Valerie Mahaffey, an actor whose career spanned nearly 50 years, has died.
In 1992, she won the Emmy for outstanding supporting actress in a drama series for playing Eve in the CBS series “Northern Exposure,” which was named best drama the same year.
Mahaffey, 71, died May 30 of cancer, her husband Joseph Kell said.
“I have lost the love of my life, and America has lost one of its most endearing actresses,” Kell, an actor and director, said in a statement shared with Variety and other outlets. “She will be missed.”
Mahaffey’s Emmy win was the only award for an actor in “Northern Exposure” and one of seven for the Alaska-set dramedy that aired from 1990 to 1995.
As Eve, Mahaffey played the wife of Adam Arkin’s character Adam, a local chef.
Her early TV roles included playing Ashley Bennett for 104 episodes of the NBC soap opera “The Doctors,” starting in 1979. She was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for her performance on the show in 1980.
Her TV credits over the years included “Newhart,” “Quantum Leap,” “Cheers,” “Seinfeld,” “Dream On,” “L.A. Law,” “Caroline in the City,” “ER,” “Ally McBeal.”
Valerie Mahaffey with Elaine Miles in “Northern Exposure.” Mahaffey was the only cast member to win an Emmy for the CBS series. CBS
Mahaffey played Alma Hodge in eight episodes of ABC’s “Desperate Housewives.”
More recently, she played Victoria MacElroy, one of Sheldon’s teachers in “Young Sheldon,” Helen Pergman in ABC’s “Big Sky,” Lorna Harding in Netflix’s “Dead to Me” and Maggie Chesborough in Apple TV+ series “Echo 3.”
Her film credits include the Oscar-nominated movies “Seabiscuit” (2003) and “Sully” (2016).
She also appeared in the movies “Jungle 2 Jungle,” (1997), “No Pay, Nudity” (2016) and “Summer Eleven” (2010), directed by Kell, her husband.
In 2021, she received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for her performance in the 2020 film “French Exit,” directed by Azazel Jacobs and starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Lucas Hedges.
Mahaffey made her Broadway debut in “Rex,” a musical that premiered in 1976, and performed in “Dracula” opposite Raúl Juliá in 1977, acting in six Broadway shows through 1985.
She was born on Sumatra, Indonesia, and lived with her family in Nigeria and England before moving to Austin, Texas.
Mahaffey is survived by Kell and their daughter, Alice Richards.
“I don’t really have the words to say right now,” she said on Facebook. “Cancer sucks. I’ll look for you in all the fun moments of life. I know that’s where you’ll be.”
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Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at [email protected] and followed at @AmyKup on Twitter/X, @amykup.bsky.social on Bluesky and @kupamy on Instagram and Threads.
