Who was the late Mary Mara on Dexter? All you need to know about her character Valerie Hodges, including which episodes to rewatch as we celebrate the late actress.
Mary Mara passed away on Sunday, according to a statement from her manager, Craig Dorfman. She was 61.
A press release from New York State Police mentions her cause of death as a “possible drowning”, as she was found deceased in the St. Lawrence River early Sunday morning.
Mara is survived by her sisters, Martha and Susan, her ex-husband Jerry Mersola and her step-daughter Catie.
Who was Mary Mara?
Best-known for portraying lovable TV characters with a checkered past, Mara was described by her colleague, actor Jon Lindstrom as brave and brilliant. Lindstrom and Mara appeared together in In Heat at the Lost Playhouse in Los Angeles in 2008.
Her manager, who broke the news of Mara’s death, remembers her in his statement as “electric, funny and a true-individual”.
“Mary was one of the finest actresses I ever met. I still remember seeing her onstage in 1992 in ‘Mad Forest’ off-Broadway,” Dorfman added.
Along with her successful screen career, Mara was an accomplished stage actress. A West-Coast transplant straight from New York, she graduated from San Francisco University and Yale School of Drama and founded the HART (Haight Ashbury Repertory Theatre) acting group in the Bay Area.
In the late 2000s, Mara battled skin cancer, which she luckily caught early and managed to recover from. She continued to perform while dealing with the after-effects of chemo.
Who was Mary Mara on Dexter? Rewatch the Valerie Hodges episodes
In the fourth season of Dexter, Mary Mara had a short-lived but memorable role playing Valerie Hodges, a confidential informant (CI) and later lover of detective Harry Morgan.
Valerie’s storyline begins in episode 7, Slacktide. Detective Morgan’s daughter, Debra, is looking for the CI her father had an affair with years back only to discover a hidden side to her parents’ relationship – Harry regularly had affairs with his CIs and her mom, Ruth, has been unhappy in their marriage for a while.
Deb eventually reaches out to Valerie and the two reconnect over their improbable link. Valerie, it turns out, is still sore about Harry’s leaving her for another woman all those years ago. She doesn’t remember the woman’s name, but is sure the woman will remember her, since she caused a scene.
Mara’s Dexter character appears for the last time in episode 12, The Getaway, where her revelation about Detective Morgan’s past leads Deb to some unlikely family connections. Valerie Hodges’ spicy plotline, though small, plays a big role in revealing Dexter Morgan’s backstory.
If you want to rewatch Valerie’s story in Celebration of the late Mary Mara’s career, Dexter’s entire eight-season run is available to stream on Amazon Prime, Hulu, Vudu and iTunes.
Her most memorable roles
The late Mary Mara’s roles, no matter how big or small, resonated with audiences. Her most memorable character is probably ER’s Loretta Sweet, who was a fan-favourite guest character.
Loretta starts out as a prostitute and frequent ER patient in episode 5, And Baby Makes Two, which aired on 19 October 1995. Her character later becomes a secretary and eventually gets a heartbreaking diagnosis that could change her life forever.
A pro at both drama and comedy, Mara also played Inspector Bryn Carson for 23 episodes in Nash Bridges. Some of her most recent roles include recurring roles on Ray Donovan, Criminal Minds, a film role in 2020 action thriller Break Even.
Her stage performances were powerful and energetic, and she’s best known for roles in shows such as 2018’s SWEAT, by Lynn Nottage.
Co-stars pay tribute after actress’s death
Co-stars, friends and fans remember the late actress as “funny, kind, brilliantly talented” and “sharp, kind and a first class human being”.
RIP Mary Mara! Sad to hear of her tragic accident.
I just recently watched her role as Lyneea in the episode "I, ET" from season 1 of Farscape. pic.twitter.com/Op3EAGCRfT
— Charles Donovan
(@thelastdisciple) June 28, 2022
The post Who was Mary Mara on Dexter? Rewatch the Valerie Hodges episodes appeared first on The Focus.
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