Maura Tierney

Person Score

 
9.5 Superb
345 votes

Your Score

Biography

Recent Role:
Susan California on The Office
Gender:
Female
Born:
2-3-1965
Birthplace:
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Birth Name:
Maura Lynn Tierney
Maura Lynn Tierney, the oldest of three children, was born to a prosperous politician father, Joseph Tierney, and a real estate agent mother, Pat Tierney. She grew up in the exclusive Hyde Park district of Boston and attended Notre Dame Academy, an all-girls Catholic high school in Hingham, Massachusetts. In 1983 she moved to New York to study drama at NYU, where she performed in quite a few 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; andMore Food. After receiving a BFA degree in Theater Studies, Maura honed her skills at the Circle in the Square Theater School, but did not complete her studies there. Opting instead to pursue her acting career in Tinseltown, she moved to Los Angeles in 1987.

Like countless other Hollywood hopefuls, Maura struggled to get noticed and land a breakthrough role. Her first jobs were in made-for-TV movies: she played a mean cheerleader in Disney's 1987 movie for ABC titled Student Exchange, and had a forgettable role in the 1988 movie Crossing the Mob. That same year she was cast in The Van Dyke Show, a short lived series on CBS. This was followed by guest appearances on various television series like Family Ties, Booker, and Law & Order.

Maura's feature film debut was in 1991's Dead Women in Lingerie, though her formal resume lists her first movie credit as 1991's The Linguini Incident.

From the Forums

More Topics
  • favourite maura tierney season e.r

    In terms of her acting performance which season do you prefer in Maura Tierney's role as "Abby Lockhart" See i think this is difficult but i'd go with 6 , 12 or 13 can't narrow it down anymore than that.!

    14 comments, last one Dec 1, 2011
  • Jenna Fischer Look-Alike?

    Does anyone else think she looks like a more mature version of Jenna Fischer?:D I've been watching episodes of Celebrity Poker Showdown where she won in a Season 2 tournament and she really reminds me of Jenna (Pam in The Office ). So what do you think?

    3 comments, last one Jul 14, 2011
  • Maura for new ADA in LOLA

    Maura is the best to become the new ADA in Law & Order: LA. After major recasting changes made by Dick Wolf and NBC, the network is hoping ratings improve. This show needs an experienced actress like Maura.

    1 comments, last one Jan 14, 2011
  • ER coming to ION Television this summer!

    So excited to report that ER will be airing on ION television all summer. It will start on Monday June 9th with a marathon for the week, and then the next week ER will go into its normal time-slot of 10pm. I can't wait to see Carter, he is the love of my life. There are great pictures of theMore cast on ION's ER webpage. www.ionline.tv. Luke looks pretty hot, but nothing compared to Carter.

    1 comments, last one Jun 3, 2008
  • Maura Tierney Pics

    Hi, I think MT is a great actress and enjoy watching her on ER. I have found some fun pics of her and created some from ER and her films - I can't imagine finding the time to post daily, but certainly can go for every few days from my store! Some may have Luka too - as he is a firm favourite ofMore mine.... Here is Sunday's http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j57/linseyt67/PDVD_006.jpg

    62 comments, last one May 5, 2008
More Topics

Maura Tierney News

More
  •  
    10 Perfect
    "I wanna be her when I grow up" hide show

    I must have been around 10 years old when, watching Newsradio religiously, first thought "I wanna be Lisa Miller". The confidence, the strenght and the power that Maura Tierney put in that character just made sense. And I wanted to be the this cutthroat reporter, just see where I wanted to go, and start walking.
    Lisa Miller was completely awesome.
    And the same can be said about Maura Tierney. A great actress, that can do a more dramatic and conflicted rol like she did in ER, and she still can crack you up at least 20 times per episode, like she did in Newsradio.
    After all, if you can inspire a young girl to make a carrer choice by playing a part, IŽll have to say you are pretty good at what you do.

    Do you agree?
     
    Report Abuse
  •  
    10 Perfect
    SHE IS AMAZING! She is so is so intruiging. I love watching her on ER every week and if she is not on ER it is not as interesting. She is good in any role she plays even if it is for a few minutes, she is just fun to watch. She should win so many awards. hide show

    Maura Tierney is an amazing actress who is a joy to watch every week. She has so much depth.Their is a reason why the writers give her the majority of the great material ER, because she always deliver. she is so underrated. All I am going to say is this show is not going to be the same without her and ER is still my favorite shows on TV. I mean come on how many shows can go through so many cast changes and still work. The writing is so good. I will admit that it has gotten a little repetative over the years but come on it has been on 15 years and one more thing the writers better not break up Luka and Abby because they are such a joy to watch. The actors have so much chemistry.

    Do you agree?
     
    Report Abuse
  •  
    10 Perfect
    Maura Tierney is an amazingly talented actress, one of such caliber that she outranks many stars who have somehow gotten more famous than she. She deserves awards and recognition for being one of the best actors of our time. hide show

    Maura has proved herself again and again as an actor (gender-neutral term, referring to male and female actors together) who is capable of moving one to tears, yet equally capable of keeping her audience in stitches. Her dry humor and wit on such shows as "NewsRadio" and "ER" really made her stand out as one of the best comedic actors of her time. Other performance, such as "Oxygen," "ER," and "Instinct" portrayed her ability to draw her audience into her emotions, making it impossible in simply watch her. Maura makes it difficult to remain passive when watching her on television or in the movies. A Maura movie experience is more about being involved in the character's life than any other actor I know. I have literally sat on the edge of my seat during a particularly moving scene from "ER," unable to control my own reaction to the raw emotion she is somehow able to convey across time, miles, and through my television screen. Maura is also one of the few actors left who honestly has not been type-cast. She is completely versatile and has crossed many genres of material and portrayed many different characters throughout her career. She is truly multi-talented, one of the best actors of all time. I am enamored with every Maura experience.

    Do you agree?
     
    Report Abuse
  •  
    10 Perfect
    She is one of the greatest!And I think the Best!:) hide show

    She is my favourite actress, she is talented and beautiful. Her acting is natural and true, graceful, and elegant. "Maura Tierney has really helped to resuscitate 'ER'…." and I think it's true! I like her acting and I think she is the best of ER (because she is my favourite:D)! Her character is reason (for me) to watch ER every week. Abby is a good person, she has many good qualities (kind,helpful,etc...). And I love her relationship with Luka,they are a very good couple.
    And I think Maura is people's favourite, because she is a very kind person!
    It is sad that she will leave ER!:(
    MAURA TIERNEY forever!

    Do you agree?
     
    Report Abuse
  •  
    10 Perfect
    Abby Lockhart hide show

    I love Maura Tierney ..

    She is so talented .. It would be so sad if she really left ER. =(
    Now with everything going on between Luka and Abby ..
    Abby has such an attitude, its funny to watch when she is threatning Hope ... She is a really good mom , and Joe is really lucky .. !

    Maura should get an Oscar for her role as Abby .. She's almost everyones fav. They give out Walk of Fame to Johnny Depp, Britney Spears and God know who, but not Maura ? She's muuuuch better than Britney Spears,, she isn't in rehab always, she dont smoke, she dont smoke, she dont do drugs .. But Britney does , so she don deserve a Walk of Fame but Maura does, i know her drinking doesnt have anything to do with her Walk of Fame its her voice, but really , she isnt that good.
    even abby in all about christmas eve, when she sings to Haleh sings better.

    Do you agree?
     
    Report Abuse
 

Top Contributors

What is a TV.com Contributor?