Maura Lynn Tierney was born in Boston/Massachusetts on February, 3th  1965. Her most popular roles are Abby Lockhart in ER and Lisa Miller in Newsradio. Tierney was born and raised in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. Her father, Joseph Tierney, was a prominent Boston politician who served multiple terms on the Boston City Council. Her mother, Pat, was a real estate agent. Tierney is of Irish descent. She attended Notre Dame Academy in Hingham, Massachusetts, where her studies included drama and led to her appearance at the Boston Globe Drama Festival.After graduation, she moved to New York City to attend New York University, but left before graduation to study drama at Circle-in-the-Square Theatre School.