
Actor
Valerie Mahaffey
Born 1953 · Sumatra, Indonesia
Valerie Mahaffey (June 16, 1953 – May 30, 2025) was an American actress and producer. She began her career starring in the NBC daytime soap opera The Doctors (1979–81), for which she received a nomination for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. In 1992, Mahaffey won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role in the CBS drama series Northern Exposure. She later won fame through her portrayal of extroverted and friendly but ultimately insane women on the television shows Wings, Desperate Housewives, Devious Maids and Big Sky. Mahaffey also appeared in a number of movies, including Senior Trip (1995), Jungle 2 Jungle (1997), Jack and Jill (2011), Sully (2016), and most notably French Exit (2020), for which she received critical acclaim and an Independent Spirit Award nomination. Description above from the Wikipedia article Valerie Mahaffey, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Acting

Grey's Anatomy
Donna Kaufman · 2005

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Brooke Thornburg · 1999

Sully
Diane Higgins · 2016

Young Sheldon
Victoria MacElroy · 2017

Seinfeld
Patrice · 1989

Desperate Housewives
Alma Hodge · 2004

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Dora Pomerantz · 2000

The Man in the High Castle
Susan · 2015

ER
Joi Abbott · 1994

Quantum Leap
Mary Greely · 1989

The West Wing
Tawny Cryer · 1999

Frasier
Peggy · 1993

Cheers
Valerie Hill · 1982

Seabiscuit
Annie Howard · 2003

Hannah Montana
Ms. Jameson · 2006

Boston Legal
Mary Winston · 2004

Dead to Me
Lorna Harding · 2019

Glee
Rose Pillsbury · 2009

Private Practice
Marilyn Sullivan · 2007

Raising Hope
Margine · 2010

Workaholics
Celeste · 2011

Hart of Dixie
Mae Ellen Waterloo · 2011

Northern Exposure
Eve · 1990

Big Sky
Helen Pergman · 2020