LOS ANGELES: Tributes poured in for Emmy-winning actress Doris Roberts, the star of US sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond, who has died aged 90.

Roberts picked up best supporting actress four times in the early 2000s for her portrayal of Marie Barone, the mother of Ray Romano’s sportswriter character in the show, which ran for nine seasons.

“Truly the end of an era,” said Patricia Heaton, who played Roberts’ TV daughter-in-law. Roberts died of natural causes on April 17 in her hometown of Los Angeles.

“My wonderful TV mother-in-law and ELR (Everbody Loves Raymond) nemesis Doris Roberts was a consummate professional from whom I learned so much. She was funny and tough and loved life, living it to the fullest.”

Raised by her single mother in the Bronx, Roberts got her break on Broadway in 1955. She moved to California to appear in The Lily Tomlin Comedy Hour in 1975.

She appeared in 34 films over more than half a century, including 1961’s Something Wild, The Honeymoon Killers in 1969 and The Taking of Pelham One Two Three in 1974.

But she was best known for her role as Marie, the interfering, manipulative mother of Long Island-based Italian American sportswriter Raymond Barone, played by Romano, in Everybody Loves Raymond.

She was married to the novelist William Goyen for 22 years, until his death from leukemia in 1983. She had one son and three grandchildren from a previous marriage.