R.I.P. Valerie Mahaffey, character actor favorite

Mahaffey appeared on many of the biggest shows of the last 40 years, including Northern Exposure, ER, and Young Sheldon.

By William Hughes | May 31, 2025 | 5:09pm

Photo: Amy Graves/WireImage

TV News Valerie Mahaffey

R.I.P. Valerie Mahaffey, character actor favorite

Valerie Mahaffey has died. Although her name may not be instantly recognizable to American TV fans of the last 40 years, her face and voice almost certainly will be: As a prolific character actor with a highly distinctive tone—often appearing as ostensibly sweet characters whose chipper exteriors could hide layers of darkness underneath—Mahaffey appeared in dozens of many of the biggest shows of the last half-century of television. Multi-episode arcs on shows like Northern Exposure, Desperate Housewives, and Young Sheldon helped cement her place in pop culture, but honestly, if you watched TV at at any point in recent memory, there’s a good chance you encountered her, often smiling brightly while saying terrifying things. Per Variety, Mahaffey’s death on May 30 was confirmed by her husband, actor Joseph Kell. Mahaffey was 71.

Born in Indonesia to Canadian and American parents, Mahaffey moved around the planet frequently as a child, before ultimately settling in Texas—and then, after college, New York, where she made her Broadway debut in 1975. She transitioned into film and TV in the late ’70s, first on long-running soap The Doctors, and then in increasingly prominent spots on the TV dial, landing guest star roles in Newhart, Quantum Leap, Cheers, Seinfeld, and more. Her profile rose considerably in 1991 when she was cast in a recurring role in Northern Exposure, playing Eve, the eccentric, hypochondriac partner of Adam Arkin’s Adam. The role scored Mahaffey her one Emmy win across her long career, securing the Best Supporting Actress statue in 1992.

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The ’90s saw Mahaffey land one of the only TV regular gigs of her entire career, starring opposite David Hyde Pierce in NBC political satire The Powers That Be. (The show, which saw Mahaffey play a pampered upper-class daughter of a corrupt senator, was canceled after two seasons; its creators, Marta Kauffman and David Crane, would go on to slightly greater success with another TV project a few years down the road. Mahaffey, who threw her whole body into the part, later said she could have played that “marvelous twit” forever.) Mostly, though, Mahaffey simply continued to work, bringing bright energy and just a hint of madness (her mother apparently asked her once “Why do they always make you play crazy people?”) to shows like Wings, ER, The West Wing, and more.

The 2000s saw her continue to branch out: She appeared in a small role in Seabiscuit in 2003, and took on one of the most memorable roles of her career with a recurring part as the (mostly) villainous Alma Hodge in Desperate Housewives. (A show that was basically the perfect fit for Mahaffey’s gift for blending sweetness and acid.) She would continue alternating between TV and film, comedy and drama, for the rest of her long career: A recurring role as Sheldon Cooper’s teacher on Young Sheldon, a supporting part in Clint Eastwood’s Sully, a regular gig on David E. Kelley’s Big Sky. Most recently, she drew strong reviews for her performance in 2020’s French Exit, appearing opposite Michelle Pfeiffer as a deeply needy would-be friend. (Speaking glowingly of the film, Mahaffey called French Exit her favorite film experience of her entire career—before quickly apologizing to all her former co-workers.)

Mahaffey’s husband gave a short statement this week while announcing her death, after a battle with cancer. “I have lost the love of my life, and America has lost one of its most endearing actresses. She will be missed.”