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Valerie Mahaffey- Author; Canadian Film Centre-

Top 10 Unknown Facts about Valerie Mahaffey

Mahaffey was born in Sumatra, Indonesia, to a Canadian mother and a Texan father who met in New Brunswick, Canada. When Mahaffey was 16, the family moved to Austin, Texas, where she graduated from Austin High School.

She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Texas at Austin in 1975 and later made her Broadway debut in the musical, ‘Rex’

Born on 16th June, 1953, Valerie Mahaffey is also an American character actress and producer.

She began her career starring in the NBC daytime soap opera The Doctors (1979–81), for which in 1980 she was nominated for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.

Here’s some of the things you might not have known about her

1. Mahaffey won an Emmy Award

The 2009 Philo T. Farnsworth Primetime Emmy Award Statue – NASA Goddard Space Flight Center-

In 1992, Mahaffey won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role as the chronic hypochondriac Eve in the CBS drama series ‘Northern Exposure.’ She was the only actor from the series to win an Emmy Award.

2. Has appeared in so many TV shows and movies in her career

Film- Photo by Noom Peerapong on

Later, she 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

3. Valerie started her acting carrer in the 80s in comedies mostly

Valerie Mahaffey in 1992- Author; Alan Light-

As of the late 1980s, Mahaffey began acting in television comedies, like Newhart, Cheers, and Seinfeld.

From 1992 to 1993, she starred in the short-lived NBC sitcom The Powers That Be and in the CBS sitcom Women of the House alongside Delta Burke in 1995.

She also played Tracy Milford in the 1995 film National Lampoon’s Senior Trip and Jan Kempster in the 1997 film Jungle 2 Jungle.

In 1999, she had a recurring role on ER. In 2003, she co-starred in the film Seabiscuit.

In 2009, she appeared in seven episodes of the Showtime comedy series the United States of Tara. Her stage credits include Eastern Standard, Talking Heads, Top Girls, and Rex.

4. She hasn’t always had leading roles

Filming- Photo by Jakob Owens on

Valerie hasn’t always had starring roles in the shows and movies she’s had the opportunity to be in.

However, in whatever role she plays, Mahaffey has always managed to leave a lasting impact with her work.

5. Mahaffey is well known to posess an ability of making any character authentic

Theater acting- Photo by Samantha Weisburg on

Valerie’s ability to simply get into character and make any role feel authentic, has provided her with lifechanging opportunities to work with some of the biggest names in the film industry. 

For instance, her role as ‘Helen’ in the ABC series, ‘Big Sky,’ has gotten her a lot of attention.

Her ability to bring the complex character to life has earned her the respect of her peers and the admiration of countless viewers at home.

6. She doesn’t have any social media accounts

Socials- Image by Thomas Ulrich from

In a day and age where people have turned to social media for the basic purpose of socializing, Valerie Mahaffey comes out different. Unlike other typical celebrities, you will never find this star in any social media accounts.

Thus, if you want to follow her and maybe catch a glimpse of her day to day life, then you might be solely disappointement.

On the upside though, by choosing not to have any verified social media account, she’s able to keep her private life just that. Private. Even after spending more than 40 years in film industry, Valerie has never been the type of actress who enjoys putting her personal life on display.

In fact, she has shared very little deatil about her life outside acting. Could explain the reason social media is absolutely not her thing.

7.  Valerie attended the university of Texas

University of Texas Main Building Tower- Kurt Kaiser-

Valerie was born in Indonesia but later moved to the United States. After moving to the States, she spent many years living in Texas.

She is a graduate of Austin High School and she went on to study at the University of Texas at Austin where she earned a bachelor of fine arts degree.

8. Valerie has been on Broadway

Theater film- Photo by Kyle Head on

Before making it into TV screens, Mahaffey tried her hand in theatre acting at Broadway. In 1976, she made her Broadway debut in as a cast member in ‘Rex.’ Thus, not only has she had a successful and impressive screen career, but also a very successfultheatre one.

In addition, she has also been a part of several other plays which includes one that was known as ‘Scenes and Revelations.’

Even though it has been a while since she starred in theatre acting, This field of acting will always have a special place for her.

9. She was born in Indonesia

Indonesian National Flag- Image by Ibrahim Ismail from

Indonesia, officially referred to as the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It is the world’s largest island country,  and the 14th-largest country by area.

Mahaffey was born in Indonesia to an American father and a Canadian mother. However, throughout her childhood, she moved several times and her family and her lived all over the world.

For instance, she’s lived in England and Nigeria. Shows how diverse her life has been.

However, after a lot of moving around, she finally settled in Texas together with her family. It is however not so clear where exactly she resides in at the moment, given how private she is.

10. Valerie is a producer also

Film Production- Image by David Condrey from

Apart from acting, Valerie Mahaffey is also a movie producer. You can also find her on the other side of the camera, producing and directing.

Notably, she produced a short film in 2010 that was known as ‘Summer Eleven.’ It is however not clear whether or not she will continue producing in the future.