Did Patricia Heaton regret Everybody Loves Raymond?

Was she bothered by being recognized as Debrah Barrone?

Warner Bros.

Success is a double-edged sword. You work so hard toward one thing, and then when it comes, you risk being too closely associated with it. Take, for instance, a famous and exciting television role. You're saddled with a catchphrase, and everything takes off like wildfire. Suddenly, people all over the country are yelling "Dynamite!" at you and calling you J.J. instead of your real name. Sure, you're successful, but is it really you that's getting the recognition?

Debra Barrone is a once-in-a-lifetime role. There's only one actor who could've brought her eye-rolling, over-it-all contempt to life in a likable way. Luckily for fans, that actor was exactly who ended up playing Debra. Patricia Heaton is crucial to the carefully-balanced family dynamic in Everybody Loves Raymond, and over the course of 210 episodes, she became a household name.

Did Patricia Heaton resent the stardom? She traded anonymity for nationwide familiarity, and suddenly she was no longer Patricia Heaton. In an interview with the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Heaton spoke about how, to many, she would forever be Debra Barrone and whether that bothered her.

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"Bothered? Me? You're kidding! All my life I've waited for that moment. People say, 'Oh, you must get so tired of it.' I say, 'I didn't work in restaurants and hotels all those years in New York so people would ignore me!' I'm really at a point where I really enjoy it."

In the immediate years following Raymond, Heaton and her husband started a production company, aiming to bring uplifting stories to the screen. While the challenge was rewarding, she admitted that life was a little bit more manageable when she had the comfort of a sitcom production routine.

"[That] schedule gave a lot of time to be with the kids, be home, make good money, and have fun. And really what more could you ask for?"

Sounds like everything she needed was there in that fake TV house! Unfortunately for her character, though, there was always the matter of those pesky in-laws being right across the street.