Raised in Derry, Downey earned a BA at Brighton Art College, East Sussex, England. While attending the London Drama Studio she performed in classic plays of Shakespeare, Shaw, and Chekhov.

She joined the Abbey Players in Dublin, and toured the United States in a production of The Playboy of the Western World. The production led to a nomination during the Broadway run for the Helen Hayes Best Actress Award in 1991.

With her growing popularity, Downey gained the role of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis in the 1991 U.S. TV movie A Woman Named Jackie and as the Amazon leader in Read more...

Downey has been married four times. Her first marriage was to Daniel Grant, a teacher from Derry. She then married fellow actor Leland Orser, whom she eloped with in 1987 in Rome, Italy. They divorced in 1989. In 1995, she married American director, David Anspaugh. Downey's Touched by an Angel co-star, Della Reese, officiated the wedding. During her marriage to Anspaugh, she gave birth to her daughter, Read more...