Before starring as Monica in Touched by an Angel, Roma Downey was best known to television audiences for her portrayal of Jacqueline Kennedy in the mini-series A Woman Named Jackie. She was born and raised in Derry City, Northern Ireland, and earned a bachelor's degree at Brighton Art College in England, UK. She then attended the London Drama Studio, where she starred in productions of many classics, including the plays of Shakespeare, Shaw, and Chekhov. Downey toured the United States with Dublin's famous Abbey Players in a production of The Playboy of the Western World and was nominated for the Helen Hayes Best Actress Award in 1991. Her additional stage credits include the Broadway production of The Circle opposite Rex Harrison, and Off Broadway productions of Love's Labour's Lost, Tamara, and Arms and the Man. Downey's additional television credits include starring roles in the films A Child Is Missing and Borrowed Hearts, both on CBS, and Getting Up and Going Home. Among her feature film credits are The Last Word and Devlin. Downey has a daughter. Her birthday is May 6.



Her name, Roma originates from both her grandmother's names, Rose and Mary. Chosen by "People" magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World. [1997] Has two sisters, Jacinta McLaughlin and Ann Flood. When she married director David Anspaugh in 1996, her "Touched by an Angel" (1994) co-star Della Reese performed the Utah wedding ceremony. Eloped and married her first husband, Leland Orser, in a Roman Catholic ceremony in Rome, Italy. Favorite film: Brief Encounter (1945). Studied Irish dancing as a child. Living with "Survivor" (2000) creator, Mark Burnett (2004). Della Reese is the godmother of her daughter Reilly. Mark Burnett proposed to Roma during a trip to Mexico [December 2, 2006]. The Sunday Times List estimated her net worth with husband Mark Burnett at $385 million. [2009]