Doris Roberts

Bio:
Doris Roberts (born November 4, 1925 in S. Louis, MO) was a well-loved American actress. Doris began her acting career in 1952 with a role on the TV series Studio One. She appeared in numerous TV shows during that decade before making her film debut in 1961’s Something Wild. She worked steadily as a character actress and nabbed her first series role playing the mother-in-law to the title character on ABC’s 1979-1980 sitcom Angie. In film, she is best known for her role in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. She achieved her widest fame by beating out over 100 other actresses for the role of Maria Barone, mother to the title character of Ray Barone on the long running CBS sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond. She received seven Best Supporting Actress Emmy nominations for the part and won four times. After the series ended, she went on to play guest roles on such shows as Law & Order Criminal Intent, Desperate Housewives and The Middle.

Best Known For:
Doris is best known for playing Maria Barone on Everybody Loves Raymond from 1996-2005.

Personal Life:
Doris was born in St. Louis MO, but was raised in The Bronx, after her father Larry deserted her family and she was raised by her mother Ann and her relatives. When her mother remarried Chester Roberts, Doris took on his surname. In 1956, Doris married Michael Cannata and a year later gave birth to her only child, Michael Cannata, Jr. who worked as her manager in her later years. She had three grandchildren: Kelsey, Andrew, and Devon. She remarried in 1963 to writer Willam Goven, who she was with until he died in 1983. Aside from acting, Doris was active with charities including animal rights organizations and children with AIDS. She passed away on April 18, 2016 at the age of 90.