AUSXIP Lucy Lawless Files - Flawless Print - Lucy Articles
Actress, Singer, Mum, Gay Icon - Lucy Lawless
OK! Magazine
(Australian Version)March 2006
Please note:
This article is similar to the OK! Magazine US Version but it
differs in some of the images and Q & ATranscript / Scans by MaryD
THE EX-WARRIOR PRINCESS ON LIFE IN LA AND THE LURE OF CELEBRITY LOVE!
When Lucy Lawless opens the door of her Hollywood Hills home, the first
thing you notice is her long blonde hair, which has replaced the dark locks
of her most famous role, Xena, the warrior princess. Warm, generous and
relaxed, the 37-year-old actress and mother of three is tall, with a
fabulous figure, flawless skin and piercing blue eyes.
'Come in!' she smiles. 'Did you find the place OK?' The relaxed family home
is a large Mediterranean-style house that also comes with a little Hollywood
history. Rock Hudson used to party here,' Lucy laughs as we venture out to
the pool area, and we have a constant flow of visitors!'
Many come from Lucy's homeland of New Zealand, where she, her husband of
eight years, producer Robert Tapert, and their kids Judah, three, and
Julius, six, spend part of the year. Daisy, Lucy's 17-year-old daughter with
her first husband, still lives in NZ but often flies over to LA to visit her
mum; and Lucy (who was nce crowned 'Mrs New Zealand'!) heads home as often
as her career allows. With making movies, TV and music all on the agenda,
she welcomed OK! into her home to talk about life after Xena...
When did you set up home in LA?
I've been coming and going for 10 years, but really I have only lived
here for the last two. Before that I was mostly in New Zealand. Now it's
more 50/50.
Where do you prefer to be?
At first, it was very hard to be here when I didn't have any support
systems in place. It was a real learning curve because every single thing
was just a little different. You think it's not going to be such a hard
thing, but it really is, especially when you're looking to set your kids up
in schools.
Are they happy living in LA?
They actually prefer New Zealand - they're a lot closer to the earth and
the elements there. 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.
With your daughter living in NZ with her dad, how often do you go back?
I go back for all the important occasions -my daughter's birthday, the
school ball... you know, all those kinds of things. I'm also a trustee on
the board of the Starship Children's Hospital's Starship Foundation and I
try to attend most of the events to help raise money.
Do people still come up and ask about your warrior princess days?
Often they don't recognise me because I don't look the same. But people
are now beginning to see me as Lucy Lawless, as I'm doing quite a lot of
television. We were shooting a TV movie, Vampire Bats, in New Orleans and
got caught in Hurricane Katrina, so I was flashed on the news all the time.
What else have you been doing since Xena finished?
A lot of stuff! I had another child, which was the main reason I took a
couple of years off
and took only jobs that were really interesting. I went to Bangladesh for
World Vision and did a documentary series, Warrior Women, for the Discovery
Channel, which took me around the world. I've got a film, The Darkroom,
coming out next year and Battlestar Galactica have me on regularly as one of
their most dangerous undercover spies!
Last year, you recorded a dance track, 'Come to Me', with RuPaul. How did
that come about?
The gay community often ask me to perform at different events. They were
big fans of Xena. They really gave my career a kick-start. So I just wanted
to show some gratitude... It's been received so well and now they're looking
to remix it, which is even more exciting. Hopefully I'll be able to perform
it at Mardi Gras [in Sydney] down the track. That would be so much fun.
How did you and your husband meet?
It was just after I started working on Xena. He was a voice on the phone
saying, 'Lucy, what would you say if I told you there was a 10 per cent
chance Xena would turn into a series?' And I just said, "That's very nice Mr
Tapert,' I got all school-marmish. 'You just ring me back when you're a
little more certain.' At the back of my mind I was thinking, of course it's
going to become a series! Rob had sworn off actresses a long time ago
because he thought they were all flaky, but he must have decided I was
different!
What do you think is the secret to a successful Hollywood marriage?
Everybody I know that's in the industry and has a great relationship
doesn't take the whole Hollywood thing too seriously. They know it's not
brain surgery. We're entertaining people and find some honour in that, but
at the end of the day... to be able to come home and have a really loving,
full family life is what matters.
Why do you think so many celebrity
marriages fail?
I think it's because celebrity feels like love sometimes. When two
celebrities meet and they're doing a movie together there's so much
excitement and buzz around them. They fall in love with the lustre and it
truly feels like love, then it's three months later and you're looking at
each other and you think, I don't really have anything in common with you.
Who are you anyway?
Did you ever imagine you'd end up as an
actress in Hollywood?
Yeah. I think so. 'Cause when you're a kid you don't have any 'why
nots?' and my parents never put down my dreams... OK!
INTERVIEW BY SAL MORGAN
PHOTOGRAPHS BY DARRELL FIELDER @JBG PHOTO.COM, WIREIMAGE
HAIR BY IAN JAMES
MAKE-UP BY DARRELL REDLEAF
STYLING BY BETSY ADAMS
OK! Star
On behalf of Lucy Lawless, OK! has made a donation to the Starship
Foundation, a charity set up to provide extra equipment, support and help to
patients, families and staff at Starship Children's Hospital, NZ. To make a
donation, go to www.starship.org.nz
or call (64 9) 307 4957.