Doris Roberts Has Died

— -- "Everybody Loves Raymond" star Doris Roberts has died, a family spokesperson confirmed to ABC News.

According to a statement from the actress's son, Michael Cannata, Roberts died late last night, "peacefully in her sleep of natural causes."

She was 90.

Roberts was born in 1925 in St. Louis and always dreamed of being an actress. Eventually, she left New York University to pursue a career on Broadway.

After about two decades in the theater, however, she moved to Los Angeles to work with Lily Tomlin on her comedy special. Parts in TV shows including "Angie," "St. Elsewhere," "Remington Steele" and "Dream On" followed, as did roles in films, from "Taking of Pelham One Two Three" to "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" to "Grandma's Boy." However, Roberts was most famous for playing Marie Barone, the mother of Ray Romano's Ray Barone, in the series "Everybody Loves Raymond."

"I believe over 100 women read for this part. And, at that time, I was directing a play and I didn't have any time," she told Larry King in 2002. "They said I had an appointment at CBS at 3:30 on a Monday. I said, 'I can't. I've got 23 people and music and all.' They said, 'Yes, we talked to your producer. You're going in 3:30 on Monday afternoon.' And I did. And here I am, six years later."

Roberts was nominated for seven Emmys for the role, and won four times. Prior to that, she'd won an Emmy for playing Cora in "St. Elsewhere," and garnered nominations for her work in "Remington Steele" and "Animal Playhouse," too.

In 2002, Roberts, then in her 70s, testified before Congress about ageism that she perceived in Hollywood. Such prejudice, she argued, was "the last bastion of bigotry," and should be viewed as no different than racism, sexism or religious discrimination.

"In most cultures you’re taught to embrace getting older, with people respecting you, taking care of you, making you understand you’re loved. The worst part of getting old is [finding] acceptance of it. If you stumble a little bit, or you’re not as fast, that’s life. Why don’t you want somebody like that in your movie?" she told Parade magazine. "Getting older is part of life. We should be taught to embrace it, not be afraid of it."

In more recent years, Roberts continued to work in television, appearing on "Grey's Anatomy," "Desperate Housewives" and alongside her "Everybody Loves Raymond" costar Patricia Heaton on her new show, "The Middle." She also co-wrote a book, "Are You Hungry, Dear? Life, Laughs, and Lasagna," in 2005.

Roberts, who was married twice, is survived by her son, daughter-in-law Jane, and three grandchildren, Kelsey, Andrew and Devon.

"Truly the end of an era," said Heaton in a statement. "My wonderful TV mother-in-law ... was a consummate professional from whom I learned so much. She was funny and tough and loved life, living it to the fullest."