Hudson Leick

Hudson Leick is an American former actress and model. She is best known for her portrayal of the villainess Callisto in the television series Xena: Warrior Princess and its companion series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.

Leick was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on May 9, 1969, and grew up in Rochester, New York. She began her career working as a model in Japan before choosing to focus on acting. To prepare for her acting career and improve her voice, she took courses in drama and diction.

Her early acting work included single-episode appearances in television shows such as CBS Schoolbreak Special in 1992 and Law & Order in 1993. She also played nurse Tracy Stone in University Hospital and appeared as virtual reality designer Hannah in the 1994 television film Knight Rider 2010.

Leick achieved her career breakthrough in 1995 when she was cast in the series Melrose Place, appearing across ten episodes. Following minor roles in Hijacked: Flight 285 and Dangerous Cargo, director Robert Tapert selected her for the role of Callisto in Xena: Warrior Princess. In addition to playing Callisto on Xena and three episodes of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, she played screenwriter and producer Liz Friedman in two modern-day episodes of Hercules.

At a convention in 2000, Leick announced that she would no longer appear in Xena or Hercules because she was receiving new role offers and wanted to play characters other than Callisto. Beginning in 1999, her credits expanded to feature films such as Chill Factor, Hallowed Ground, Blood Type, Denial, and After the Game, alongside guest appearances on television series including 7th Heaven, Touched by an Angel, and Safe Harbor.

Her later work includes roles in A.I. Assault, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Fastlane, Cold Heart, and the pilot episode of Tru Calling. She also expanded into voice acting, providing the voice for Jen in the computer game Primal, as well as working on Lords of Everquest. In 2008, she completed work on the films One, Two, Many and Unconditional, and she subsequently played Coco DeVille in the Jackie Collins film Paris Connections, released in 2010.