Leisha Hailey is an American actress and musician known for playing Alice Pieszecki in the

Showtime Networks Showtime Networks, Inc. is a subsidiary of American media conglomerate Paramount Global under its networks division that oversees the company's premium cable television channels, including its flagship namesake service. Overview The compan ...

series ''

The L Word ''The L Word'' is a television drama series that aired on Showtime in the United States from 2004 to 2009. The series follows the lives of a group of lesbian and bisexual women who live in West Hollywood, California. The premise originated wit ...

'' and '' The L Word: Generation Q''. Hailey first came to the public's attention as a musician in the pop duo

The Murmurs The Murmurs were an American alternative pop music duo composed of singer-songwriters Leisha Hailey and Heather Grody. History The Murmurs and Gush Leisha Hailey and Heather Grody (Reid) began performing as The Murmurs in 1991 while the duo we ...

and has continued her music career as part of the band Uh Huh Her. Currently, Hailey hosts podcast ''PANTS'' with fellow ''L Word'' star and close friend, Kate Moennig.

Early life

Born in

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

, USCAR (now Japan) to American parents, Hailey grew up in

Bellevue, Nebraska Bellevue ( French for "beautiful view"; previously named Belleview) is a suburban city in Sarpy County, Nebraska, United States. It is part of the Omaha–Council Bluffs metropolitan area, and had a population of 64,176 as of the 2020 census, ...

. At 17, she came out as lesbian before moving to New York City to attend the

American Academy of Dramatic Arts The American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) is a Private college, private drama school with two locations, one in New York City and one in Los Angeles. The academy offers an associate degree in occupational studies and teaches drama and related ...

.L is for Leisha
, a February 2004 interview with Dennis Hensley for ''

The Advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. The Advocate, The Advocates or Advocate may also refer to: Magazines * The Advocate (magazine), ''The Advocate'' (magazine), an LGBT magazine based in the United States * ''The Harvard Advocate' ...

''], dennishensley.com; accessed March 6, 2016.

Career

Music

With her Academy classmate Heather Grody, she formed the pop duo

in 1991. In the 1990s, they released several albums and performed with

Lilith Fair Lilith Fair was a concert tour and travelling music festival, founded by Canadian musician Sarah McLachlan, Nettwerk Music Group's Dan Fraser and Terry McBride (CEO), Terry McBride, and New York talent agent Marty Diamond. It took place during ...

. 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. In July 2007, Uh Huh Her, an

electropop Electropop is a popular music fusion genre combining elements of the electronic and pop styles. It has been described as a variant of synth-pop with emphasis on a hard electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a rev ...

duo consisting of Hailey and

Camila Grey Camila Grey is an American musician. As of 2023, she is currently playing keyboards for Morrissey and is also part of the duo Rogues with actor Luke Brandon Field. She has played keyboards for pop vocalist Adam Lambert. She's also part of the su ...

, released an EP entitled ''I See Red''; over a year later they released their first album '' Common Reaction''. Hailey also co-wrote the

Shakira Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977) is a Colombian singer-songwriter. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Latin Music", she has had a Cultural impact of Shakira, significant impact on the ...

hit song " Don't Bother" for her 2005 hit album '' Oral Fixation Vol. 2''.

Acting

Hailey's television debut was in 1996 when she played a struggling musician on an episode of ''

Boy Meets World ''Boy Meets World'' is an American coming-of-age sitcom created by Michael Jacobs and April Kelly that aired on ABC for seven seasons between September1993 and May2000. The series centers on Cory Matthews ( Ben Savage) and his friends and f ...

''. Her first major film role was in the 1997 movie '' All Over Me''. 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 Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...

. By the end of the series, specifically in season 5, her character dated mostly women. In 2007, Hailey was voted #1 in the

AfterEllen ''AfterEllen'' is an American culture website founded in 2002, with a focus on entertainment, interviews, reviews, and news of interest to the lesbian and bisexual women's community. The site covers pop culture and lifestyle issues from a feminis ...

Hot 100 list compiled by

AfterEllen.com ''AfterEllen'' is an American culture website founded in 2002, with a focus on entertainment, interviews, reviews, and news of interest to the lesbian and bisexual women's community. The site covers pop culture and lifestyle issues from a feminis ...

. In September 2008,

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

announced Hailey would star in ''The Farm'', a "pilot presentation spinoff" of ''The L Word'', to be written and produced by

Ilene Chaiken Ilene Chaiken (born June 30, 1957) is an American television producer, director, writer, and founder of Little Chicken Productions. Chaiken is best known as being a co-creator, writer and executive producer on the television series ''The L Word' ...

, creator and executive producer of ''The L Word''. It was announced in April 2009 that the show would not be picked up by Showtime. Hailey's award-winning

indie film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, in ...

'' La Cucina'' premiered on Showtime in December 2009, where she plays a straight pregnant newlywed. Hailey has appeared in several

Yoplait Yoplait ( , ) is a French dessert company and the world's largest franchise brand of yogurt. It is fully owned by the French dairy cooperative Sodiaal since 2021. In North America, the Canadian subsidiary was taken over by Sodiaal in 2025. Th ...

yogurt commercials as well as a BMW commercial. In April 2008, Hailey was named spokesperson for Olivia Cruises, a travel company which sells cruises and resort vacations marketed towards lesbian customers. In 2011, she starred in the psychological thriller '' Fertile Ground''. In 2015, Hailey appeared in an episode of long-running

The CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...

show ''

Supernatural Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...

'' as Amelia Novak, the estranged wife of Jimmy Novak (human vessel of the angel Castiel, played by

Misha Collins Dmitri "Misha" Collins "My mom went to Russia when she was in college, and ��she had a boyfriend whose name was Mitya, which she thought was the same as Misha, which it's not. And his real name was Dmitri, so my real name, actually—my birt ...

Personal life

Hailey dated

k.d. lang Kathryn Dawn Lang (born November 2, 1961), known by her stage name k.d. lang (stylised in all lowercase), is a Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter and occasional actress. Lang has won Juno Awards and Grammy Awards for her musical pe ...

for nearly five years until breaking up in 2001. She also had a relationship with Nina Garduno from 2004 to 2010. From 2011 to 2016, she dated her bandmate

. In 2011, the couple were involved in a dispute with

Southwest Airlines Southwest Airlines Co., or simply Southwest, is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States that formerly operated on a low-cost carrier model. It is headquartered in the Love Field, Dallas, Love Field neighborhood ...

, after being ejected from a flight for arguing with a flight attendant who asked them to stop kissing. She is currently in a relationship with actress

Kim Dickens Kim Dickens is an American actress. She is known for starring as Madison Clark in the AMC (TV channel), AMC horror drama series ''Fear the Walking Dead'' (2015–2018; 2022–2023), Joanie Stubbs in HBO's ''Deadwood (TV series), Deadwood'' (2004 ...

Filmography

References

External links

*
Profile
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hailey, Leisha 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 Year of birth missing (living people)