The affair
while she portrays the perfect motherof-four helen solloway on the affair (2014-current), maura tierney’s made it clear that she’s nothing like helen. from surviving cancer to overcoming a nasty divorce, maura’s seen a lot more than her housewife character.
her first acting job was in the 1987 tv film student exchange as kathy maltby. “i worked with oj simpson, so that’s my little claim to fame,” maura jokes. her first major film role, in 1991’s dead women in lingerie, was “awful. this woman who was an accountant directed it. it was just terrible,” maura recalls. she didn’t even audition for her most famous role before the affair – as dr abby lockhart in medical drama er from 1999 to 2009. the producer saw her in a theatre production and she was offered the role. she’s been married once but filed for divorce in 2006 from hubby billy morrissette. they met on a blind date and were together for 13 years. maura admits to using her er medical knowledge once, when her ex suffered from severe abdominal pain. “i read up on the symptoms in one of my medical books and told him to get to the hospital,” she says. at the hospital, it was revealed her ex had a burst appendix and he was rushed into surgery. while the actress doesn’t have kids, she has a furbaby – her pug rose kennedy. maura takes rose everywhere. she’s an ordained minister and officiated er co-star parminder nagra’s wedding in 2009. she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009, days before filming drama series parenthood was set to start. she had to quit due to the treatment, so lauren graham (lorelai gilmore from gilmore girls, 2000-2007) replaced her. maura had a mastectomy and once her chemotherapy was over, she had reconstructive surgery. nb! see more on p45.