, fresh-faced appearance that belied her sophisticated poise, Barrett left her home of Brisbane, Queensland at age 17 to pursue a modeling career on an international level. She hit the big time several years later in 1995 when she was chosen to be one of the seven strangers making up the cast of the fourth installment of MTV’s “The Real World”, set in London. This proved a major coup, offering the up and comer enviable exposure while the series showcased the ups and downs of her career and personal life. She was named one of People’s “The 50 Most Beautiful People in the World” list, and her visibility led to acting work beginning in 1998 when she had a guest role as sorceress Medea on the syndicated series “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys”.
Barrett was subsequently cast in a regular role on NBC’s “Wind on Water”, marking her network series debut. While the surf-loving actress proved a natural for this beach-set series, low ratings led to its early demise. Later that same year, she had a guest role on the UPN series “Guys Like Us”, starring her boyfriend and fellow MTV series vet, former “Singled Out” host Chris Hardwick. In 1999 the actress guest starred on an episode of Fox’s acclaimed sci-fi series “Millennium” and had a recurring role as the fetching older woman who takes a liking to awkward Duncan (David Moscow) after seeing through the facade of womanizer Jack (David Rosenbaum) on The WB’s teen sitcom “Zoe, Duncan, Jack and Jane” (1999). When the series returned from hiatus in 2000, revamped as the college-age sitcom “Zoe…”, Barrett had been dropped from the cast, but soon reemerged on the network as a regular on the midseason drama “D.C.” (2000) playing the impulsive and ambitious Finley Scott, a young woman who ditches graduate school and heads to the nation’s capital to pursue her dreams. She added another short-lived political-minded drama to her resume, appearing as one of James Cromwell’s three daughters in “Citizen Baines” (CBS, 2001).
In addition to her modeling and television credits, Barrett began an entry into film with a featured role in the independent horror thriller “Campfire Tales” (1998). She honed her craft in indie fare while occasionally landing higher-profile gigs in films such as “Urban Legend: Final Cut” (2000) and the Sam Shepherd-penned telepic “See You In My Dreams” (2000). Barrett’s film career took a quantum leap forward when she was cast by director Robert Benton in his adaptation of Phillip Roth’s bestseller “The Human Stain” (2003). In a flashback sequence, Barrett delivered a touching performance as Steena Paulsson, the unsuspecting blonde, Midwestern girlfriend of young Coleman Silk, a man of mixed race passing as white, whose revelation to Steena is both surprising, cowardly and cruel. With her star on the rise, Barrett next garnered starring roles in high visibility projects, including the firefighting drama “Ladder 49″ (2004) as Joaquin Phoenix’s love interest, and the comedy seequel “Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason” (lensed 2003).
- Born:
on 08/02/72 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia - Job Titles:
Actor, Model
Significant Others
- Companion: Chris Hardwick. hosted MTV’s “Singled Out” at the same time that Barrett was featured on “The Real World”
Milestones
- — Cast opposite Barry Pepper, Willem Dafoe and Tom Wilkinson in “Mr. Ripley Return” directed by Roger Spottiswoode from the novel by Patricia Highsmith (lensed 2004)
- — Will star in the dramedy “The Last Kiss” an American remake of Italy’s 2001 film “L’Ultimo Bacio,” co-starring Zach Braff (lensed 2005)
- 1989 At age 17, left Brisbane to work as an international model (date approximate)
- 1995 Was cast in the London installment of MTV’s “The Real World”
- 1997 Featured in People’s “The 50 Most Beautiful People in the World” issue
- 1998 Made a guest appearance on an episode of UPN’s “Guys Like Us”, playing opposite series star and real-life boyfriend Chris Hardwick
- 1998 Made film debut in the anthology horror thriller “Campfire Tales”
- 1998 Played Medea in an episode of the syndicated fantasy series “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys”
- 1998 Starred on the short-lived NBC drama “Wind on Water”
- 1999 Appeared on an episode of “Millennium” (Fox)
- 1999 Had a recurring role on The WB’s “Zoe…” (then titled “Zoe, Duncan, Jack and Jane”) as the beautiful senior dating unlikely suitor Duncan
- 2000 Cast in regular starring role in The WB’s ensemble drama “D.C.”
- 2001 Co-starred in CBS drama series “Citizen Baines”
- 2003 Co-starred with Anthony Hopkins and Nicole Kidman in “The Human Stain”
- 2004 Cast in the comedy “Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason,” starring Renée Zellweger
- 2004 Portrayed the wife of Joaquin Phoenix’s character in “Ladder 49″ which centers around Baltimore firefighters
- Cast in the remake of the disaster film “The Poseidon Adventure,” directed by Wolfgang Petersen (lensed 2005)
- Raised in Brisbane, Australia