History Creator / LucyLawless

* IronyAsSheIsCast: On ''Spartacus'' she plays a natural brunette who frequently wears blonde wigs (and red, later revealed to be a tribute to her deceased friend Gaia). She herself is a natural blonde who has to be brunette for roles.

* PlayingAgainstType:[[invoked]] While her intial claim to fame came from the rather cheesy ''Xena'' series, she later became known to appear in considerably darker shows like the reimagined ''Series/BattlestarGalactica2003'' and ''Series/SpartacusBloodAndSand''.

* FakeAmerican: Most viewers have ''no'' idea she is from New Zealand, largely because Xena was played with an American accent. D'Anna Biers on ''Galactica'' was probably one of the highest-profile role she's had where she used, if not her real accent, at least one very close to it.

* AWizardDidIt: She is the TropeNamer. It comes from her appearance on an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''.

*** And for the LGBT icon hat trick, her ''Series/AshVsEvilDead'' character, Ruby, is one of the few women never to be even slightly won over by Ash's classical good looks and cheesy pick-up lines... which may be something to do with her increasingly apparent infatuation with Amanda.

* PlayingAgainstType:[[invoked]] In ''Series/SpartacusBloodAndSand'', she plays a scheming Roman noblewoman. And while the series introduces many {{Action Girl}}s and {{Action Survivor}}s, Lucretia remains known for her cunning. Lucy loved playing against type so much that she happily came back for a prequel season ''Gods of the Arena'', examining how Quintus and Lucretia [[StartOfDarkness became so evil]].

* OlderThanTheyLook: She is 52, but looks to be in her 30's.

* ''Film/{{Mosley}}'' as Bera (2019)

* AwesomeMcCoolname: But not by design; she just happened to marry a guy named Lawless (her maiden name was Ryan). However, at the time of the marriage she was trying to break into acting, and she recounted in one interview that upon realizing her name was now 'Lucy Lawless', she worried no one would take her seriously.

She lives with her husband (''Xena'' co-creator Creator/RobTapert) and their two children, and also has a daughter from her previous marriage. She is a member of Greenpeace, and was arrested in 2012 with five other activists for occupying an oil-drilling ship for 77 hours, though the $545,000 in compensation requested by Shell Oil was reduced to an $547 fine and 120 hours of community service. Lawless has since vowed to remain with Greenpeace.

She lives with her husband (''Xena'' co-creator Rob Tapert) and their two children, and also has a daughter from her previous marriage. She is a member of Greenpeace, and was arrested in 2012 with five other activists for occupying an oil-drilling ship for 77 hours, though the $545,000 in compensation requested by Shell Oil was reduced to an $547 fine and 120 hours of community service. Lawless has since vowed to remain with Greenpeace.

* StatuesqueStunner: She's five foot ten inches tall.

* ''Series/AshVsEvilDead'' as Ruby (2015)

** PlayingAgainstType: In ''Spartacus'', she doesn't really play an ActionGirl, but she still gives one of the best performances in the show (probably helped by residual LargeHam from John Hannah).

* FakeAmerican: Most viewers have ''no'' idea she is from New Zealand, largely because Xena was played with an American accent.
** D'Anna Biers on Galactica was probably one of the highest-profile role she's had where she used, if not her real accent, at least one very close to it.

* RealLifeWritesThePlot: Forced a few of these during her time starring on "Xena", most notably, Xena's body switching exploits with Callisto when Lawless broke her pelvis, and Xena's pregnancy when Lawless became pregnant.

Lucille Frances Lawless [[UsefulNotes/KnightFever MNZM]] (née Ryan; born 29 March 1968) is a UsefulNotes/NewZealand actress, musician, and singer. She began as a singer, then as a jazz musician, and transitioned to acting in the 1990s. Her first major role was in ''Series/HerculesTheLegendaryJourneys'' pilot ''Hercules and the Amazon Women'' as Lysia the Amazon. She later played Lyla in the regular show, and then appeared in one episode, "The Warrior Princess," as...

Lucille Frances Lawless [[UsefulNotes/KnightFever MNZM]] (born 29 March 1968) is a UsefulNotes/NewZealand actress, musician, and singer. She began as a singer, then as a jazz musician, and transitioned to acting in the 1990s. Her first major role was in ''Series/HerculesTheLegendaryJourneys'' pilot ''Hercules and the Amazon Women'' as Lysia the Amazon. She later played Lyla in the regular show, and then appeared in one episode, "The Warrior Princess," as...

Lucille Frances Lawless [[UsefulNotes/KnightFever MNZM]] (born March 29, 1968 in Auckland, New Zealand) is an actress, musician, and singer from UsefulNotes/NewZealand. She began as a singer, then as a jazz musician, and transitioned to acting in the 1990s. Her first major role was in ''Series/HerculesTheLegendaryJourneys'' pilot ''Hercules and the Amazon Women'' as Lysia the Amazon. She later played Lyla in the regular show, and then appeared in one episode, "The Warrior Princess," as...

* OlderThanTheyLook: She is 51, but looks to be in her 30's.

*** Her status as a lesbian icon is further acknowledged in her ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'' character, who is strongly hinted at being in a relationship with Saffron Burrows' character - Burrows being quite the LGBT icon in her own right, too.[[note]]This would make them the first same-sex couple in the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse; however, the first ''unambiguously'' LGBT secondary character didn't turn up for another whole year, and it took another six months on top of that to get an LGBT character who's part of the main cast of a different show in the franchise.[[/note]]

Lucille Frances Lawless [[UsefulNotes/KnightFever MNZM]] (born March 29, 1968) is an actress, musician, and singer from UsefulNotes/NewZealand. She began as a singer, then as a jazz musician, and transitioned to acting in the 1990s. Her first major role was in ''Series/HerculesTheLegendaryJourneys'' pilot ''Hercules and the Amazon Women'' as Lysia the Amazon. She later played Lyla in the regular show, and then appeared in one episode, "The Warrior Princess," as...

* ''Series/XenaWarriorPrincess'' as Xena (1995-2001)

Lucille Frances Lawless (born March 29, 1968) is an actress, musician, and singer from UsefulNotes/NewZealand. She began as a singer, then as a jazz musician, and transitioned to acting in the 1990s. Her first major role was in ''Series/HerculesTheLegendaryJourneys'' pilot ''Hercules and the Amazon Women'' as Lysia the Amazon. She later played Lyla in the regular show, and then appeared in one episode, "The Warrior Princess," as...

* OlderThanTheyLook: She is 50, but looks to be in her 30's.

* ''[[ComicBook/DCTheNewFrontier Justice League: The New Frontier]]'' as Wonder Woman (2008)