‘The Northern Exposure’ Actress Was 71

Valerie Mahaffey, who reached a career zenith in 1992 with an Emmy win for Best Supporting actress in a Drama Series for Northern Exposure, died on May 30 after losing her battle with cancer. She was 71.

Born June 16, 1953 in Sumatra, Indonesia, Valerie Mahaffey racked up 90 credits as a character actress, according to her IMDb page. She debuted on television in the movie Tell Me My Name in 1977 and segued to the role of Ashley Bennett in the former daytime drama The Doctors from 1977 to 1980, where she was nominated for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.

In 1986, Mahaffey appeared in the six-hour comical miniseries Fresno opposite Carol Burnett and in the dramatic film Women of Valor, which followed a group of women in the Philippines during World War II. She made the guest-starring rounds in TV series like Newhart, Murphy’s Law, Quantum Leap, Cheers and Seinfeld. And 1991 came her first regularly scheduled TV series, Norman Lear’s one season The Powers That Be.

Mahaffey’s recurring role as Eve on Northern Exposure came in 1991, which was followed with more guest spots and five episodes of the Designing Women spinoff Women of the House with Delta Burke in 1995. She had a recurring role on medical drama ER in 1999 and continued appearing in a roster of TV series including Ally McBeal, Judging Amy, The West Wing, Law & Order: SVU, Frasier, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Private Practice.

Mahaffey also had the recurring part of Alma Hodge on Desperate Housewives from 2006 to 2012 and Olivia Rice on Devious Maids from 2013 to 2015, which were both from Marc Cherry, and appeared in the one season medical drama Monday Mornings in 2013. More recently were recurring roles on the series Young Sheldon, Big Sky and the dark comedy Dead to Me.

In 2020, Mahaffey received a Spirit Award nomination for her turn as widowed American expat Madame Reynard in the film French Exit opposite Michelle Pfeiffer.

She also won Obie Awards on stage in Top Girls at the Public Theatre and Talking Heads at the Minetta Lane. Her other theater credits included Othello opposite Morgan Freeman and Juliet in Romeo and Juliet with Tom Hulce.

Survivors include her husband, Joseph Kell, and her daughter, Alice.