Renee O'Connor
Evelyn Renee O'Connor (born February 15, 1971) is an American actress, producer, and director, known for the role of Gabrielle on the television series Xena: Warrior Princess.
Early life
Born in Houston and raised in suburban Katy, Texas by her mother Sandra, O'Connor at age 12 studied acting at the Alley Theatre in Houston, Texas. She attended Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston, and made her professional debut as a dancing Porky Pig at that city's Six Flags AstroWorld. Afterward, she moved to Los Angeles, California, to pursue an acting career.
Career
O'Connor made her screen debut at 17, starring in the "Teen Angel" segment of the Disney Channel's The Mickey Mouse Club, and the subsequent Teen Angel TV series. She went on to the Disney film The Adventures of Huck Finn and TV-movies including Follow the River, Danielle Steele's Changes, and Hercules and the Lost Kingdom, starring Kevin Sorbo. There, in the role of Deianeira, O'Connor came to the attention of Hercules executive producers Rob Tapert and Sam Raimi, who cast her as Gabrielle in the spinoff TV series Xena: Warrior Princess.
In 2001, O'Connor began her own film production company, Roc Productions. The following year, she played Lady Macbeth in the Shakespeare by the Sea production of Macbeth. O'Connor reprised the role in a House of Bards Theatre Company production in San Pedro, California, from October 11 to November 3, 2019. She played Nurse in the Southern Shakespeare Company's May 10–13, 2018, production of Romeo and Juliet alongside her 16-year-old son, Miles Muir.
Personal life
In 1998, O'Connor began dating restaurateur Steve Muir. The couple married in 2000 and O'Connor had a son in 2001. O'Connor and Muir divorced in 2004.
O'Connor began a relationship with Jed Sura in 2004 and had a daughter in March, 2006. O'Connor and Sura were married in 2017.