Ray Romano's Real Name: Raymond Albert Romano

Quick answer: Ray Romano's real name is Raymond Albert Romano. He was born on December 21, 1957, in Queens, New York City. "Ray" is simply the short form of Raymond.

Ray Romano's real name

Romano was born Raymond Albert Romano and has always performed as Ray Romano (Britannica). His hit sitcom even used his real first name in the title.

Early life and stand-up

Romano grew up in Queens in an Italian American family. Before comedy paid the bills he worked a range of jobs, including delivering futons. He began doing stand-up in New York clubs in the 1980s, and a 1995 appearance on Late Show with David Letterman caught the attention of Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants (Britannica).

Everybody Loves Raymond

That led to Everybody Loves Raymond, which premiered on CBS in 1996 and ran for nine seasons until 2005. Romano played sportswriter Ray Barone, a character based loosely on his own family life, alongside Patricia Heaton, Brad Garrett, Doris Roberts and Peter Boyle.

The show won the Emmy for outstanding comedy series in 2003 and 2005, and Romano won the Emmy for lead actor in a comedy series in 2002 (Television Academy). By the later seasons he was reported to be one of the highest-paid actors on television.

Ice Age and later work

Romano voiced Manny the woolly mammoth in Ice Age (2002) and its sequels. He co-created and starred in TNT's Men of a Certain Age (2009–2011), then moved into more dramatic parts, including Parenthood, Vinyl, Get Shorty, the romantic comedy The Big Sick (2017) and Martin Scorsese's The Irishman (2019).

In 2022 he made his feature directing debut with Somewhere in Queens, which he co-wrote and starred in (Variety).

Personal life

Romano has been married to Anna Scarpulla since 1987. They have four children. Romano's brother, Richard Romano, was a New York City police sergeant, a detail that inspired Brad Garrett's police-officer character, Robert.

Everybody Loves Raymond: The Complete Series DVD Everything and a Kite by Ray Romano (book)