Renée O'Connor was born in Houston, Texas, to Walter and Sandra O'Connor (now Wilson), and raised in Katy, a Houston suburb. She attended Taylor High School and the Houston High School of Visual and Performing Arts. Renée has one older brother, Chris.

Renée appeared in commercials, including one for McDonalds, a feature film called Night Game, and some work for the Mickey Mouse Club in 1989. She also made guest appearances on TV shows such as NYPD Blue, before starring as Deineira in the Hercules TV movie "Hercules and the Lost Kingdom". She caught the eyes of executive producers Sam Raimi and Robert G. Tapert, who cast Renée in the 1994 film Darkman II: The Return of Durant. Soon after, Hercules' sister show, Xena: Warrior Princess was launched, and Renée was cast as Gabrielle, Xena's trusty sidekick.

Until 2001, Renée resided in Auckland, New Zealand, where Xena was filmed. She was married to restaurant owner Steve Muir (a kiwi, or New Zealander) in October 2000, in Austin, Texas, and they had a son. However, after the series ended, Renée returned to Texas and was divorced from Steve. In 2005, she had a baby girl with her new boyfriend, actor Jed Sura.



Attended High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, Houston, Texas, 1989. Engaged to long term boyfriend New Zealander Steve Muir. [February 2000] Son, Miles William Muir born weighing 8 pounds 8 ounces. [22 September 2001] When the producers of "Xena: Warrior Princess" (1995) became aware of how athletic her body was, it prompted the new costume for season 2. It became a running joke on the show that the costume continued to shrink as the seasons passed. She and the other star in "Xena: Warrior Princess" (1995), Lucy Lawless, are good friends. Has a cat named Kia Ora, which is Maori for "hello". Her hobbies are rock climbing, kickboxing, horseback riding, and painting. One teacher at Taylor HS (Katy, Texas) realized her potential for acting and got an autograph before Renée graduated, knowing that she'd become a star soon after. She also paints. Her paintings have been exhibited in a show. She usually auctions her paintings via eBay in order to finance her independent projects and raise money for charity. Was voted # 3 of the most intriguing people in 1996, # 2 in 1997, and one of the most beautiful people of 1997, by People Online. She made the cover of TV Guide on the July 29, 2000 to August 4, 2000, issue. It was one of eight collector's covers. Owns her own film production companies, ROC Pictures and ROC Productions. When she started dating her first husband Steve Muir, he asked her what she did for a living. She replied she worked on the Xena set. Not saying she was a co-star. It was only when he introduced her to his friends that one of his friends commented that Renee was Gabrielle.