Valerie Mahaffey, Young Sheldon and Desperate Housewives actress, dies aged 71
Emmy-winning actress Valerie Mahaffey died yesterday (Friday 30th May) aged 71.
Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images
- Ned Holmes
Published: Saturday, 31 May 2025 at 12:53 pm
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Emmy-winning actress Valerie Mahaffey has died at the age of 71.
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Mahaffey earned the supporting comedy actress award for her performance as Eve in CBS comedy-drama Northern Exposure in the 1990s but will be most recognisable to many for more recent roles in Young Sheldon and Desperate Housewives.
In Young Sheldon, she played the teacher Victoria MacElroy, while she was Alma Hodge, the ex-wife of Kyle MacLachlan’s Orson Hodge, in Desperate Housewives.
Mahaffey's death was confirmed by her husband, actor Joseph Kell, who said she passed yesterday (Friday 30th May) in Los Angeles after a battle with cancer.
Kell said: "I have lost the love of my life, and America has lost one of its most endearing actresses. She will be missed."
Mahaffey was born in Indonesia, where she was raised until the age of 11 before going on to graduate from high school in Austin, Texas, and from the University of Texas.
The American actress, whose career began on stage in New York, was also cast in films such as Seabiscuit and Sully.
In 2020, she was nominated for a Spirit Award for her performance as widow Madame Reynard in the 2020 comedy-drama French Exit, which also starred Michelle Pfeiffer and Lucas Hedges.
Alongside Young Sheldon and Desperate Housewives, Mahaffey's impressive list of TV credits also includes the likes of Seinfeld, E.R., The West Wing, Grey's Anatomy, Cheers, Frasier, and Glee.
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More recently, she has starred in Montana-based crime drama Big Sky, alongside Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini in Dead To Me, and in Apple TV series Echo 3.
Authors
Ned Holmes
Ned is a sports writer at RadioTimes.com. He has covered a host of sports from EFL football, international cricket and golf all the way through to bike polo and triathlon.
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