Courtney McGrailFaith plays a vital role in her life, Irish actress Roma Downey tells April Clare Welsh
April Clare Welsh
Roma Downey carries her faith in her heart and with her on screen. The 55-year-old actress has carved out a name for herself as one of Hollywood’s leading ladies and last year co-produced her first ever feature film, Son of God, with her husband Mark Burnett.
But you will probably know her best from her work on long-running CBS show Touched By An Angel. Now in its ninth season, the Malibu-dwelling mum-of-three has not only scored a production credit on the hit series but also takes the lead as kind-hearted angel Monica, starring alongside bona fide American treasure Delia Reese. And 2016 will mark the ultimate achievement in the life of a career actress; Downey is to receive a star on the hallowed Hollywood Walk of Fame; not bad for a girl from Derry.
So does she feel touched by angels on a daily basis? “I do. I feel that we must be,” she tells The Irish Catholic, with a beaming, perfect Hollywood smile. “I know as a little girl in Ireland, I was raised to believe that we each had our very own personal guardian angel and that’s just stuck with me. I certainly feel that we are all being taken care of.”
Performance
Downey’s celebrated performance as former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in A Woman Named Jackie provided her with a platform to go forth and conquer.
Working on dramatic projects with her husband also seems to be a winning combination: the husband and wife duo earned an Emmy nomination for their production on the History channel’s mini-series, The Bible, which saw Roma play the role of Mary. Over the years, Downey has deservedly gained a number of Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for her acting talents, most notably the Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series for Touched by An Angel.
But her work doesn’t begin and end with acting. For the past 20 years, she has been an ambassador for Operation Smile, the vital children’s charity for those born with cleft lip and cleft palates.
“I’ve travelled the globe with them and for them, making movies that draw awareness and help raise funds,” explains Downey, enthusiastically.
“I think the campaign we began has raised millions and millions of dollars and transformed the lives of countless children throughout the world.
“It’s not just the child that gets healed; the family gets healed, the neighbourhood gets healed because the facial deformity is almost a metaphor for all that can go wrong in your life and when that’s healed and this beautiful face restored, it’s a message of hope for everybody that good things can happen and that life can be transformed.
It’s been such a pleasure to be a part of this volunteer group who give their time and talent so freely.”
Despite her demanding on-set schedule and acts of charity, Downey still always manages to look impeccable, with an enviable figure and her hair barely ever out of place.
Now on her way to 60, how does she plan to stay healthy? “I think first and foremost it is important that I’ve been able to keep my weight down and I do that through a pretty intense cardio regime,” she says.
“It’s not easy and requires discipline but I know in my late 40s, I started to gather that middle heaviness that sets in with middle age or onset of menopause.
“So I really had to take that in hand. I’ve always been naturally slender and never had to do too much before, so this is quite new for me. I’ve become a runner and put in quite a few miles each week, go to the gym and I hike.
Fitness
“My level of fitness is probably higher than it’s ever been and that’s been good for my overall health – how I feel and how I look and overall wellness.”
But for all this talk of hard slog, how does Roma Downey relax?
“I’m a great reader and I love to read. So much of the reading that I’ve been required to do lately is work-related and so if I can steal away to read something other than what I’m demanded to read for work, that feels restorative,” she reveals. “I do like being out being near the ocean. I have no desire to be in the ocean or on the ocean, but I do love to be next to the ocean. I do my best thinking down there.
“There’s something in the grand scheme of it that helps put everything into perspective.”
But above all, she believes that she is lucky and blessed to be doing something that helps her spread the message of love and goodness. “My faith has been a comfort to me,” says the committed Christian.
“It’s provided me with strength and it has given me hope. It’s just such a privilege and blessing to share with people.”