Patricia Heaton won two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Debra Barone in Everybody Loves Raymond . The actress revealed the backstory of how she actually landed the role during the iconic CBS sitcom’s 30th anniversary reunion special.

The smart, savvy and often overwhelmed wife of Ray Romano ‘s Ray was the backbone of the Barone family. In addition to juggling family responsibilities, she had to deal with Ray’s overbearing mother Marie, played by Doris Roberts.

“Well, I was going through — and I think why the show worked, we were all going through — what the Barone family was going through in our lives,” Heaton said. “I had a 3-year-old and a 1-year-old in my life. I had a babysitting issue when I was coming to the audition, I needed to g

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