She was born in
Okinawa, Japan and grew up in Bellevue, Nebraska. She came out
as a lesbian as a teenager 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, released several albums
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.
As an actress, she had a bit part in the 1997 coming out episode
of Ellen which starred Ellen DeGeneres. She also appeared in the
1997 film All Over Me , and had a recurring role in television
commercials for Yoplait . She made her television series debut
on Showtime's The L Word.
