Valerie Mahaffey
Actor
Born June 16, 1953 in 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.
Filmography
The 8th Day
Landon Mooney
French Exit
Mme Reynard
Big Sky
Helen Pergman
Dead to Me
Lorna Harding
The Witch Files
Claire's Mom
Young Sheldon
Victoria MacElroy
No Pay, Nudity
Lisa Zweibal
Sully
Diane Higgins
Impastor
Susie Kerry
The Man in the High Castle
Susan
Kirstie
Victoria
Devious Maids
Olivia Rice
If I Were You
Lydia
Monday Mornings
Fran Horowitz
The Mindy Project
Juliet
Crazy Eyes
Zach's Mother
The Exes
Anne
Jack and Jill
Bitsy Simmons
Hart of Dixie
Mae Ellen Waterloo
Franklin & Bash
Julie
Workaholics
Celeste
Better With You
Ariel
Raising Hope
Margine
Summer Eleven
A Previous Engagement
Grace
Glee
Rose Pillsbury
United States of Tara
Dr. Ocean
Private Practice
Marilyn Sullivan
Raines
Arlene
My First Wedding
Grace
Hannah Montana
Ms. Jameson
Crumbs
Carolyn Pierce
Out of Practice
Grey's Anatomy
Donna Kaufman
Desperate Housewives
Alma Hodge
Boston Legal
Mary Winston
Seabiscuit
Annie Howard
Without a Trace
Bonnie Toland
Good Morning, Miami
Sara
Par 6
Pecan Hegelman
No Ordinary Baby
Virginia Hytner
Night Visions
Sally Osgoode (segment "Neighborhood Watch")
That's My Bush!
Janet Rove
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Dora Pomerantz
The West Wing
Tawny Cryer
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Brooke Thornburg
Judging Amy
Ms. Morlock
Buddy Faro
Dinner at Fred's
Susan
George & Leo
Ally McBeal
Dr. Sally Muggins
Jungle 2 Jungle
Jan Kempster
Caroline in the City
Alicia Crawford-Lane
National Lampoon's Senior Trip
Miss Tracy Milford
Women of the House
Jennifer Malone
Witch Hunt
Trudy
ER
Joi Abbott
They
Chris Samuels
Frasier
Peggy
The Powers That Be
Caitlyn Van Horne
Till Death Us Do Part
Gail Bugliosi
Baby Talk
Northern Exposure
Eve
Dream On
Helen Harley
Wings
Sandy Cooper
Perry Mason: The Case of the All-Star Assassin
D.A. Barbara August
Seinfeld
Patrice
Perry Mason: The Case of the Musical Murder
D.A. Barbara August
Quantum Leap
Mary Greely
Murphy's Law
Her Secret Life
Becky
Women of Valor
Lt. Katherine R. Grace
Fresno
Tiffany Kensington
L.A. Law
Andrea Rossoff
Mr. Bill's Real Life Adventures
Mrs. Bill
The Rise and Rise of Daniel Rocket
Alice
Newhart
Cheers
Valerie Hill
American Playhouse
Alice
Tales of the Unexpected
Jane
Tell Me My Name
Alexandra / Sarah