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Doris Roberts: 'Everybody's mother'

Veteran character actress Doris Roberts has been nominated seven times for an Emmy. This time around, the nod is for Supporting Acress in a Comedy     AUDIO Doris Roberts Wav sound

From Gloria Hillard
CNN Entertainment Correspondent

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Sunday's Emmy Awards will establish whether "Everybody Loves Raymond" ... and his mother. The show is nominated for best comedy, and Barone family matriarch Doris Roberts is up for an award herself as outstanding supporting actress.

This is Roberts' seventh Emmy nomination. If she wins, she'll receive her second statuette. She earned the first one in 1983 as a guest star on "St. Elsewhere."

"I played a bag lady, which I loved," she said. "I did that with my dear friend, Jimmy Coco, who is no longer with us. ... It's wonderful to be nominated, but it's better to win. And that's the truth."

Roberts has spent the past four years on the sound stage of "Everybody Loves Raymond" (CBS). She said it's the best gig she has ever had. And it happened at the perfect time in her life.

"I'm feeling good in my own skin," she said. "It takes too many years to get there. You should have that when you are a young person. ... That I got it all is remarkable and wonderful. So it's a good life."

CHAT TRANSCRIPT Actress Doris Roberts on the Emmy Awards and her nomination   Nominees Who won? Celebrity bios Cast your vote Vote for your favorites Message board Cook up an Emmys party Fun & games Match the Stars Map the shows TV trivia test Emmy fun facts

Roberts said she got her big break in 1962 in the off-Broadway production "The Death of Bessie Smith." She spent 20 years in theater before moving to Hollywood, where she assumed the mantle of character actress -- a source of pride.

"The most important thing that I can say about myself is that I have the same passion for my work now as I did when I was 18 years old," she said. "It has never left me. If it ever leaves me, I'll quit."

What does she say to young people who want to follow in her footsteps?

"I ask one question: 'Do you want to be an actor or do you want to be a celebrity?'" she said. "Most kids want to be celebrities. They don't want to be actors."

Although she's both a celebrity and an actress, Roberts said she doesn't let the former go to her head.

"I'm an accessible actress," she said. "I'm not like a rock star or a superstar. I'm everybody's mother."

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'Everybody Loves Raymond' (CBS)

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