I’m in a bit of a quandary here. Where do I start? Can I write this without having a geekgasm? I’ll give it a go, wish me luck.

Lucille Frances Ryan was born back in 1968 in Auckland, New Zealand, the fifth of seven children. With five brothers, she was always going to be a bot of a tomboy and Lucy was always up to her neck in it with them; riding horses, climbing trees and enjoying the Kiwi outdoors.

She started acting in school, but discovered that she was a great singer and ended up studying opera for three years in university. As a teen, Lucy suffered with an eating disorder (bulimia) but credits her family and college life with helping her heal.

As well as opera, while in college  she studied foreign languages for a year, including German, Italian and French. After giving up on singing arias, she studied violin and jazz.

While still in college, at just 19, Lucy married Garth Lawless and they had a baby, Daisy. During this period, Lucy was appearing in bit-parts such as Nurse 1 and Undercover Policewoman but has recurring roles in New Zealand’s The Ray Bradbury Theatre and The Black Stallion. Then, in 1994, she landed the part of Lysia in Hercules and the Amazon Women. When the tester-movie was received well, a series was created and Kevin Sorbo’s silly hair was with us for years.

The actress made an impression on the producer and he brought her back to Hercules: The Legendary Journeys in a recurring role as Xena, a warrior woman on her own journey, to save her soul. The character, and Lucy’s portrayal, peaked the interest of Hercules’ producer, Robert Tapert, and he started working on a spin-off involving Xena.

In 1995, Xena: Warrior Princess aired and was an instant hit, overtaking Hercules in the ratings and creating a character who would be adored by millions all over the world.

I won’t go on about Xena too much as that’s a post in itself, but it catapulted Lucy into the big time. Just as her professional life was taking over, however, her personal life was going through a rough patch as she divorced her husband. Three years later, in 1998, she married Xena producer Tapert and they have two sons.

Since then, she’s become the Midas of geek TV, appearing in Battlestar Gallactica and The L Word among others. Her husband is hoping this success will continue with Spartacus: Blood and Sand, a new show which starts on the US TV channel STARZ, on the 22nd of January.

Lucy has also continued with her singing, she appeared in  Celebrity Duets and made her onstage debut at the Roxy in Hollywood on the 13th January, 2007, selling out every concert.

There have been rumours that Daisy, Lucy’s eldest child, is gay but either way, Lawless has always been a friend of the friends of Dorothy.

She told AfterElton

So if people of any ethnicity want to think it’s nothing to do with them, I want to tell you, gay is here, and it’s always been here. Do you want your children hiding, to feel they can’t live out in the open? You want them to be afraid and disenfranchised? That’s just a tragedy. Who wants to bring up your babies like that?

Spartacus: Blood and Sand looks pretty cool in a six-pack and gore kind of way, and gas been getting some excellent previews, plus apparently our Lucy gets it on with some females. What’s not to like?

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