Who is Marie Barone in Everybody Loves Raymond?

Show

Everybody Loves Raymond

Played by

Doris Roberts

First episode

“Pilot”Season 1, Episode 1, aired September 13, 1996

Role

Main cast

Network

CBS

Occupation

Homemaker and Barone family matriarch

Show run

1996 to 2005

Also known as

Marie Janella

Marie Barone is the mother-in-law who lives across the street, cooks better than anyone, and always lets you know it. Doris Roberts plays her as sweet on the surface and steely underneath, and she became one of television's most famous meddling moms.

On Everybody Loves Raymond, Marie Barone's story runs through Frank Barone (Husband), Ray Barone (Son), Robert Barone (Son), and Debra Barone (Daughter-in-law).

Other CBS sitcom characters from around the same time include Barney Stinson (How I Met Your Mother) and Lily Aldrin (How I Met Your Mother).

Who is Marie Barone?

Marie is Frank's wife and the mother of Robert and Ray. She runs the Barone house across the street from Ray and Debra in Lynbrook, Long Island, and she takes enormous pride in being a homemaker: her kitchen, her lasagna, her spotless living room with plastic covers on the furniture. In her own mind, she is the model wife and mother.

She also cannot leave her sons alone. Marie lets herself into Ray and Debra's house whenever she likes, questions how Debra cooks, cleans, and parents, and keeps a close eye on Robert's love life. She openly dotes on Ray, her baby, and her obvious favoritism is the wound at the center of Robert's personality.

Personality and comedy

Marie's weapon of choice is guilt. She rarely raises her voice; instead she sighs, looks hurt, and makes everyone feel like they have broken her heart, which usually gets her exactly what she wants. Her compliments to Debra tend to arrive with a sting attached, and the two women circle each other in a polite war that lasts nine seasons.

The one person who is not afraid of her is Frank. Their marriage is a nonstop exchange of insults, and they argue about everything from apples and oranges to who invented the lawn. Underneath the bickering, the show makes clear they do love each other, even if neither will say so without a fight.

Key storylines

Many of Marie's best episodes are about food and control. In "Marie's Meatballs" she teaches Debra her recipe but quietly swaps the ingredients so Debra fails, and in "Debra Makes Something Good" she is thrown when Debra's braciole wins over the Barone men. In "The Letter" she is wounded when Debra's honest note about her is read aloud.

She gets bigger adventures too. Marie quietly saves money for decades and uses it to take the whole family to Italy at the start of season five. In "Marie's Sculpture" she takes up art, proudly unveils an abstract piece that the family finds deeply embarrassing, and only figures out why when the nuns arrive to collect it for a church auction.

Behind the scenes and legacy

Doris Roberts was a veteran of stage and television, best known before Raymond for Remington Steele, and she was reportedly one of about 100 actresses considered for Marie. She earned seven Emmy nominations for the role and won the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series four times, in 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2005.

TV Guide ranked "Marie's Sculpture" among the 100 greatest television episodes in 2009. Roberts died in April 2016 at age 90. Romano later noted that even though Marie was the most meddling person on the show, many fans named her as their favorite character, and she is still a go-to example of the smothering sitcom mother.

Marie Barone: frequently asked questions

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