Leisha Hailey

Leisha Hailey (born July 11, 1971) 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.

Leisha Hailey
Leisha Hailey
Born (1971-07-11) July 11, 1971
USCAR, Ryukyu Islands, Japan
NationalityAmerican
OccupationActress, musician
Years active1991–present
Partner(s)

Early life

Born in the United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands, Japan to American parents, Hailey grew up in Bellevue, Nebraska.[1][2][3]

At 17, she came out as lesbian before moving to New York City to attend the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.[4]

Career

Music

With her Academy classmate Heather Grody, she formed the pop duo The Murmurs in 1991. In the 1990s, they released several albums and toured on the Lilith Fair. 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.[5]

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.

Leisha Hailey performing at Shepherd's Bush Empire in London, April 2012

Acting

Hailey's television debut was in 1996 when she played a struggling musician on an episode of Boy Meets World.[6] Her first major film role was in the 1997 movie All Over Me.[7]

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.[8]

In September 2008, Showtime announced Hailey would star in The Farm,[9] a "pilot presentation spinoff" of The L Word, to be written and produced by Ilene Chaiken, creator and executive producer of The L Word.[10] It was announced in April 2009 that the show would not be picked up by Showtime.[11][12]

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[13] as well as a BMW commercial.[14] In April 2008, Hailey was named spokesperson for Olivia Cruises, a travel company which sells cruises and resort vacations marketed towards lesbian customers.[15] She also stars in the psychological thriller Fertile Ground.[16]

In 2015, Hailey appeared in an episode[17] 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.)

In 2007, Hailey was named the sexiest woman in the AfterEllen Hot 100 list compiled by AfterEllen.com.[18]

Personal life

Hailey dated k.d. lang for nearly five years until breaking up in 2001.[4] She also had a relationship with Nina Garduno from 2004 to 2010. From 2011 to 2016, she was dating 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.[19]

Filmography
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 The L Word: Generation Q Alice Pieszecki

References
  1. Leisha Hailey Archived 2014-05-05 at the Wayback Machine
  2. Getting the word from Leisha Hailey, cltampa.com; accessed March 6, 2016.
  3. BYT Interview: UH HUH HER (feat. Leisha Hailey of The "L" Word), BrightestYoungThings.com; accessed March 6, 2016.
  4. L is for Leisha Archived 2008-12-01 at the Wayback Machine, a February 2004 interview with Dennis Hensley for The Advocate], dennishensley.com; accessed March 6, 2016.
  5. News from the Marfa Records website
  6. Mr. Skin's Skincyclopedia: The A-to-Z Guide to Finding Your Favorite ... - Skin - Google Books
  7. L is for Leisha | Advocate.com
  8. Nicole Kristal (February 26, 2008). ""The L Word" Reinforces Negative Bisexual Stereotypes". AfterEllen. Retrieved November 14, 2015.
  9. "The Farm" at IMDb
  10. Leisha Hailey Cast in The L Wordpilot spinoff for Showtime Archived 2012-09-11 at Archive.today from the Showtime website
  11. Showtime Doesn't Buy 'The Farm' - Roger Catlin | TV Eye Archived 2014-05-05 at Archive.today
  12. Showtime passes on all pilot orders, Variety.com; accessed March 6, 2016.
  13. "Leisha Hailey Yoplait Commercial" at YouTube
  14. "Leisha Hailey BMW TV commercial" at YouTube
  15. Leisha Hailey Is the New Face of Olivia from Business Wire
  16. Two More After Dark Originals International Posters: Seconds Apart & Fertile Ground
  18. The AfterEllen Aesthetic: Making our own list of hotties, AfterEllen.com; accessed March 6, 2016.
  19. D'Zurilla, Christie (September 26, 2011). "Gay Actress & Girlfriend Escorted Off Plane". The Daily Beast.
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