Biography
Born in Ireland, Roma Downey studied at the London Drama Studio and earned numerous Broadway and off-Broadway stage credits, including a U.S. tour with Dublin's Abbey Players. Though she is most well-known for playing Monica on the CBS dramatic series
Touched By an Angel, Downey also played Jackie Kennedy in the 1991 TV miniseries
A Woman Named Jackie. She also appeared in several highly sentimental made-for-TV movies like
Borrowed Hearts and
A Child Is Missing. In 1998, she played Annie Sullivan to
Moira Kelly's Helen Keller in
Monday After the Miracle. Staying with emotive dramas, she next played Cassie Whitman in the U.K. television movies
A Test of Love and A Secret Life. For her next few romantic comedies, she played opposite
Tim Matheson in
Second Honeymoon and opposite
George Newbern in
Sons of Mistletoe. Downey finally broke through to a leading role in a feature film with the family comedy
Hairy Tale. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide