R.I.P. Valerie Mahaffey: ‘Desperate Housewives’ and ‘Young Sheldon’ star dead at 71

Valerie Mahaffey, the Emmy-winning actress beloved for her offbeat roles across television and film, has died at age 71 following a battle with cancer. Her publicist, Jillian Roscoe, confirmed that Mahaffey passed away in Los Angeles on Friday.

Over the course of a decades-long career, Mahaffey carved out a niche as a master of quirky, complex characters. Her work earned her accolades, including a 1992 Primetime Emmy Award for her role as Eve, the neurotic hypochondriac wife of Adam Arkin’s character on Northern Exposure. The performance spanned five episodes from 1991 to 1994 and remains a standout in TV history.

Mahaffey also brought twisted charm to ABC’s Desperate Housewives, playing Alma Hodge—manipulative ex-wife of Orson Hodge (Kyle MacLachlan)—from 2006 to 2007. More recently, she won over a new generation of fans with her recurring roles as the stern teacher Victoria MacElroy on Young Sheldon (2017–2020), and the wildly narcissistic Lorna Harding, Christina Applegate’s mother-in-law, on Netflix’s Dead to Me (2019–2022).

Film fans may recognize her from the 2020 dark comedy French Exit, where she starred opposite Michelle Pfeiffer and Lucas Hedges as the memorably eccentric Madame Reynard. The performance earned Mahaffey a Spirit Award nomination and proved, once again, that she could steal a scene with a single raised eyebrow.

Born in Indonesia on June 16, 1953, Mahaffey spent her early years abroad before moving to the U.S. at age 11. She later graduated from the University of Texas in 1975 and launched her acting career on the New York stage. Between 1976 and 1984, she performed on Broadway six times, with notable turns in Dracula (alongside Raul Julia) and Play Memory, directed by Harold Prince.

She picked up a Daytime Emmy nomination for her early TV work on The Doctors (1979–1980), and earned Obie Awards for her stage roles in Top Girls at the Public Theatre and Talking Heads at Minetta Lane. Onstage, she played Desdemona to Morgan Freeman’s Othello and Juliet to Tom Hulce’s Romeo.

Her TV résumé also includes The Powers That Be, the Norman Lear-produced NBC comedy in which she starred from 1992–93; a recurring guest arc on Glee as Emma Pillsbury’s mom; and a turn as Olivia Rice on Devious Maids. She made memorable appearances on Seinfeld (“The Truth”), Newhart, Cheers, ER, The Mindy Project, Wings, Big Sky, and Apple TV+’s Echo 3.

On the film side, Mahaffey showed her range in everything from Disney’s Jungle 2 Jungle to Oscar nominees like Seabiscuit and Sully. She also appeared in Summer Eleven, No Pay, Nudity, and other indie favorites.

Mahaffey is survived by her husband, actor Joseph Kell, and their daughter, Alice. In a statement, Kell said, “I have lost the love of my life, and America has lost one of its most endearing actresses.”