• Faith: Christian - Catholic
• Career: Actress
• Birthday:  March 04, 1958

Patricia Heaton is an actress, producer, and comedienne. She started her career appearing in a recurring role in the ABC series “Thirtysomething” and later appeared in the comedy films “Memoirs of an Invisible Man” and “Beethoven.” She went on to star in the sitcoms “Room for Two,” “Someone Like Me,” and “Women of the House” before landing the role of Debra Barone in the sitcom “Everyone Loves Raymond.”

For her role in “Everybody Loves Raymond,” Heaton received seven Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series nominations, winning the award in 2000 and 2001. She received five nominations for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series and won Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series in 2003. Heaton also played the leading roles in the made-for-TV films “A Town Without Christmas,” “The Goodbye Girl,” which earned her a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination, and “Front of the Class.”

From 2009 to 2018, Heaton starred as Frances “Frankie” Heck in the comedy series “The Middle,” for which she received a Critics’ Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Comedy Series. She produced and hosted the Food Network cooking series “Patricia Heaton Parties,” winning a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Culinary Program. Heaton was born in Bay Village, Ohio. When she was 12, her mother died of an aneurysm. She has three sisters and one brother, who died in 2022.

She attended Ohio State University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in drama. In 1980, Heaton moved to New York City to study with drama teacher William Esper. She made her first Broadway appearance in the chorus of “Don’t Get God Started,” after which she and fellow students created Stage Three, an off-Broadway acting troupe. In 1989, Heaton auditioned for the role of Elaine Benes on “Seinfeld.” When Stage Three brought one of its productions to Los Angeles, she caught the eye of a casting director for the ABC series “Thirtysomething.”

She was cast as an oncologist, leading to six appearances on the series from 1989 to 1991. Other guest appearances include “Matlock” and “Alien Nation,” with a supporting role in the made-for-TV movie “Shattered Dreams.”

What religion is Patricia Heaton?

Heaton was raised a devout Catholic. When describing her family after meeting the Pope, the actress said, “My sister is a Dominican nun. My grandparents met Pope John Paul I. My mom was one of 15 children. I have some 100 first cousins on my mom’s side. So, we’re a very Catholic family. Meeting the Pope is such an incredible honor that I never thought I would have.” When asked whether she finds it challenging to be a Catholic actress in Hollywood, Heaton said, “God has been very gracious to me,” noting that she never had to be “morally compromised” in her shows.