Debra Barone(born March 24, 1958) is the wife of Ray Barone.
She lives with him and their three kids, daughter Ally and twin boys Michael and Geoffrey. To her dismay, Ray's parents Frank and Marie, live directly across the street.
She was raised in Connecticut.
She was played by actress Patricia Heaton.
Physical Appearance[]
Debra is a beautiful medium height middle aged woman she has neck length brown hair that she either wears down or in a ponytail or bun, brown eyes, very pale skin, wears jackets, blouses and jeans,
Childhood and Background[]
She was born March 24, 1958. Not much is known about her childhood other than that, and her being raised properly and growing up in an upper-class family, something that once prompts Marie to pressure her into admitting to the Barones that she thinks she is better than they are and how spoiled she is. Her parents are Warren and Lois, and she has a sister, Jennifer, who became a nun.
Debra was used to dating rich, good-looking guys before meeting Ray, whom she met while he was delivering a futon to her apartment. At the time, Debra was doing PR work for the NHL hockey team the New York Rangers.
Character Look[]
Debra's hairstyle and wardrobe constantly change as the show progressed.
Personality[]
Debra is a loving and devoted mother and wife who values family, though she is not without a few downfalls.
Debra is a stay at home mum who cleans, cooks and cares for her children. She is an intelligent individual who enjoys to read, and likes having conversations. Debra sometimes struggles to connect to her husband Raymond, who is not the talkative type. She feels she works very hard at the housework and parenting, and wishes Raymond could be a little more involved. She often asks him to help out more and she visibly is 'on the go' with little free time. As her husband Raymond is quite immature and lazy, Debra does have to mother him. She is also the one leads in most of the parenting, and often needs to force Raymond to have input.
Debra has a dry and sarcastic humour, matching her husband Raymond. Because of this, she occasionally says things which are misunderstood by others and offends them. For example in Snow Day (season 6, episode 14) when she was dancing with her usually crude father in law Frank, she made some comments - "I can't believe i'm having actually having a good time with you, Frank" and "on a night like this, I thought i'd be searching for the escape hatch!" which offended Frank so badly he walked out (though he forgave her quickly as he has a soft spot for her). This episode also reveals that Debra secretly thinks she's better than the Barones- Raymond and Marie teamed up to force Debra to admit it. She has shown on a few occasions that she is embarrassed by her husband Raymond, since he acts childish in public. Debra sometimes demonstrates an uptight attitude, though this is more displayed when around her husband and his family.
Debra has a very patient side, since her mother in law Marie, father in law Frank, and brother in law Robert, are usually barging into her house multiple times a day. She also has to constantly brush off passive aggressive comments and insults made by Marie, who almost always says something to put her down. To keep the piece, Debra will often let these comments go. In season 7 and 8 onwards, she began replying to Marie's comments with her own passive aggressive response, though these were subtle and occasional.
Debra has a close relationship with her brother in law Robert, often being the one who gets through to him when the rest of the family can't. She is also the one who commonly pushes Raymond to be more receptive to Robert's feelings, and is usually the reason the two share moments that bond them more as adults. Debra plays this part for most of the family members though, and is usually one who chimes in when someone is not being understood- and encourages people to resolve issues and talk things out. She is like this in her marriage as well, not being afraid to bring issues up to her husband to talk (or fight) things out.
Debra has a few downfalls. While she is a hardworking mother with a husband who is not as involved as he should be, Debra can often overlook that her husband works a job, and does need personal time. She can also have a short fuse, and will start yelling when she's frustrated. She has a tendency to think she's right, and can struggle to see the other person's perspective. When she's unhappy with something, her communication style commonly resorts to a fight, and she often pushes things until they're resolved (as opposed to her husband who hates getting involved in disagreements). Debra, while not abusive, also has a habit of throwing things or lightly hitting Raymond when he's being purposely difficult.
Character Development[]
Debra can be stubborn, and this has been a downfall in her desire to return to work. In Working Girl ( Season 3, Episode 22) Debra tries for a PR job and is successful. She is given a task to create a character profile for a Pizza client. She creates a profile that is conventionally bad, with a character name Pete Za (a take on 'pizza'). When her boss declines the profile, Debra stubbornly begins to argue and gets herself fired on her first day. Debra does not return to work after this, but does still pursue goals such as running for Parent President for her children's school.
Debra while usually quite honest with Raymond, has struggled in one department. Raymond has a high intimate drive, and Debra seemingly has a lower one. It is revealed in No Roll! (Season 6, Episode 2) that Debra has not been satisfied with her intimate life with Raymond, and as been unhappy for 12 years. She explains she was too shy to tell him what she wants, and this leads to the couple having a heart to heart. After having a deep discussion and the two comprising and agreeing they both can improve, the episode concludes with the aftermath of their next intimate experience - showing the two looking very satisfied. Later in Frank Goes Down Stairs (Season 6, Episode 6), the two are shown to be having a lot of fun and both get injured from this particular intimate experience. This further proves their intimate life is now more fun and adventurous following their previous talk.
Debra is quite patient with her difficult mother in law Marie, however she has been pushed to the edge before. For 4 whole episodes, she did not talk to her mother in law which spanned between the ending of season 6 and the start of season 7 (likely months within the show's world!), after a disagreement happened between the two regarding the kids and a knock knock joke. It should be noted, Debra did initially try to resolve the issue, but grew frustrated when Marie refused to work with her to solve things.
Debra is known to be a subpar cook. While it's hard to compete with her mother in law's talents, Debra has made 3 noteworthy meals that the family seemed to really like:
>In Turkey Or Fish (Season 1, Episode 10) Debra bravely decided to host thanks giving, and replace the turkey with a fish. This lead to much controversy from the family, especially her mother in law Marie- who was meant to host that year. Marie showed up with a turkey anyway, and the whole family seemingly had to choose between Marie's turkey or Debra's fish at the table. By the end of the episode everyone is liking both meals, and it is clear Debra's fish competed well with Marie's traditional turkey. So much so, that despite Frank choking earlier on Debra's fish, he immediately goes for more. Marie also commented "when I make fish, Frank won't even touch it!"- which is an important comment, as Frank usually eats anything Marie makes.
>In How They Met (Season 3, Episode 26) when she first showed interest in Raymond, she made him Lemon Chicken, and he raved about it so highly he exclaimed "I could eat this for the rest of my life!" which he evidently did end up doing after marrying her. Debra makes this dish often throughout the series, especially when there are guests over. It seems to be her signature dish, and while Raymond has likely grown tired of it- it is clearly Debra's most successful dish.
>In Debra Makes Something Good (Season 4, Episode 18) Debra makes braciole which Raymond realises is delicious. He's so surprised, he makes his whole family try it, and his friends. It's so good, that Frank begins eating at Debra's house. This make Marie furious, and she accuses Debra of trying to take Frank away. It's revealed that this is the dish that made Frank marry Marie, because when she made it for him many years ago, he said "be my bride." Debra eventually stops making it, and goes back to making her usual dishes which everyone thinks is average. But this is an example of Debra having the ability to cook well if she wants, even if it is following a recipe.
Relationship to other major characters[]
- Wife to Ray
- Younger sister-in-law to Robert and older sister-in-law to Amy and Peter.
- Daughter-in-law to Frank and Marie
- Mother to Ally, Michael, and Geoffrey
- Friends with Amy and Linda
- Sister to Jennifer
- Daughter to Warren and Lois
Episode Appearances[]
Debra appeared in all episodes except "Cruising with Marie." (See the complete list of episodes.)
Trivia[]
- The only episode Debra doesn't appear in is Cruising with Marie.
Memorable Quotes[]
- DEBRA: (to Ray) Do you know how close you are to the end of your life?
- DEBRA: Don't you say another word, or I'll send your mother back in there to smack the crap out of you.
- DEBRA: Robert, you have every right to be upset, but I will get a stepladder and fight you to the death over this.
- DEBRA: When I got married, I didn't just get a husband; I got a whole freak show that set up their tent right across the street. And that would be fine—if they stayed there. But every day—every day—they dump a truckload of their insane family dreck into my lap. How would you like to sit through two people in their sixties, fighting over who invented the lawn? The lawn! And then the brother: "I live in an apartment. I don't even have a lawn; Raymond has a lawn." But you can't blame them when you see who the mother is. She has this kind of sick hold on the both of them. And the father's about as disgusting a creature as God has ever dropped on this planet. So no wonder the kid writes stories! I should be writing stories—my life is a Gothic novel—and until you have lived in that house, with all of them in there with you day after day, week after week, year after friggin' year, you are in no position to judge me!