Lucy Lawless Free Screensaver. Photos slideshow. Lucy Lawless (born Lucille Frances Ryan on March 29, 1968 in Mount Albert) is a New Zealand actress and singer best known for her role as Xena on the television series Xena: Warrior Princess from 1995 to 2001. Lucy Lawless was the fifth of seven children born to Frank and Julie Ryan. She has five brothers and one sister. Lucy began acting in secondary school. Although Xena immediately got a huge fan following in America, ironically Xena was not being shown in her native New Zealand, so Lucy did not achieve her tremendous popularity in her homeland until a bit later. Lucy made her Broadway debut playing Betty Rizzo in Grease from September to October, 1997. She has since appeared on The X-Files, The Bernie Mac Show, Just Shoot Me and Spiderman. She has done extensive charity work in support of breast cancer research, the prevention of child abuse, the acceptance of breast feeding, and the Starship Hospital Foundation, of which she is a board member. Recently, she retuned to her singing roots and embarked on a New Zealand performance tour with musician David Dobbyn. Lucy married executive producer Robert G. Tapert in Santa Monica, California on March 28, 1998. On October 16, 1999, they had a son, Julius Robert Bay Tapert, born in New Zealand. Although Xena has been canceled after a fantastic 6-year run, millions of Lucy Lawless fans know it is still just the beginning for her.