ANNETTE O'TOOLE Just SAY YES

The Virgin River star shares her favorite career memories and the scoop on her life today

- Virgin River

She’s been a working actress since the age of 18, but Annette O’Toole admits that her current role on Virgin River, which arrives for its sixth season on Netflix on Dec. 19, is special. The show about the inhabitants of a remote Northern California town, has had a devoted following since its 2019 debut.

“It’s just so nice to be in something that people really, really love,” Annette tells Closer. “I love that it appeals to people from all walks of life.”

A Texas native, Annette arrived in Los Angeles as a teenager and has rarely stopped working since. On the big screen, she played Lana Lang to Christopher Reeve’s Clark Kent in Superman III. Eighteen years later, Annette returned to the comic book universe as Clark’s mom, Martha, on TV’s Smallville. These days, Annette, 72, splits her time between Vancouver, Canada, where Virgin River is taped, and film sets around the world.

Tell us about your Virgin River character.

I play the mayor, who is married to the town doctor, played by Tim Matheson. We have a very tempestuous relationship, although we’re in a really good place. Who knows if that’ll continue? She is a woman who’s lived most of her life in Virgin River and she loves the place passionately.

The show is shot outside of Vancouver. Is it hard to be away from home so long?

The hardest thing to deal with is being away from my family for big chunks of time. Last year, I did not come home at all. I went to visit my husband on location in New Orleans when he was doing a movie. I never came back to Los Angeles. The hardest part is that my mom just turned 99. She’s not able to travel, but I talk to her or talk to her caregivers every day.

You trained as a dancer. When did you make the switch to acting?