Roma Downey (born 6 May 1960) is an Irish actress and Emmy nominated producer from Northern Ireland. She played kind-hearted angel Monica on the American TV series Touched by an Angel, alongside Della Reese, who remained close friends, after the series. Downey received two Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for her role on the show. Downey is an ambassador for Operation Smile. An author of three books for children and producer of the children's series, Little Angels. She was the executive producer of the television miniseries The Bible on the History channel, in which she also played the role of Mother Mary. Downey and her husband Mark Burnett produced the movie version of the series, Son of God, which was released on February 28, 2014, and was distributed by 20th Century Fox.
Early life
Downey was born and raised in Derry, Northern Ireland, in the Bogside district. She attended Thornhill College. Her mother, Maureen O'Reilly Downey, a homemaker and actress, died from a heart attack at the age of 48 when Downey was 10. Her father, Patrick "Paddy" Downey, was a school teacher by training but worked as a mortgage broker. Her father died when Downey was 20. Originally she planned to be a painter and earned a Bachelor of Arts at Brighton College of Art. She turned her attention to acting, however, and had a classical training attending Drama Studio London, where she performed in plays by Shakespeare, Shaw and Chekhov.
Career
She joined the Abbey Players in Dublin and toured the United States in a production of The Playboy of the Western World. The production led to a nomination during the Broadway run for the Helen Hayes Best Actress Award in 1991. She also starred on Broadway in "The Circle" with Sir Rex Harrison and also at the Roundabout Theater and The Public Theater in New York City.
Downey played the role of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis in the 1991 U.S. TV miniseries A Woman Named Jackie which won the Emmy award for Outstanding Miniseries in 1992.
Touched By An Angel
Her role as Jacqueline Kennedy led to her most famous role, as the angel "Monica", on the CBS series Touched by an Angel, opposite singer-actress, Della Reese, which ran from 1994 to 2003.
She earned one nomination and one win at the TV Guide awards for favorite actress and also garnered two Emmy Award nominations and two Golden Globe nominations. Downey has said the character Monica interested her because it was a strong female role, which were "few and far between" and for its spiritual aspects:
Downey also produced and starred in TV movies including Borrowed Hearts and Second Honeymoon. During the run of Touched By An Angel, she recorded the spoken-word album Healing Angel and wrote the children's book Love Is A Family. She hosted It's a Miracle (TV series), on the Pax Network and appeared on stage in A Picasso at the Geffen Theatre in Los Angeles. She has hosted Saturday Night Live, was one of People magazine's most beautiful people and is a spokesperson for the volunteer group "Operation Smile". During her nine seasons on-air, she developed a chemistry with Reese and the two struck up a friendship that continued in the aftermath of the show's cancellation.
In 2009, she starred in the movie Come Dance at My Wedding alongside John Schneider. On July 16, 2011, She appeared with actress Marion Ross in the made for TV movie Keeping up with the Randalls, broadcast on the Hallmark Channel.
Downey is the executive producer of the animated video series, Little Angels, which was released on DVD with Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment on February 14, 2012.
She released a YouTube video with Cee-Lo Green, “Mary Did You Know,†that went viral with almost 3 million views.
The Bible and beyond
On May 24, 2011, Downey and husband Mark Burnett announced they were producing a 10-hour docudrama for the History channel, The Bible, based on stories from the Bible scheduled to air in 2013. They began planning it in 2009 and lined up their own financing. The full production cost was $22 million USD. Downey and Burnett wanted to stay as true to the content in the Bible as possible so they put together a wide variety of pastors and academics to review the script and filming. For example, they worked with Pastors Joel Osteen and Rick Warren and academics such as Craig A. Evans and Mark Goodacre.
The Bible has been watched by over 100 million viewers in the US alone The show has been the number one downloaded TV show in iTunes and ranked number 2 on Amazon's best sellers in movies and TV. An under 2½ hour re-cut of the series meant for a theatrical release was released on February 28, 2014 in the United States, under the title Son of God. The Bible was nominated for the 2013 Primetime Emmy Award, Outstanding Miniseries or Movie.'
It is Downey and Burnett's first such collaboration as producers. Downey is playing the role of Mary, the mother of Jesus in the later stages of his life. The Bible was filmed in 2012 in Morocco.
In July 2013, it was announced that Downey and Burnett will produce A.D., the sequel to The Bible. In December, 2013 NBC ordered A.D.. The series will cover the spread of Christianity after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
In December, 2013 CBS announced a new miniseries with Downey and her husband, Mark Burnett, The Dovekeepers based on the New York Times Bestseller by Alice Hoffman. The miniseries is set to air in 2015.
In September 2014, MGM acquired a 55% interest in One Three Media and Lightworkers Media. The two companies will be consolidated into a new film and television company, United Artists Media Group. Burnett will be UA's CEO and Downey will become president of Lightworkers Media.
Downey has been producing content for the big screen as well. Along with Burnett, she has produced Little Boy, which is set to be released in February 2015. An even bigger story is the re-telling of Ben Hur, which is planned to be released in 2016. Jack Huston is slated to star.
Personal life
She is married to television producer/entrepreneur Mark Burnett. She has three children, two step-sons James Burnett and Cameron Burnett and her daughter Reilly Marie Downey Anspaugh from her previous marriage to director David Anspaugh. Reilly is named after her grandmother, Maureen O'Reilly Downey. On Thanksgiving Day 2006, Burnett proposed to Downey during a family vacation in Zihuatanejo, Mexico. They wed on 28 April 2007 in their Malibu home. Her Touched By An Angel co-star, Della Reese, officiated at the wedding.
Downey is a "Smile Ambassador" for the non-profit organization Operation Smile which provides surgeries for children around the world who were born with severe cleft lip and palate.
She supported the unsuccessful candidacy of Martin McGuinness for President of Ireland in 2011.
Downey was raised as, and remains, a Roman Catholic.
On April 18, 2009, Downey and Burnett delivered the keynote address and accepted an honorary doctorate of law at Pepperdine University's Graziadio School of Business and Management commencement ceremony.
Downey graduated from the University of Santa Monica with a master's degree in spiritual psychology.
Music career
In 1999 Downey signed with RCA Victor Records and recorded a CD called Healing Angel, released on September 14, 1999.
Filmography
Film
Television
Awards and nominations
- Helen Hayes Award
- 1991: Nominated, "Best Actress" â€" The Playboy of the Western World
- Emmy Award
- 1997: Nominated, "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series" â€" Touched By an Angel
- 1998: Nominated, "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series" â€" Touched By an Angel
- Gemini Award
- 1998: Nominated, "Best TV Movie or Mini-Series" â€" Borrowed Hearts (shared w/co-stars)
- Golden Globe Award
- 1998: Nominated, "Best Performance by an Actress in a TV-Series â€" Drama" â€" Touched By an Angel
- 1999: Nominated, "Best Performance by an Actress in a TV-Series â€" Drama" â€" Touched By an Angel
- TV Guide Award
- 1999: Won, "Favorite Actress in a Drama" â€" Touched By an Angel
- 2000: Nominated, "Favorite Actress in a Drama" â€" Touched By an Angel
- Emmy Award
- 2013: Nominated, "Outstanding Miniseries or Movie" â€" "The Bible"
- Movieguide Award
- 2013: Won, "Grace Award" â€" "The Bible"