Roma Downey
Roma Downey (born in
Derry,
Northern Ireland on
6 May 1960) is an Irish-born
actress and
producer, best known for her role as "Monica", the main character of the TV series
Touched by an Angel (1994â€"2003). Her most famous prior role was as
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in the 1991
USA TV movie
A Woman Named Jackie.
Twice divorced, she has a daughter, Reilly Marie Anspaugh (b. 1996). She is now dating
Mark Burnett, the creator of
The Apprentice and
Survivor reality series, who, ironically, was a British soldier in
Northern Ireland in the 1980s.
Roma has one biological brother, Lawrence, and 4 other siblings from her father's first marriage: Ann, Jacinta, Patrick, Jr., and the eldest, John, who became a Roman Catholic priest.
Despite what many first assume, "Roma" is not a derivation from "Rosemary", rather "Roma" is her given name, an admixture of the names of her two grandmothers, Rose and Mary.
