Doris Roberts (born Doris May Green; November 4, 1925) is an American character actress of film, stage, and television. She has received five Emmy Awards and a Screen Actors Guild award during her acting career, which began in 1951. She is perhaps best known for her role as Raymond Barone's mother, Marie Barone on the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond (1996–2005).

Biography

Roberts's first husband was Michael Cannata; they divorced in 1962. Their son, Michael Cannata, Jr. (born 1957) is her only child. He serves as her manager. She has three grandchildren: Kelsey, Andrew, and Devon. Her second husband was writer William Goyen. She was married to Goyen from 1963 until his death from leukemia on August 30, 1983.

On September 4, 2002, she testified before a U.S. Congressional panel that age discrimination is prevalent in Hollywood, advocating that such discrimination be treated on par with biases against race and gender.

An avid cook, she wrote Are You Hungry, Dear? Life, Laughs, and Lasagna (in 2005), co-written with Danelle Morton and published by St. Martin's Press. In May 2005, she received an honorary doctorate of fine arts from the University of South Carolina. An animal rights advocate, she has worked with the group Puppies Behind Bars which works with inmates in training guide dogs and assistance dogs for the physically disabled and elderly, as well as dogs trained in explosives detection to be used by the ATF and other law enforcement agencies. She is active with the Children with AIDS Foundation, of which she has served as the chairwoman. Roberts was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor on May 7, 2011.

Roberts is a registered Democrat.