Maura Tierney

Maura Tierney
Tierney in May 2015
Born	(1965-02-03) February 3, 1965 (age 52) Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1987–present
Spouse(s)	Billy Morrissette (1993–2006: divorced)

Maura Tierney (born February 3, 1965) is an American film and television actress who is best known for her roles as Lisa Miller on the sitcom NewsRadio, Audrey Reede in Liar Liar (1997), Abby Lockhart on the medical drama ER and as Helen Solloway on the television drama The Affair for which she won the Golden Globe Award in 2016.

Tierney, the eldest of three children, was born and raised in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts to an Irish Catholic family. Her mother, Pat (née James), is a real estate broker, and her late father, Joseph M. Tierney, was a prominent Boston politician who served on the Boston City Council for 15 years.

Tierney attended Mount Alvernia Academy elementary school, and Notre Dame Academy in Hingham, Massachusetts, where her studies included drama, which led to her appearance at the Boston Globe Drama Festival. After graduation, she attended New York University, where she majored first in dance, then in drama.

After appearing in several plays, Tierney moved to Los Angeles, California, and in 1987 got her first break with a role in Disney's made-for-TV film Student Exchange. Tierney's first starring role in a film was in a low-budget, independent film called Dead Women in Lingerie, shot in 24 days. The film never received a theatrical release, although it was released on DVD in 2005.