Maura Tierney appeared on ER as Nurse Abigail “Abby” Lockhart from 1999 to 2008. Originally planned as a guest appearance in November 1999, her role swiftly extended in February 2000, becoming a full-time regular character as an ER nurse and ultimately converting into a doctor after finishing medical school.
Tierney garnered an Emmy nod for her work in a gripping story arc starring Sally Field as Lockhart’s mother, Maggie Wyczenski, who battled bipolar disorder, during her tenure on ER.
Tierney announced her retirement from ER shortly after the show’s sixteenth season premiered in April 2008. After a nearly ten-season run, she made her final regular appearance on the show in October 2008.
Tierney did, however, make a cameo appearance in one more episode near the end of the last season in 2009.
Tierney’s most notable film while on the ER cast was the 2002 picture Insomnia, directed by Christopher Nolan. In the same year, she appeared in Scotland, Pa., as a character evocative of Lady Macbeth, a role written specifically for her by her then-husband Billy Morrissette.
Her acting in the film was praised by critics. Tierney also worked with NewsRadio writer Joe Furey on a special featurette called “Working with Joe Furey,” which was included in Furey’s film Love and Support.
What movies did Maura Tierney play in?
- Liar Liar
1997 - Semi-Pro
2008 - Primal Fear
1996 - Forces of Nature
1999 - Beautiful Boy
2018 - Welcome to Mooseport
2004 - Insomnia
2002 - Oxygen
1999 - Instinct
1999 - Scotland, PA
2001 - The Report
2019 - Twisters
2024 - Diggers
2006 - Dead Women in Lingerie
1991 - Baby Mama
2008 - Nature Calls
2012 - Anything
2017 - Primary Colors
1998 - Finding Amanda
2008 - The Iron Claw
2023 - White Sands
1992 - The Temp
1993 - Melvin Goes to Dinner
2003 - Crossing the Mob
1988
What does Maura Tierney do now?
Maura Tierney explained, “I’ve been a TV actor all my life, but quite late in life, I found experimental theatre and now work with a company in New York. And you know, being on stage doing that is like no other feeling.”