Valerie Mahaffey, Emmy-Winning Actress of Northern Exposure and Big Sky, Dies at 71

Published: May 31, 2025

Valerie Mahaffey, the talented actress known for her roles in Northern Exposure, Young Sheldon, and Big Sky, has passed away at the age of 71. According to her husband, Joseph Kell, Mahaffey died on Friday, May 30, after being diagnosed with cancer.

"I have lost the love of my life, and America has lost one of its most endearing actresses. She will be missed," Kell said in a touching tribute.

Mahaffey starred in several notable acting roles throughout her career, including Northern Exposure (1991-1994), Desperate Housewives (2006-2012), Young Sheldon (2017-2020), and Dead to Me (2019-2022). She also appeared in movies such as French Exit (2020) alongside Michelle Pfeiffer, Sully (2016) opposite Tom Hanks, Seabiscuit (2003), and Jungle 2 Jungle (1997).

Born in Indonesia to a Canadian mother and Texan father, Mahaffey moved to Nigeria and England before finally relocating to Austin, Texas, where she graduated from high school and attended the University of Texas. Mahaffey got her break as an actress starring on New York City's Broadway in the late 1970s, starring in plays such as Dracula and Play Memory, directed by Harold Prince.

While appearing on Broadway, Mahaffey also starred in the NBC soap The Doctors, earning a Daytime Emmy nomination for her role as Ashley Bennett from 1979 to 1980. The late actress later won an Outstanding Supporting Actress Emmy in 1992 for her role as hypochondriac Eve in CBS' Northern Exposure.

Mahaffey is survived by her husband Kell and their daughter Alice. Her representatives did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment on May 31.