She was one of the most powerful warriors of ancient Greece, on a quest to redeem herself from a dark past.
Xena: Warrior Princess captured the attention of millions of viewers when it aired from 1995 to 2001 and made a star out of its lead, Lucy Lawless.
But where is the New Zealand actress now? Catch up with the star 25 years after the end of the show that brought her to global fame.
Who is Lucy Lawless?
Lucy was born in Auckland, New Zealand as the fifth of six children to teacher Julie and banker Frank. She found a love of performing at an early age, appearing in a musical aged 10.
She married her first husband Garth Lawless at age 20 in 1988 and then won the Mrs. New Zealand beauty pageant for married women the following year at 21.
Lucy made her TV debut on the New Zealand sketch comedy show Funny Business and later moved to Vancouver, Canada where she studied drama at Vancouver Institute of Media Arts.
Xena: Warrior Princess
Lucy appeared as Xena in an episode of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys in 1995. Vanessa Angel was originally cast in the part, but she fell ill and was unable to travel to New Zealand for filming.
Producers asked several actresses to take on the part before they eventually found Lucy, who was living in New Zealand at the time.
Her appearance on Hercules was so well-received by fans that the producers decided to give Xena her own spin-off series.
Xena: Warrior Princess debuted in September 1995 and became an instant hit with viewers. It overtook Hercules in popularity and became the top-rated syndicated drama series on American TV in its second season.
The show ultimately ended after its sixth season and 134 episodes.
Married life
Lucy met her first husband Garth when they were teenagers working at Club Mirage in Auckland.
They travelled through Europe and Australia together and later worked in the Australian outback.
They ultimately divorced in 1995, with Lucy later admitting to NZ Women's Weekly that she "got married too young". She also described the marriage as "unfortunate".
© WireImageShe met her second husband Robert Tapert on the set of Xena, where he served as the executive producer. They married in March 1998 in Santa Monica, California.
"We know how to keep things separate. We're both pretty driven people who do our respective jobs," she said of the couple working together.
"I'm not really interested in the machinations of the TV industry. We don't talk about that kind of stuff at home - even though, technically, he is my boss."
Three children
© SXSW Conference & Festivals viaLucy's daughter Daisy was born in 1988. She later had two sons with Robert: Julius in 1999 and Judah in 2002.
All three of her kids have chosen lives out of the spotlight and Lucy does not post photos with them on social media.
There have been reports in the past that her youngest son Judah was a student at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
In 2006, Lucy said her children preferred life in New Zealand to Hollywood at the time.
"They actually prefer New Zealand - they're a lot closer to the earth and the elements there," she said. "We can go to the beach daily there and they don't have quite the same freedom in LA. It takes us 45 minutes to get to school - the traffic is hideous. However, I do really love it here and I feel we have the best of both worlds. It's a very exciting place to live."
Where is she now?
© WireImageLucy has kept busy since Xena ended in 2001, appearing in several films and TV shows.
She made guest appearances on shows like Two and a Half Men, The L Word and had a recurring role on Battlestar Galactica.
One of her most notable post-Xena TV roles was playing Lucretia in Spartacus from 2010 to 2012, opposite Liam McIntyre and John Hannah. She later reprised the role for two episodes in the short-lived spin-off Spartacus: House of Ashur in 2025.
Lucy later appeared as Ruby on the Starz horror-comedy series Ash vs Evil Dead from 2015 to 2018.
From 2019 to 2025, she has appeared in the Australian-New Zealand mystery-comedy series My Life Is Murder.
She has also had a successful film career, appearing in movies like the 2004 sex comedy EuroTrip and the 2005 horror film Boogeyman.
Lucy has focused on appearing in primarily New Zealand films in recent years. Her most recent big screen role was in the 2025 drama Pike River opposite fellow Kiwi actress Melanie Lynskey.
