Leisha Hailey
Leisha Hailey | |
|---|---|
 Hailey circa 2007 | |
| Born | |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation(s) | Actress, musician |
| Years active | 1991–present |
| Partners |
|
Leisha Hailey is an American actress and musician known for playing Alice Pieszecki in the Showtime Networks series The L Word and The L Word: Generation Q. Hailey first came to the public's attention as a musician in the pop duo The Murmurs and has continued her music career as part of the band Uh Huh Her.
Currently, Hailey appears as Alice in The L Word: Generation Q and hosts podcast PANTS with fellow L Word star and close friend, Kate Moennig.[2]
Early life
[edit]Born in Okinawa, USCAR (now Japan) to American parents, Hailey grew up in Bellevue, Nebraska.[3][4][5]
At 17, she came out as lesbian before moving to New York City to attend the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.[6]
Career
[edit]Music
[edit]With her Academy classmate Heather Grody, she formed the pop duo The Murmurs in 1991. In the 1990s, they released several albums and performed with Lilith Fair.[7] In 2001, Hailey and Grody changed their name to Gush. The group disbanded when Hailey was cast in The L Word. In 2005, Hailey founded Marfa Records.[8]
In July 2007, Uh Huh Her, an electropop duo consisting of Hailey and Camila Grey, released an EP entitled I See Red; over a year later they released their first album Common Reaction.
Hailey also co-wrote the Shakira hit song "Don't Bother" for her 2005 hit album Oral Fixation Vol. 2.[9]
Acting
[edit]Hailey's television debut was in 1996 when she played a struggling musician on an episode of Boy Meets World.[10] Her first major film role was in the 1997 movie All Over Me.[11]
From 2004 to 2009, she starred as Alice Pieszecki, a journalist, television, and radio show host, on The L Word. At the beginning of the series, Hailey's character identified as bisexual. By the end of the series, specifically in season 5, her character dated mostly women.[12] In 2007, Hailey was voted #1 in the AfterEllen Hot 100 list compiled by AfterEllen.com.[13][14]
In September 2008, Showtime announced Hailey would star in The Farm,[15] a "pilot presentation spinoff" of The L Word, to be written and produced by Ilene Chaiken, creator and executive producer of The L Word.[16] It was announced in April 2009 that the show would not be picked up by Showtime.[17][18]
Hailey's award-winning indie film La Cucina premiered on Showtime in December 2009, where she plays a straight pregnant newlywed.
Hailey has appeared in several Yoplait yogurt commercials[19] as well as a BMW commercial.[20] In April 2008, Hailey was named spokesperson for Olivia Cruises, a travel company which sells cruises and resort vacations marketed towards lesbian customers.[21]
In 2011, she starred in the psychological thriller Fertile Ground.[22] In 2015, Hailey appeared in an episode[23] of long-running The CW show Supernatural as Amelia Novak, the estranged wife of Jimmy Novak (human vessel of the angel Castiel, played by Misha Collins.)
Personal life
[edit]Hailey dated k.d. lang for nearly five years until breaking up in 2001.[6] She also had a relationship with Nina Garduno from 2004 to 2010. From 2011 to 2016, she dated her bandmate Camila Grey. In 2011, the couple were involved in a dispute with Southwest Airlines, after being ejected from a flight for arguing with a flight attendant who asked them to stop kissing.[24] She is currently in a relationship with actress Kim Dickens.[1]
Filmography
[edit]| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 1997 | All Over Me | Lucy | |
| 1998 | Some Girl | The Murmurs | |
| 1999 | Sleeping Beauties | Sno Blo Band | |
| 2002 | The Snowflake Crusade | Marigold | |
| 2007 | La Cucina | Shelly | |
| 2009 | Make Up | Shelley Cabot | |
| 2010 | Fertile Ground | Emily Weaver | |
| 2016 | Love Is All You Need? | Coach Jenkins | |
| 2016 | Quarries | Madison | |
| 2017 | Dead Ant | Stevie | |
| Television | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1996 | Boy Meets World | Corinna | 1 episode |
| 1997 | Ellen | Woman in gay bar | 1 episode |
| 2004–2009 | The L Word | Alice Pieszecki | 70 episodes |
| 2006 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Allison Bradford | 1 episode |
| Grey's Anatomy | Claire Solomon | 1 episode | |
| 2007–2011 | American Dad! | Lily (Voice) | 4 episodes |
| 2009 | Maneater | Harriet | 1 episode |
| 2010 | Drop Dead Diva | Hope Prentiss | 1 episode |
| 2010 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Dana Carlston | 1 episode |
| 2012 | The New Normal | Victoria | 1 episode |
| 2014 | Constantine | Lanni's wife | 1 episode |
| 2015 | Supernatural | Amelia Novak | 1 episode |
| 2015 | Chasing Life | Juliet | 1 episode |
| 2016 | Bosch | Maureen "Mo" O'Grady | 7 episodes |
| 2016 | Code Black | Natalie | 1 episode |
| 2017 | Silicon Valley | Liz Tinsdale | 2 episodes |
| 2017 | Strangers | Kim | 1 episode |
| 2019-2023 | The L Word: Generation Q | Alice Pieszecki | 20 episodes |
References
[edit]- ^ a b Kate Moennig and Leisha Hailey (September 14, 2022). "Honey Pot". PANTS with Kate and Leisha (Podcast). Apple. Event occurs at 11:00. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
- ^ "The L Word's Hailey, Moennig, Rachel Shelley Team up for PANTS Podcast". June 17, 2020.
- ^ Leisha Hailey Archived May 5, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Getting the word from Leisha Hailey, cltampa.com; accessed March 6, 2016.
- ^ BYT Interview: UH HUH HER (feat. Leisha Hailey of The "L" Word), BrightestYoungThings.com; accessed March 6, 2016.
- ^ a b L is for Leisha Archived December 1, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, a February 2004 interview with Dennis Hensley for The Advocate], dennishensley.com; accessed March 6, 2016.
- ^ "Heather Grody and Leisha Hailey of The Murmurs perform during the..." Getty Images. January 17, 2022. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
- ^ News from the Marfa Records website
- ^ "Leisha Hailey - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes.
- ^ Mr. Skin's Skincyclopedia: The A-to-Z Guide to Finding Your Favorite ... - Skin - Google Books
- ^ L is for Leisha | Advocate.com
- ^ Nicole Kristal (February 26, 2008). ""The L Word" Reinforces Negative Bisexual Stereotypes". AfterEllen. Retrieved November 14, 2015.
- ^ scribegrrrl (May 18, 2007). "The AfterEllen Aesthetic: Making our own list of hotties". AfterEllen. Archived from the original on July 18, 2012. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
- ^ Bendix, Trish (September 2, 2016). "And the 2016 AfterEllen Hot 100 Winners Are…". AfterEllen. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
- ^ "The Farm" at IMDb
- ^ Leisha Hailey Cast in The L Wordpilot spinoff for Showtime Archived September 11, 2012, at archive.today from the Showtime website
- ^ Showtime Doesn't Buy 'The Farm' - Roger Catlin | TV Eye Archived May 5, 2014, at archive.today
- ^ Showtime passes on all pilot orders, Variety.com; accessed March 6, 2016.
- ^ "Leisha Hailey Yoplait Commercial" at YouTube
- ^ "Leisha Hailey BMW TV commercial" at YouTube
- ^ Leisha Hailey Is the New Face of Olivia from Business Wire
- ^ Two More After Dark Originals International Posters: Seconds Apart & Fertile Ground
- ^ "Angel Heart". IMDb.
- ^ D'Zurilla, Christie (September 26, 2011). "Gay Actress & Girlfriend Escorted Off Plane". The Daily Beast.
External links
[edit]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
- Living people
- Actresses from Nebraska
- Lesbian singers
- American Academy of Dramatic Arts alumni
- American film actresses
- American television actresses
- American voice actresses
- American LGBTQ singers
- LGBTQ people from Nebraska
- American lesbian actresses
- American lesbian musicians
- Actors from Okinawa Prefecture
- Musicians from Okinawa Prefecture
- People from Bellevue, Nebraska
- People from Okinawa (city)
- 21st-century American women guitarists
- 20th-century American LGBTQ people
- 21st-century American LGBTQ people