But the screen warrior princess is something of a real-life cultural warrior. In Nelson to lead the parade yesterday marking the Suter Art Gallery's 100th birthday, Lawless lamented the lack of arts programmes on New Zealand television.

Art was something which captured the spirit and which society needed to support, she said. "You can't build the spirit of a country on business."

Lawless said that in a small way she had become a patron of the arts herself and had become involved in a dance production in Auckland because no-one else would do it.

As one of the fortunate people in the entertainment industry who was in gainful employment she felt an obligation to give something back.

She said New Zealand-American co-productions like Hercules and Xena had made a big difference to the expectations of local performers.

"Prior to Hercules no-one came into this business thinking they were going to have long-term employment," she said.

Now, such programmes, along with other films and advertisements shot in New Zealand, provided much more work in the performing arts. A lot of local music was also being produced, but more needed to be done to promote it and other arts. Ms Lawless, who is due to have her second child in October, said her own professional ambitions were tied up with her family life.She wanted to raise her children in New Zealand and make two films a year, wherever they might be shot. She also liked to do things she found professionally scary, like a recent appearance on Broadway.

Rain dripped from decorations around the Suter Gallery but the weather far from dampened the spirits of thousands of Nelson people who turned out for the parade to mark the gallery's centenary.

The parade was marked by fancy dress and vintage cars as participants sought to characterise each decade of the gallery's history.

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