Five things you didn't know about Doris Roberts

Award-winning actress Doris Roberts has died at her Los Angeles home at the age of 90. A family spokeswoman said she passed away in her sleep.

Roberts was most famous for her role as Marie Barone, the meddling mother of Ray Barone in the long-running sitcom, Everybody Loves Raymond, which won her four Emmys.

"Doris Roberts had an energy and a spirit that amazed me," Ray Romano, who played the show's title character, said in a statement. "She never stopped. Whether working professionally or with her many charities, or just nurturing and mentoring a young, green comic trying to make it as an actor, she did it all with such a grand love for life and people and I will miss her dearly."

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Here are five things you might not know about the actress:

Roberts was a Broadway veteran

Born in St Louis, Missouri, to Ann Meltzer and Larry Green, Roberts was raised in New York, which resulted in her iconic accent. She took her surname from her stepfather, Chester H. Roberts, and was a 20-year veteran of the Broadway stage before she began appearing more regularly in film and on television during the 1970s.

Marie was based on Ray's real mother

Roberts once explained that the mothers of Romano and the show's creator, Phil Rosenthal, were her inspirations for the role of Marie. "They are different rhythms, different personas. I meld them together. This woman could be a harridan. She really is more than meddlesome," she said.

She loved to be in the kitchen

An enthusiastic cook, Roberts co-wrote Are You Hungry, Dear? Life, Laughs, and Lasagna, a memoir with recipes, in 2005. The title was taken from her character Marie's most famous catchphrase and the book was praised for its humour, as well as the quality of the recipes.

Her next film is due out this year

In the actress's CV are the 2015 TV movie, Merry Kissmass, and Canadian film Red Maple Leaf, which is due out this autumn. A family spokesperson described Roberts as "healthy and active" right up until her death.

She was a passionate anti-ageism campaigner

Roberts spoke out frequently on the subject of ageism in Hollywood and even testified before a 2002 US Congressional panel on how the industry had made growing old a detriment to hiring.