The Angel

Derry-born actress Roma Downey has become a familiar staple on network television with the success of her latest show on CBS, Touched by an Angel. But she had already captivated American audiences with her portrayal of the former first lady Jackie Kennedy in the Emmy Award winning mini-series A Woman Named Jackie. 

Downey also played a starring role in A Child is Missing, a CBS movie of the week. 

Downey initially pursued her love for painting by attending Brighton Art College. She was inspired by Vincent Van Gogh’s statement: “It was no longer enough to be the painter, I wanted to be the paint.” She left the college after being named the most promising student of the year. 

Upon her arrival in the U.S. Downey began to work in theatre, and toured with the Abbey Theatre in The Playboy of the Western World, for which she was nominated for the Helen Hayes Best Actress Award in 1991. 

Downey, who has appeared in two feature films, is married to David Anspaugh.