Touched by an Angel's Roma Downey was born in Derry, Northern Ireland, though she'd find
herself in America for her entertainment career. Since Touched by an Angel ended, Downey's
life has blossomed in some unexpected new areas. Here's what this actress has been up
to since her hit series ended.
During the pilot season of 1994, Roma Downey found herself reading, quote, "endless junk
scripts" until she came across Touched by an Angel, a CBS drama about angels who help
people suffering crises of faith. She told Ability Magazine that, as a person of faith,
she was captured by the show’s spiritual aspects.
The show was not an instant hit. Downey said the show was a laughingstock in its first
season, remembering that TV Guide dubbed it the season's, quote, "iffiest new show." As
Variety noted, CBS likely would have canceled the low-rated series had it not been for a
huge fan campaign begging the network to keep it on the air.
The show returned, and, by the 1997 season, Touched by an Angel was a hit, earning Emmy
nominations during its run. Downey told Beliefnet,
"I loved being on that show. I loved being the messenger, the believer. I loved being
part of a message that went out weekly reminding people there is a God and this is God's purpose
for you and God will be part of your life and most importantly that God loves you."
"We work terribly hard, and it's just been brilliant, this year, to see the ratings grow
and grow."
Roma Downey and Della Reese weren't just co-stars; they also grew to become close personal friends.
Reese, in fact, was godmother to Downey's daughter, Reilly Marie. In a 2015 interview
with CBN News, Downey revealed that having Reese in her life was nothing short of an
answered prayer, explaining,
"My mother died when I was only 10 years of age, and, you know, my whole life I was looking
for that mother figure."
She went on,
"And I had a prayer as a young girl that somehow someone would come into my life and fill that
role."
When Reese passed away in 2017, Downey shared a touching tribute on Instagram, posting an
image from one of her most loved scenes from their show. In the caption, she recalled,
"Della taking me into the warmth of her embrace. To be in her arms was to feel love. I know
Della has gone home to the peace of Heaven, but I'm going to miss her."
Touched by an Angel was an established hit when Roma Downey was invited to host Saturday
Night Live in 1998. During her monologue, Downey was joined by SNL cast member Tracy
Morgan, costumed as her Angel co-star Della Reese.
"Darrell, Darrell, you can't go around hitting people who ask you for autographs."
"You're right…"
While Downey apparently remembers the experience fondly, the episode was not particularly well-received
at the time. A review from the Deseret News cited her participation in, quote, "a completely
lame opening take-off on Touched by an Angel," along with
"A pointless bit as a Unitarian minister; an appearance as Russia's Catherine the Great,
answering questions from reporters about her alleged 'improper sexual relationship' with
a horse."
And later,
"[She played] a busty dame at a Valentine's dance, who uttered such dialogue as 'Let's
just say if guys was flies I'd be the poop.'"
By the end of Touched by an Angel's run, Roma Downey had been divorced twice, ending her
marriage to actor Leland Orser and later splitting with producer and director David Anspaugh.
In an interview with Associated Press, Downey revealed that her friend and mentor Della
Reese encouraged her to pray that she would meet her soulmate.
In 2004, according to HuffPost, Downey was in a nail salon when she saw a man in the
shop having a haircut. That man was Mark Burnett, executive producer of such reality TV hits
as Survivor, The Voice, and The Apprentice, and her future husband.
As Downey explained,
"Little did we know when we first met and we fell in love that we would literally join
forces to create so much together."
In 2007, the couple married in Malibu. Officiating the ceremony was none other than Della Reese,
who was also an ordained minister.
People described how members of the couple's families read applicable passages from poems
and novels. Downey had a big surprise in store for her new husband at the ceremony's end,
as she had hired a small plane to fly overhead with a banner flying behind that read, quote,
"...and they lived happily ever after."
Downey told HuffPost,
"We fell in love, and we've been inseparable ever since. We've brought our children together,
we blended a family, it was a marriage of five people."
From her experience with Touched by an Angel, Roma Downey realized there was a market for
spiritual TV series and films. In 2009, she and husband Mark Burnett founded LightWorkers
Media with a goal of creating, quote, "engaging, uplifting, and inspirational content that
breaks through the clutter."
In 2014, MGM purchased a 55 percent stake in both LightWorkers and Burnett's One Three
Media, consolidating the two companies into a new brand called United Artists Media Group.
Burnett was appointed CEO of the new company, while Downey remained president of LightWorkers,
the company's "faith and family division."
The first major project from United Artists was an ambitious one: The Bible, a 2013 History
Channel miniseries dramatizing the story of the holy book in ten one-hour installments.
For The Bible, Downey even stepped in front of the camera to play a pretty major role:
Mary, mother of Jesus.
The Bible proved to be a ratings phenomenon. As CNN reported, the first of the ten installments
was watched by 13.1 million viewers, earning a 3.3 rating in the all-important 18-49 demographic;
when a repeat later the same night was factored in, total viewership rose to 14.8 million.
This represented more viewers and a higher rating than any show achieved on any of the
major broadcast networks that night, and the miniseries became the year's most-watched
entertainment telecast on cable.
According to a press release, The Bible was ultimately watched by an audience of 100 million,
and the series went on to sell more than a million copies on DVD.
The couple quickly went to work on a sequel to the mega-hit miniseries, but there was
one big obstacle to overcome: The actual Bible doesn't have a sequel, so where to turn for
source material?
As Downey told The Hollywood Reporter, the miniseries would follow the spread of Christianity
after the crucifixion:
"With A.D. The Bible Continues, we have been able to use the death of Jesus as the starting
point because really it's the journey of what happens next. It was a moment that changed
the world, it changed world history...It had resounding impact."
A.D. The Bible Continues premiered on Easter Sunday 2015, this time airing on NBC. Ratings
for A.D. weren't as high as they were for The Bible, but they were still strong. As
Deadline reported, the first episode brought in a 2.3 rating in the 18-49 demographic,
and 9.5 million total viewers.
Roma Downey came full circle when she returned to her old network with the new miniseries
The Dovekeepers in 2015. Based on Alice Hoffman's novel, The Dovekeepers tells the story of
the Roman siege of the fortress Masada, seen from a female perspective.
With Downey behind the camera as executive producer, NCIS star Cote de Pablo and a pre-Marvelous
Mrs. Maisel Rachel Brosnahan were cast in The lead roles.
Unlike The Bible and A.D., The Dovekeepers was not a hit, and reviews were savage. The
Los Angeles Times described The Dovekeepers as, quote, "so bad that a person could write
books about its badness," while The Hollywood Reporter called out the show for its "chintzy
special effects and subpar acting."
Viewers apparently agreed; Deadline reported that the second of its two episodes was the
night's lowest-rated show on all broadcast networks.
"It really was the darkest of times."
Roma Downey and husband Mark Burnett quickly became one of Hollywood's most-renowned power
couples, having been listed among Variety's "most influential" people in Hollywood in
2013. In 2016, the duo announced another new entertainment venture: Light TV.
The Associated Press described the new broadcast network as, quote, "wholesome family and faith-based"
programming. Thanks to their deal with MGM, the network would also be able to draw on
MGM-owned film and TV properties that would fit with the network's theme, including such
movies as Rocky and TV shows like Highway to Heaven and Fame.
The network launched in December 2016, with Downey confident that Light TV would serve
an audience that was hungry for inspirational, faith-based television programming.
In 2018, Roma Downey set about conquering yet another form of media: publishing. That
was the year that Simon & Schuster published her first book, Box of Butterflies: Discovering
the Hidden Blessings All Around Us.
The book's title comes from Downey's lifelong belief that whenever she encounters butterflies,
they're a "reminder of God's presence." Along with stories from her life, Downey also shared
poems, scripture, and inspirational quotes that hold deep personal meaning to her.
Discussing the book with Catholic News Service, Downey revealed that many of the inspiring
life lessons she shared in her book actually grew from personal pain. As she recalled,
her "childhood essentially ended at age 10" when her mother passed away. She further explained,
"Everyone is going to be touched by suffering. It is part of the human experience."
During the first season of Touched by an Angel, Roma Downey was approached by Dr. Bill Magee,
a plastic surgeon who founded Operation Smile. Through the organization, he and other doctors
travelled throughout the world to perform pro bono surgery on disadvantaged children
to repair their cleft palates.
When Touched by an Angel ended, Downey explained, she had maintained a relationship with Magee,
and was asked to sit on Operation Smile's board of governors. This led to a role as
ambassador and spokesperson, which offered the opportunity for her to travel on some
of Operation Smile's missions.
As she told Ability Magazine, one of those trips brought her to south Vietnam, where
she interacted with children in a hospital. She said,
"Next to the birth of my own child, it was the most moving experience of my life. I had
forgotten that it's in giving that you truly receive. I went there thinking I was doing
them a favor, but truth be told, I came back feeling richer and fuller."
The year 2016 saw Downey and Burnett shift their focus to the big screen. Their first
film was a big-budget remake of the 1959 sword-and-sandals epic Ben-Hur, set during the time of Jesus
Christ. As in the original, the story surrounds Jewish prince Judah Ben-Hur, who is falsely
accused of treason by his adopted brother Messala.
Speaking with Good Morning America's Robin Roberts, Burnett highlighted the big difference
in the new Ben-Hur compared to the original: Jesus was never seen in the 1959 version,
but, in the new film, viewers
"You get to hear him, see him, and see how he impacts others."
According to Downey, the main theme of the story is forgiveness between the two men.
She added,
"They end up ultimately, because of Jesus, in a story of redemption and forgiveness and
reconciliation.”
According to Box Office Mojo, Ben-Hur's worldwide box office was just $94 million, less than
its $100 million budget.
Roma Downey appeared in some bizarre headlines in 2018, after her husband, Mark Burnett,
got into an alleged fight with comedian Tom Arnold during a party after the 2018 Emmy
Awards.
It all stemmed from Arnold's Vice show The Hunt for the Trump Tapes, in which he tried
to get his hands on outtakes from the Burnett-produced reality show The Apprentice featuring future
president Donald Trump allegedly uttering offensive remarks. Despite Arnold's requests,
Burnett refused to turn over any footage.
After the incident, Arnold tweeted that Burnett, quote, "went apes---" and "choked" him. Downey,
however, claimed the opposite, painting Arnold as the aggressor when she tweeted a photo
of a big bruise on her hand, seemingly implying it was inflicted when Arnold tried to attack
her husband.
According to CNN, Arnold filed a police report against Burnett, alleging battery; Deadline
later reported that the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office dropped the case, citing "insufficient
evidence."
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