Patricia Heaton Biography

Patricia Heaton, actress

Birthdate: March 4, 1958

Birthplace: Bay Village, Ohio

Sign: Pisces Patricia Heaton is a two-time Emmy Award-winning actress, best known for her role as Debra Barone, wife of Ray Barone, in the hit show "Everybody Loves Raymond". Patricia Helen Heaton grew up in Bay Village, Ohio with her sportswriter father, Chuck Heaton, and 5 siblings of which she was the second youngest. Her mother passed away when she was 12. In 1980, she graduated from Ohio State University with a B.A. in Drama and moved to New York to study theater with teacher William Esper.

She made her Broadway debut in the 1987 gospel musical "Don't Get Got Started" and later formed joined other students in forming Stage Three, an Off-Broadway acting troupe. They took one production, "The Johnstown Vindicator", to Los Angeles and Heaton's performance caught the eye of a few casting directors.

From there, she landed bit parts in television series, including a five-episode stint on the show "Thirtysomething". Her first feature film roles were supporting roles in 1992's The Memoirs of an Invisible Man, starring Chevy Chase, and the hit family comedy, Beethoven. She then landed roles on short-lived series such as "Room For Two", "Someone Like Me", and "Women of the House", with Delta Burke and Teri Garr.

She then landed her breakthrough role, as the wife of Ray Barone on the highly successful CBS sitcom "Everybody Loves Raymond". The comedy ran for 9 seasons and is now in syndication. She won two Emmy Awards in 2000 and 2001 for her work on the show.

In 2007, she played alonside Kelsey Grammar as two feuding news anchors in the sitcome "Back To You". The show lasted only season and was released to DVD in 2008 with unaired episodes. Heaton has also starred in various TV movies, including "A Town Without Christmas", "The Engagement Ring" and "The Path to 9/11". She'll next be seen in "Front of the Class", a TV movie where she plays the mother of a boy with Tourette's syndrome who defied all odds to become a gifted teacher.