OAN Staff Abril Elfi
9:18 AM – Saturday, May 31, 2025
Emmy-winning actress Valerie Mahaffey, best known for her roles in “Northern Exposure,” “Big Sky” and “Young Sheldon,” has passed away at 71-years-old.
According to Mahaffey’s husband, Joseph Kell, the actress died on Friday after being diagnosed with cancer.
“I have lost the love of my life, and America has lost one of its most endearing actresses,” he wrote. “She will be missed.”
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Mahaffey had her Hollywood debut in the late 1970s with a role on the popular TV drama “The Doctors.”
She also starred in episodes of “Newhart,” “Cheers,” and “Seinfeld,” before joining the cast of “Northern Exposure” in 1991.
Mahaffey went on to win an Emmy for her performance as Eve in “Northern Exposure.”
The star also appeared in some of the biggest TV shows of the 1990s and 2000s, including “ER,” “Ally McBeal,” “Frasier,” “The West Wing” and “CSI.”
She also played Alma Hodge on nine episodes of “Desperate Housewives.”
Mahaffey also worked throughout the 2010s, with appearances on “Glee,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” and “The Man in the High Castle.”
She later joined the cast of “Young Sheldon,” portraying Mrs. MacElroy from 2017 to 2020. She also played a lead in the first season of David E. Kelley’s crime drama “Big Sky.”
The actress is survived by her husband Kell and their daughter Alice Richards.
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