Emmy-winning actress Valerie Mahaffey died Friday, May 30, in Los Angeles after battling cancer. She was 71 years old.
Mahaffey’s publicist Jillian Roscoe confirmed the actress died in California after being diagnosed with cancer. Her husband, actor Joseph Kell, stated in a release to Variety that he had “lost the love of my life, and America has lost one of its most endearing actresses.”
The actress was known for playing eccentric characters across television, film and theater during a career spanning nearly five decades. She won an Emmy Award in 1992 for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her portrayal of hypochondriac Eve on “Northern Exposure.” The CBS series aired from 1990 to 1995, and Mahaffey appeared in five episodes across three seasons from 1991 to 1994.
Born June 16, 1953, in Sumatra, Indonesia, to a Canadian mother and American father, Mahaffey was raised there until age 11. She then lived in Nigeria, England and Texas before graduating from Austin High School and earning a degree from the University of Texas in 1975.
Mahaffey began her acting career in New York City, appearing in six Broadway productions from 1976 to 1984. Her stage work included “Dracula” opposite Raul Julia and “Play Memory” directed by Harold Prince. She won two Obie Awards for her theater performances in “Top Girls” at the Public Theatre and Alan Bennett’s “Talking Heads” at the Minetta Lane. Her other theater credits included playing Desdemona in “Othello” opposite Morgan Freeman and Juliet in “Romeo and Juliet” with Tom Hulce.
Her television career began with the soap opera “The Doctors” from 1979 to 1980, where she played Ashley Bennett and earned a Daytime Emmy nomination. She was a regular on the Norman Lear-produced NBC series “The Powers That Be” from 1992 to 1993.
Mahaffey played the manipulative Alma Hodge, ex-wife of Kyle MacLachlan’s character Orson Hodge, on ABC’s “Desperate Housewives” from 2006 to 2007. She appeared in eight episodes of the Wisteria Lane drama series.
From 2017 to 2020, she recurred as teacher Victoria MacElroy on CBS’s “Young Sheldon,” the spin-off of “The Big Bang Theory.” She also portrayed the grandiose Lorna Harding, Christina Applegate’s narcissistic mother-in-law, on Netflix’s “Dead to Me” from 2019 to 2022.
Her extensive television guest appearances included roles on “Seinfeld,” where she played a former accountant helping George with his taxes in the 1991 episode “The Truth,” as well as “Wings,” “ER,” “Cheers,” “Glee,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “The Mindy Project,” “Big Sky” and “Devious Maids.” She played the mother of Jayma Mays’ Emma Pillsbury on Fox’s “Glee” from 2011 to 2013 and the unstable Olivia Rice on ABC’s “Devious Maids” from 2013 to 2015.
Mahaffey’s film credits included “Jungle 2 Jungle” (1997), “Seabiscuit” (2003), “Summer Eleven” (2010), “Sully” (2016) and “No Pay, Nudity” (2016). She received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Supporting Female for her role as widowed American expat Madame Reynard in “French Exit” (2020) opposite Michelle Pfeiffer and Lucas Hedges. She was recently seen on the Apple TV+ series “Echo 3.”
Michelle Pfeiffer, who worked with Mahaffey in “French Exit,” posted on social media that one of their brightest stars was stolen from them, describing Mahaffey as a remarkable talent and human being.
Rob Morrow, Mahaffey’s “Northern Exposure” co-star, posted that Mahaffey was a breath of fresh air, joy and laughs as Eve on the series, noting that everyone adored her.
The couple’s daughter, Alice Richards, wrote on Facebook that she didn’t have words to express her feelings, adding that cancer was terrible. She indicated she would look for her mother in all the fun moments of life, knowing that’s where she would be.
Mahaffey also produced and acted in “Summer Eleven” alongside Alice. Her publicist described her as a striking and charismatic stage, film and television actress whose career spanned many decades, noting that her warm and infectious energy was felt by anyone who had the good fortune of knowing her.
Survivors include her husband, Joseph Kell, and daughter, Alice Richards.
