Alexandra Huntingdon Tydings is an American actress, director, writer, producer, and activist, best known for her role as Greek goddess Aphrodite on the television series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and its spin-off, Xena: Warrior Princess.

Personal life

Alexandra Tydings was born in Washington, D.C. She has four sisters and one brother, and is the daughter of former Maryland U.S. Senator Joseph Tydings and his second wife, Terry Lynn Huntingdon Tydings and the granddaughter of former Maryland U.S. Senator Millard Tydings. She is a graduate of Sidwell Friends School^{[citation needed]} and Brown University, with a degree in film and critical theory.^[1] She speaks English, French and Spanish.

Tydings counts Katharine Hepburn and Kevin Spacey among her favorite actors. She told Whoosh, a Xena fansite, that she most enjoys the research and collaborating process of acting and that auditioning is her least favorite part of theater arts.^[2] She competed in Irish dancing as a child,^[1] and performed with The Royal Ballet of London at the Kennedy Center. Dance led to performance of all kinds; in addition to acting, she was the singer and bassist of bands Annabelle Kickbox and She's Seen You Naked.^{[citation needed]}

Whoosh points out that Tydings maintained a vegetarian diet for 14 years, and that she enjoys gardening.^[3]

Career

After graduating from Brown University, Tydings moved to Hollywood to pursue an acting career. In her first major feature film, she played opposite Woody Harrelson in Oscar winner Michael Cimino's The Sunchaser, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. She has since performed in dozens of roles in film, television and theater, including six years as a series regular on Xena: Warrior Princess and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys where she played Aphrodite, the Greek Goddess of love.^[4]

In 2015, Tydings wrote and directed The Trial of Hanna Porn, a multi-media piece on abortion, which won the Best of Fringe award at the Charm City Fringe Festival. ^[5] She then went on to write, direct and produce Rainbow Bridge, an independent film about two women advocating for abortion in the United States.

Filmography