Xena Star Set To Thrill Fans
The Gold Coast Bulletin - 2 November 2011

FRIDAY will mark 10 years since Renee O'Connor has been to Brisbane.

The US actress, best known for her role as Gabrielle on the hit TV series Xena: Warrior Princess, is one of the drawcards at this year's Supanova Pop Culture Expo, which rolls into Brisbane on Friday.

The 40-year-old says she was a regular visitor to Australia during her seven-year run on the fantasy show.

O'Connor says she is looking forward to meeting up with her loyal local fans.

"Xena fans are so incredibly loyal to me," she says.

"They follow every single thing that I do and I feel like I have an incredible relationship with them because they keep coming out to these events. "They're very forgiving." Since hanging up her leather bustier on Xena, O'Connor has appeared in TV and film roles, started her own online production company and become a motivational speaker.

She says she is a long way from the 22-year-old "kid" picked for Xena.

"I worked for the producers twice before and they had me in mind for the role, so off I moved to New Zealand," she says.

"It was mind blowing to look back at who I was when I started the show to when I finished the show and to the person I am now.

"I learnt to have more confidence in my body because I was playing a strong woman who had to fight and step up.

"In the beginning, I was quite doughy. I had to get up and train before and afterwork, it didn't come naturally."

O'Connor says she's proud to have been a part of Xena and to have worked with Lucy Lawless.

‘‘It was one of the first times women could see other women on TV who laughed at themselves, kicked arse, loved each other deeply and were goofballs,’’ she says.