Patricia Helen Heaton (born March 4, 1958) is an American actress. She is known for portraying Debra Barone on the CBS sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond from 1996 to 2005, for which she won two Primetime Emmy Awards, and as Frances "Frankie" Heck on the ABC sitcom The Middle (2009–present).

Biography

Heaton has been married to British actor David Hunt since 1990. Heaton and Hunt have four sons. They divide their time between Los Angeles and Cambridge, England. Her memoir, Motherhood and Hollywood: How to Get a Job Like Mine, was published by Villard Books in 2002. Heaton attends an Evangelical Presbyterian Church but says she still identifies as a Catholic.


Political and social advocacy
Heaton is a consistent life ethicist and is supportive of pro-life groups and causes, opposing abortion, euthanasia, and the death penalty. Heaton's advocacy became particularly visible during the debate regarding the Terri Schiavo case. In addition, Heaton is Honorary Chair of Feminists for Life, an organization which opposes abortion and embryonic stem cell research and supports other pro-life causes on the basis of feminism.

A confirmed Republican, Heaton openly supports gay rights, and has publicly stated that she is not against same-sex marriage.



Heaton's name was in an advertisement in the Los Angeles Times (17 August 2006) that condemned Hamas and Hezbollah and supported Israel in the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict.

In October 2006, Heaton appeared in a commercial opposing a Missouri state constitutional amendment concerning embryonic stem cell research, which subsequently passed. The advertisement was a response to the election of Democratic Senate hopeful Claire McCaskill and aired at the same time as Michael J. Fox's advertisement supporting the amendment. Appearing with Heaton were actor Jim Caviezel, St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jeff Suppan, Seattle Mariner Mike Sweeney and St. Louis Rams/Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner. Following a public outcry, Heaton later said she regretted doing the ad and sent an apology to Fox, saying she was unaware of Fox's ad. Fox accepted her apology and later stated, “If we can have a healthy dialogue about issues that people see differently, that’s marvelous.”

On February 29, 2012, Heaton made several negative public remarks against Georgetown University law student Sandra Fluke, joining the controversy surrounding the law requiring insurance companies to cover contraception. Following criticism for her remarks, Heaton apologized days later.