Maura Tierney Biography

A petite and unassuming brunette, Maura Tierney became known to audiences for her Emmy nominated role as Abby Lockhart on “E.R.” (NBC, 1994- ). A Boston native, Tierney studied drama in New York before heading west to pursue her acting career. A series regular on the NBC series “News Radio” (1995-1999) for five seasons, Tierney went on to appear in the films “Liar Liar” (1996) with Jim Carrey and “Forces of Nature” (1999) opposite Ben Affleck. In 2006, Tierney joined the cast of Neil LaBute’s off-Broadway play “Some Girls,” co-starring “Will and Grace” star, Eric McCormack.

Born Maura Lynn Tierney on Feb. 3, 1965 in Boston, MA, Tierney was raised in Boston’s Hyde Park district. Growing up, Tierney’s father, Joe, was a lawyer and mayoral candidate who served eight terms on the Boston city council; her mother, Pat, was a real-estate agent. The eldest of three siblings, Tierney attended the all-girls Catholic Notre Dame Academy as a teenager. While studying drama at the school, Tierney made an appearance in the Boston Globe Drama Festival. Upon her graduation, she moved to New York to study drama at New York University and performed in several university plays, including “Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean,” “Baby With the Bathwater,” “Danny and the Deep Blue Sea,” “Talking With,” and “Food.” Tierney went on to study drama at Circle-in-the-Square Theatre School.

Upon relocating to Los Angeles, Tierney landed her first television role as one of the lead students in the Disney TV-movie, “Student Exchange” (ABC, 1987). From there, she went on to the short-lived “The Van Dyke Show” (CBS, 1988), as Barry Van Dyke’s secretary. Though it was her first regular television role, the series was cancelled after only two months. After appearing in episodes of “Family Ties” (NBC, 1982-89) and “Booker” (FOX, 1989-1990), Tierney made her feature debut in “Dead Women in Lingerie” (1990). Next, Tierney portrayed Cherlyn Markowitz, the outspoken Jewish girlfriend of a young conservative African-American in the Norman Lear directed “704 Hauser Street” (CBS, 1994), another short-lived series.

Landing her first breakthrough role in 1995, Tierney was cast as ambitious overachiever Lisa Miller on the NBC sitcom “News Radio” (1995-99). Tierney appeared on the series, a favorite with television critics, for five seasons until its ultimate demise in 1999 after the murder of cast member Phil Hartman.

While working on “Radio,” Tierney landed supporting roles in a number of major films. In 1996 she portrayed Jim Carrey’s unsatisfied ex-wife in the comedy hit, “Liar, Liar.” She went on to appear in “Primary Colors” (1998) and as Ben Affleck’s fiancée in “Forces of Nature” (1999).

In 2000, Tierney joined the cast of the long-running NBC medical drama “E.R.” (1994- ) as nurse Abby Lockhart. Filling the void left by Juliana Margulies’ departure, Tierney quickly became the heart and soul of the show. Her performance earned her an Emmy nomination in 2001 after only a year on the series. While starring on “E.R.”, Tierney found time to appear in Christopher Nolan’s “Insomnia” (2002) with Al Pacino and in “Welcome to Mooseport” (2004) opposite Gene Hackman and Ray Romano. In 2006, she returned to theater in Neil LaBute’s off-Broadway play “Some Girls” with Eric McCormack and Fran Drescher.