Roma Downey

Roma Downey  (born 6 May 1960) is an Irish actress, producer and author. For nine seasons, Downey played Monica the angel in the CBS television series Touched by an Angel. She also played the leading role of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in the Emmy award-winning NBC mini-series A Woman Named Jackie.
She is currently starring in the television series The Baxters on Amazon Prime, which she also produced. In addition to her television work, Downey has performed on stage with the Abbey Theatre, The National Theatre of Ireland and has appeared both on and off Broadway.
Downey starred in and was executive producer for a number of television movies for the CBS network, including Borrowed Hearts and Second Honeymoon. As President of Lightworkers Media, the faith and family division of MGM, Downey and her husband, Mark Burnett, produced the Emmy-nominated miniseries The Bible – in which she appeared as Mary, mother of Jesus – for the History Channel, which was watched by over 100 million people in the United States. Downey and Burnett also executive-produced the feature films Ben-Hur, starring Jack Huston, Toby Kebbell and Morgan Freeman; Son of God; Little Boy; Woodlawn; Resurrection; Messiah; and Country Ever After. Downey and Burnett also produced The Dovekeepers – based on the best selling book by Alice Hoffman – for CBS and A.D. The Bible Continues for NBC, Women of the Bible for Lifetime, and Answered Prayers for TLC. Downey is the executive producer of the documentary Faithkeepers about the persecution of Christians in the Middle East, Bump Along the Way and of the short film Rough, which won the IFTA for best short film in 2021. Downey produced the Amazon Prime feature film On a Wing and a Prayer – starring Dennis Quaid and Heather Graham and directed by Sean McNamara – which closed the Sarasota Film Festival where Downey was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award. Most recently, Downey Executive Produced the family drama series The Baxters, released in Spring of 2024 on Amazon Prime Video, based on the Karen Kingsbury best selling book series. In the series, Roma also plays the role of Elizabeth Baxter.
Variety recognized Downey and Burnett as "trailblazers" and listed Downey as one of Variety's "100 Most Powerful Women in Hollywood". The Hollywood Reporter included the couple in their "Most Influential People of 2013" and Downey as one of the "100 Women in Entertainment Power" in 2014. She was honored on Variety's "Women of Impact in 2014". On 11 August 2016, she was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2021, Downey received the Lifetime Achievement Award for the International Christian Film & Music Festival and was named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services to the Arts, Drama and to the Community in Northern Ireland.
Downey has also authored multiple books, including the New York Times best-seller Box of Butterflies in 2018. Her most recent – Be an Angel: Devotions to Inspire and Encourage Love and Light Along the Way – was released in February 2023. She is an ambassador for Operation Smile, serving on missions to Honduras, Vietnam and Jordan.