This Is the Unusual Way ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ Star Patricia Heaton Got Her Big Break
What To Know
- Patricia Heaton began her acting career studying drama at Ohio State University, then moved to New York City, where she performed on stage and co-founded an off-Broadway troupe called Stage Three.
- Her move to Los Angeles with Stage Three led to guest spots on television and a recurring role as Dr. Silverman on Thirtysomething, which she landed by self-promoting and producing her own plays.
- After several short-lived sitcom roles, Heaton’s breakthrough came in 1996 when she was cast as Debra Barone on Everybody Loves Raymond, establishing her as a sitcom star.
The Everybody Loves Raymond 30th Reunion Part 2 special airs on December 22, 2025, at 8/c on CBS, giving us even more time to catch up with the actors on the beloved sitcom — including Patricia Heaton, who spent nine seasons starring as Debra Barone. The role of Debra was Heaton’s big break, but it wasn’t her first break — she first made it onto TV screens in millions of households several years before Everybody Loves Raymond, when she portrayed a doctor on the hit dramedy Thirtysomething from 1989 to 1991.
How did Patricia Heaton begin her career?
Heaton first studied drama at Ohio State University and moved to New York City to pursue a career in acting. Her earliest years were spent on stage, including a Broadway appearance in the chorus of Don’t Get God Started in 1987. Around that time, she and fellow students created an off-Broadway troupe called Stage Three.
Then came the twist that nudged her toward TV. When Stage Three brought a production to Los Angeles, she began getting guest spots and supporting roles on ’90s television, including Alien Nation, Matlock, and even films like Beethoven. Heaton also caught the eye of a casting director connected to Thirtysomething. Heaton landed a recurring role as Dr. Silverman, an oncologist, appearing six times between 1989 and 1991.
Warner Bros. Television/Everett Collection
Heaton explained in a Facebook video about getting the job on Thirtysomething, “When I moved to Los Angeles from New York in the early ’90s, I didn’t have an agent or even a manager. So, I had to print this kind of thing up myself and mail them to everybody. I was appearing in a play that I had done in New York, and I brought it to L.A. and produced it with my own money. I sent these out to all the casting directors and agents, and I got a role in Thirtysomething. After I got the role in Thirtysomething, I sent these out again, saying, ‘You could still see me—two weeks left on this play—and, by the way, I’m on Thirtysomething, so you can cast me in other things.’ And it worked, thank God.”
Next, she headlined a few short-lived sitcoms, including Room for Two (1992-1993) and Someone Like Me (1994). She got a role in Women of the House in 1995, the Designing Women spin-off, but that also ended quickly. Luckily, her role in Everybody Loves Raymond arrived in 1996 and made her a TV sitcom legend.
Remind 
February 2021
1990s Rom-Coms
Pop some popcorn and cozy up to feel-good movies and TV shows from a generation ago.
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