Derry born actress Roma Downey
DERRY-born actress and producer Roma Downey is to get her very own star on the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The 56-year-old will be honoured next week and he star will sit alongside icons such as Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe.
Roma is best known for her role as Monica in TV series Touched By An Angel but she has also established a career as a producer.
Together with her husband Mark Burnett, they produced the series The Bible for the History Channel, which was hugely popular in the United States and received three Emmy Award nominations.
It has since been adapted for release as a feature film.
The couple live together in Malibu, California, with her daughter Reilly, her stepsons James and Cameron and their three Irish wolfhounds.
They regularly feature at the top of the annual Sunday Times Rich List, and this year were ranked second in Northern Ireland with a value of £375m.
Their resumé also includes television shows such as The Apprentice, The Voice and Survivor.
Roma is a spokesperson for Operation Smile, a volunteer organisation that brings surgeries at no cost to children around the globe with facial deformities, and she has travelled to Third World and developing countries making fund raising films on the charity’s behalf.
Born in Derry’s Bogside, Downey attended Thornhill College before going on to study art in Brighton.
However, she decided to turn to the stage after her graduation.
Hollywood Chamber president and CEO Leron Gubler said: “We are thrilled to honour Roma Downey.
“She has been a force in the business of entertainment, both as an actress and talented producer.”
The star will be unveiled on Thursday, August 11.
The Hollywood Walk of Fame is made up of more than 2,500 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks on Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks on Vine Street.
The stars are spaced at six-foot (1.8m) intervals, and honour people noted for outstanding achievement in the entertainment industry.
The Walk of Fame attracts millions of visitors every year.
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