Patricia Heaton

Patricia Helen Heaton (born March 4, 1958) is an American actress, producer and comedienne.

In 1980, Heaton moved to New York City to study with drama teacher William Esper.

Heaton made her first Broadway appearance in the chorus of Don't Get God Started (1987), after which fellow students and she created Stage Three, an off-Broadway acting troupe.

She began her career appearing in a recurring role in the ABC drama series, Thirtysomething (1989–1991), and later appearing in the comedy films Memoirs of an Invisible Man and Beethoven (both 1992).

Heaton auditioned for the role of Elaine Benes on Seinfeld in 1989.

When Stage Three brought one of its productions to Los Angeles, Heaton caught the eye of a casting director for the ABC drama series Thirtysomething.

She was cast as an oncologist, leading to six appearances on the series from 1989 to 1991.

Other guest appearances include Alien Nation (1989) and Matlock (1990) and supporting role in the made-for-television movie Shattered Dreams (1990).

Heaton went to star in the short-lived sitcoms Room for Two (1992–93), Someone Like Me (1994) and Women of the House (1995) before landing the role of Debra Barone in the CBS sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond (1996–2005, TBC).

In 1992, Heaton made her big screen debut appearing in a supporting role in the comedy-drama film Memoirs of an Invisible Man directed by John Carpenter.

Later that year, she appeared in the box-office hit family comedy film Beethoven.

From 1992 to 1993, Heaton starred as a lead character in the ABC sitcom Room for Two.

The series was canceled after two seasons.

In 1994, she starred in another short-lived sitcom, Someone Like Me, it lasted on NBC only six episodes.

Later that year, Heaton appeared in the comedy-drama film, The New Age.

In 1995, she starred opposite Delta Burke in the CBS sitcom Women of the House, a spin-off of Designing Women.

The series also was canceled after one season.

In 1996, Heaton landed the role of Debra Barone in the CBS sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond opposite Ray Romano.

The series received positive reviews and has been on top ten television rankings and won Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series two times.

In 1997 she starred alongside Meredith Baxter and Della Reese in the drama film Miracle in the Woods.

For her role in Everybody Loves Raymond, Heaton received seven Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series nominations, winning the award in 2000 and 2001.

She was nominated in each of the series' last seven seasons for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, winning in 2000 and 2001.

With her win in 2000, she became the first of the cast members on the show to win an Emmy.

She has also collected two Viewers for Quality Television Awards for Best Actress in a Quality Comedy Series and a Screen Actors Guild trophy for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series and five Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series nominations for her work on the series.

She also played the leading roles in the made-for-television movies A Town Without Christmas (2001), The Goodbye Girl (2004) for which she received Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie, and Front of the Class (2008).

In 2001, she starred in the Christmas drama A Town Without Christmas.

She received five nominations for an Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series as well and won Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series in 2003.

In 2004, she starred in the comedy-drama The Goodbye Girl, a remake of the 1977 film of the same name.

For her performance, Heaton received Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie.

The series ended in 2005 after nine seasons.

While starring on Everybody Loves Raymond, Heaton played the leading roles in a number of made-for-television movies.

In 2005, she starred and produced the romantic comedy-drama film, The Engagement Ring.

From 2009 to 2018, Heaton starred as Frances "Frankie" Heck in the ABC comedy series, The Middle for which she received Critics' Choice Television Award nomination for Best Actress in a Comedy Series.

She hosted and produced Food Network cooking series Patricia Heaton Parties (2015–16) winning Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Culinary Program.

Patricia Heaton was born in Bay Village, Ohio, the daughter of Patricia (née Hurd) and Chuck Heaton, who was a sportswriter for The Plain Dealer.

When she was 12, her mother died of an aneurysm.

The fourth of five children, Heaton was raised as a devout Catholic.

Heaton has three sisters, Sharon (now a Dominican nun, and presently assistant registrar at Aquinas College in Nashville), Alice, and Frances, and one brother, Michael, who died in September 2022 at the age of 66 and was the "Minister of Culture" columnist for The Plain Dealer and a writer for the paper's Friday Magazine.

While attending Ohio State University, she became a sister of Delta Gamma sorority.

She later graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in drama.