Roma Maffia is an American actress.

Life and career

Roma Maffia grew up in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

and is of English, German and West Indian descent. Her Italian surname reportedly comes from her stepfather. Maffia began her official acting career in

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...

and

off-off-Broadway Off-off-Broadway theaters are smaller New York City theaters than Broadway and off-Broadway theaters, and usually have fewer than 100 seats. The off-off-Broadway movement began in 1958 as part of a response to perceived commercialism of the pro ...

productions. In 1994, she played Carmen in director

Ron Howard Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He first came to prominence as a child actor, guest-starring in several television series, including an episode of '' The Twilight Zone''. ...

's film ''

The Paper ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

''. Soon after, she landed a role on the television series ''

Chicago Hope ''Chicago Hope'' is an American medical drama television series, created by David E. Kelley. It originally aired on CBS from September 18, 1994, to May 4, 2000. The series is set in a fictional private charitable hospital in Chicago, Illino ...

''. Maffia's television career continued as she played Grace Alvarez, the forensic pathologist for the Violent Crimes Task Force for four seasons on '' Profiler''. She has had guest-starring and recurring roles on shows such as '' ER'', ''

The West Wing ''The West Wing'' is an American serial political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the West Wing of the White Hous ...

'', and ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering ...

.'' Her most widely seen performances may be playing Seattle attorney Catherine Alvarez in the film ''

Disclosure Disclosure may refer to: Arts and media * ''Disclosure'' (The Gathering album), 2012 *Disclosure (band), a UK-based garage/electronic duo * ''Disclosure'' (novel), 1994 novel written by Michael Crichton ** ''Disclosure'' (1994 film), an American ...

'' (1994), starring

Michael Douglas Michael Kirk Douglas (born September 25, 1944) is an American actor and film producer. He has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and the AF ...

and

Demi Moore Demi Gene Moore ( ; née Guynes; born November 11, 1962) is an American actress. After making her film debut in 1981, Moore appeared on the soap opera '' General Hospital'' (1982–1984) and subsequently gained recognition as a member of the Br ...

. She followed this with a series of performances as Vanessa Galiano in the TV series ''

'' and as Judge Victoria Peyton on ''

Boston Legal ''Boston Legal'' is an American legal drama and comedy drama television series created by former lawyer and Boston native David E. Kelley, produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for ABC. The series aired from October 3, 200 ...

''. From 2003 to 2010 Maffia appeared as Liz Cruz on the

FX Network FX is an American pay television channel owned by FX Networks, LLC, a subsidiary of the Disney General Entertainment Content unit of The Walt Disney Company. It is based at the Fox Studios lot in Century City, California. FX originally launch ...

series ''

Nip/Tuck ''Nip/Tuck'' is an American medical drama television series created by Ryan Murphy that aired on FX in the United States from July 22, 2003, to March 3, 2010. The series, which also incorporates elements of crime drama, black comedy, family dra ...

'', the

anesthesiologist Anesthesiology, anaesthesiology, or anaesthesia is the medical specialty concerned with the total perioperative care of patients before, during and after surgery. It encompasses anesthesia, intensive care medicine, critical emergency medicin ...

colleague of two dysfunctional plastic surgeons. Maffia and

Julian McMahon Julian Dana William McMahon (born 27 July 1968) is an Australian actor, former model, and the son of a former Prime Minister of Australia, Sir William McMahon. He is best known for his roles as Detective John Grant in '' Profiler'', Cole Tur ...

also worked together on the TV show ''Profiler''. Maffia is a 1973 graduate of St. Michael Academy. Maffia had a supporting role on ''

Pretty Little Liars ''Pretty Little Liars'' is an American mystery teen drama television series based on the novel series of the same name written by Sara Shepard. Developed by I. Marlene King, the series was broadcast on Freeform between June 8, 2010, and June ...

'' from season 4 to season 7. Her character Linda Tanner is a savvy, no-nonsense state investigator working on unsolved murder cases in the fictional town of Rosewood, Pennsylvania. In 2012 Roma appeared in several episodes of ''

Grey’s Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into se ...

''. She appeared in Season 4 of '' In the Dark'' as Paula Romano, a drug dealer who deals a drug called "Bolt" both in and out of prison.

Filmography

Film

Television

Notes

References

External links

*
Interview with Roma Maffia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maffia, Roma 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from New York City American film actresses American people of English descent American people of German descent American people of West Indian descent American television actresses Living people People from Brooklyn Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people)