Valerie Mahaffey was born on June 16 1953 in Sumatra, Indonesia. Her father worked in the petroleum industry. She spent much of her childhood in different parts of the world before her family settled in Austin, Texas when she was 16. She graduated from Austin, Texas and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Texas in 1975.
Valerie Mahaffey made her debut on Broadway in Rex in 1976. She went onto appear on Broadway in Dracula and Fearless Frank. She made her television debut in 1977 in the TV movie Tell Me My Name. She had a regular role on the daytime soap opera The Doctors from 1979 to 1980. She was nominated for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for the show.
In the Eighties Valerie Mahaffey appeared in the mini-series Fresno. She guest starred on the shows Tales of the Unexpected, American Playhouse, Newhart, Jack and Mike, Murphy's Law, Father Dowling Mysteries, and Quantum Leap. She played District Attorney Barbara August in two Perry Mason TV movies. She appeared on Broadway in Scenes and Revelations, Play Memory, and The Loves of Anatol.
It was in 1991 that Valerie Mahaffey first played Eve on Northern Exposure. She went onto to appear as the character in four more episodes. She was also a regular on the sitcoms The Powers That Be and Women of the House. She guest starred on the shows Cheers, The Young Riders,Baby Talk, Seinfeld, Dream On, L,A. Law, Wings, The Client, Caroline in the City, George & Leo, ER, Ally McBeal, and Love & Money. She appeared in the movies Senior Trip (1995), Jungle 2 Jungle (1997), and Dinner at Fred's.
In the Naughts Valerie Mahffey had a recurring role on Desperate Housewives. She had a recurring role on The United States of Tara. She guest starred on the shows That's My Bush!; Night Visions; Judging Amy; The West Wing; Law & Order: Special Victims Unit; Frasier; Good Morning, Miami; Without a Trace; Out of Practice; Crumbs; CSI: Crime Scene Investigation; Raines; Private Practice; Boston Legal; Better with You; Hannah Montana; and Raising Hope. She appeared in the movies Par 6 (2002), Seabiscuit (2003), My First Wedding (2006), A Previous Engagement (2008), and Summer Eleven (2010).
In the Teens she continued to appear on Desperate Housewives. She had a recurring role on the medical drama Monday Mornings, the comedy drama Devious Maids, the sitcom Young Sheldon, the comedy drama Dead to Me and the crime drama Big Sky. She guest starred on the shows The Exes, Glee, Grey's Anatomy, Kirstie, Franklin & Bash, Hart of Dixie, Workaholics, Impastor, The Mindy Project, and The Man in the High Castle. She appeared in the movies Jack and Jill (2011), If I Were You (2012), Crazy Eyes (2012), Sully (2016), No Pay, Nudity (2016), The Witch Files (2018), and French Exit (2020).
In the 2020s she continued to appear on Young Sheldon, Dead to Me, and Big Sky. She guest starred on the show Echo 3. She appeared in the movie The Eighth Day (2025).
Valerie Mahaffey was an enormously talented actress who played a wide variety of roles. She had a particular gift for playing characters who were neurotic or even psychotic. I have to think that she will always be best remembered as Eve, the hypochondriac wife of Adam (Adam Arkin). She rightfully deserved her Emmy win for the role. She will also be well-remembered as Alma Hodge, the scheming ex-wife of Orson (Kyle MacLachlan). On Devious Maids she played another ex-wife, Olivia Rice, who had been married to Michael Stappord (Brett Cullen). Olivia was mentally unbalanced and had severe anger issues. Among her later roles was American expatriate Madame Reynard in the movie French Exit. In contrast to many of her TV characters, Madame Reynard was upbeat and quirky. Valerie Mahaffey had a talent for bring to life a wide array of characters and making some left-of-centre characters seem true to life.
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