 Biography
Leisha was born on July 11, 1971 in Okinawa, Japan to Robert and Jane Hailey. She grew up in Bellevue Nebraska and attended Bellevue West High School where she played the leading male role of "Oliver" in her school play. Her grandparents are Lillian and the late Carlos Hailey, she has one sister named Kaydra and a dog named Bandit. She is a 5'6" (1.68 m) vegetarian and currently dates fashion designer Nina Garduno.
As a teenager Leisha came out as a lesbian and moved to New York City where she graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1991. She formed the rock duo The Murmurs (changed to Gush in 2001) with her former classmate at the academy Heather Grody and played gigs in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and East Village. During the 1990s the band moved to Los Angeles, they released 3 albums, as well as performing on several movie soundtrack and toured with Lilith Fair. Their biggest album Blender included a collaboration with Charlotte Caffey and Jane Wiedlin of The Go-Gos; in addition, several of the songs were produced by k.d. lang, Hailey's significant other for several years. Hailey was also the inspiration for lang's 2000 album Invincible Summer.
Leisha left Gush for several years due to her busy acting schedule. They did however release one self-titled album which was only sold at gigs. when Leisha left Gush,
Heater, and John started up a new band called RedCar which are still playing in LA. Recently Leisha and Heather have reunited to pick up where they left off musically, they are writing new material and will likely form a new band.
As an actress, she had a bit part in the 1997 coming out episode of Ellen which starred Ellen DeGeneres. She also had a recurring role in television commercials for Yoplait. Hailey's most known acting screen performance to date is playing Lucy in the 1997 film "All Over Me" in which she played a lesbian rock and roller.
Leisha has appeared in various other television and independent film roles, as listed in our filmography. She made her television series debut on Showtime's "The L Word" in 2004 as Alice Pieszecki; a sharp-witted, bisexual magazine writer. Since then "The L Word" has received multiple awards and critical praise. Leisha herself was chosen as one of Denton Record Chronicle's "Top 10 Ladies Who Made 2004 Memorable."
Filmography
- "The L Word" (2004) TV Series .... Alice Pieszecki
- The Snowflake Crusade (2002) .... Marigold
- Size 'Em Up (2001) .... Clea Shapiro
- Sleeping Beauties (1999) .... Sno Blo Band
- Some Girl (1998) .... The Murmurs
... aka Girl Talk
... aka Men
- All Over Me (1997) .... Lucy
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