Kay Kendall

Kendall's life is explored in "The Brief, Madcap Life of Kay Kendall," written by Eve Golden, Kim Kendall, and Kim Elizabeth Kendall (University Press of Kentucky, 2002). Although she is heterosexual, Lucy Lawless has enhanced this reputation by appearing at gay pride events such as the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. Before her marriage to Harrison, Kendall had a romantic relationship with Sydney Chaplin, a son of Charlie Chaplin. A new term, dykon, was coined to describe her status as a gay icon. She succumbed to her illness on September 6 the following year, soon after completing the movie "Once More with Feeling", starring opposite Yul Brynner. Due to her character Xena's ambiguous sexuality, Lucy Lawless gained a large cult following in the lesbian community. In 1958, Kendall won a Golden Globe Award for her performance in Les Girls, probably the best-known film of her career. She has had brief appearances in the movies Eurotrip and Spider-Man, and will appear in the upcoming horror film Boogeyman.

Harrison was married to actress Lilli Palmer at the time, but when he learned Kendall had been diagnosed with myeloid leukemia from her doctor, he divorced Palmer and married Kendall, never revealing to her the reason for her failing health. She has since appeared in the Vagina Monologues, on the first two episodes of the ninth season of The X-Files, and in the short-lived (eight episodes) television series Tarzan. Later she starred opposite Rex Harrison in the comedy The Constant Husband (1955), and an affair soon followed. She was even immortalized as a character on The Simpsons (playing a super-powered, flying version of herself). She co-starred with Clark again in Dance Hall (1950), and was featured in a quick succession of forgettable films before gaining fame in "Genevieve" (1953). A testament to the popularity of Xena: Warrior Princess is that Lawless is a universally recognized celebrity even though she has not had a single great success outside of it. Her first major screen role was in the Sid Field-Petula Clark musical London Town (1946), notable for being one of the costliest flops in British film history. She had a guest role in 1990 on New Zealand TV series Shark in the Park, around the same time compatriot Karl Urban appeared.

Her father was Terry Kendall, a vaudevillian. Lucy Lawless (born Lucille Frances Ryan on March 29, 1968 in Auckland, New Zealand), is a Kiwi actress and singer best known for her role as Xena on the television series Xena: Warrior Princess from 1995 to 2001. Her maternal grandmother was Marie Kendall, a musical-comedy star for her vivacious personality and diction while singing. She was born Kay Justine Kendall McCarthy on May 26, 1927 in Withernsea, a coastal resort in eastern England. Kay Kendall (1927-1959) was a British actress.