Ray Romano's Daughter Ally Romano Is Engaged!

Ray Romano is best known for his role as Ray Barone on Everybody Loves Raymond, but many fans aren’t aware that the sitcom was inspired by his real family, including his life as a dad of four children. Now, he’s about to become a father of the bride. On Wednesday, April 19, 2023, the actor, screenwriter, and stand-up comedian announced on Live with Kelly and Mark that his oldest child and only daughter, Alexandra “Ally” Romano, is engaged. “So much is happening this week,” Ray says about his movie, Somewhere in Queens, premiering on Friday, April 21. “And then, on top of that, my daughter sends me a picture of her with a ring, and my wife and I go nuts.”

Ray never revealed the name of his daughter’s fiancé, but he joked about how much Ally’s wedding is going to cost him (predictably high). “All I could think is I know my daughter. This movie has to make a lot of money this week,” he teases. “The doves alone are gonna cost.” Co-host Kelly Ripa asked Ray, “What’s the budget for a wedding nowadays?” He responded, “Yeah, I don’t know. You know what? I will be wrong. Whatever I say, I have no clue. My wife is gonna tell me where to go and what check to sign, and that’s gonna be the end of it.”

All jokes aside, Ray and his daughter have a special bond. When Ray was filming Everybody Loves Raymond, which aired on CBS for nine seasons from 1996 to 2005, Ally made several appearances on the show. She even starred as the best friend of his onscreen daughter in one of the episodes. Ray told the Los Angeles Times that the sitcom is based on truth. “We don’t make this stuff up—although, some of what you see is indeed make-believe,” he admitted. “When I come home and say, ‘Hi, honey,’ and give her a kiss, that’s acting because that doesn’t happen in my house. There’s a lot more kissing on the show than in real life.” After Ally made cameos in her dad’s show, she had a voiceover role in Ice Age: Continental Drift and is currently a marketing director, according to Us Weekly.

Ray also shares twins, Gregory and Matthew, and his youngest son, Joseph, with wife Anna Romano. The twins followed in their dad’s footsteps by working in the entertainment industry. Gregory became a production assistant for The Late Late Show With James Corden, and Matthew was a production assistant for Jimmy Kimmel Live, Us Weekly reports. Ray told Ellen DeGeneres in 2019 that neither of them were in a relationship at the time. “Every time I do Kimmel or Corden, I have to come up with a bit with them now,” he joked. “They’re single, so on Kimmel, I tried to get them a date. When I went on Corden, they had a girl come out of the audience and have a date right there.” The youngest, Joseph, accompanied his dad for his film, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, by doing a voice acting role.

In July of 2020, Ray opened up to People about spending the pandemic at home with his children, which he said was a perk. “Well, we have the 22-year-old, who's here anyway,” he explained. “And we had twins, who have their own apartment a couple miles away, so they've been back. And my daughter has a house in Venice, California. And she'll spend a week here and then go home. She has a roommate, so she doesn't know what to do. She takes after me. It's actually kind of enjoyable in fact. But they're adults. I can't sympathize enough with people who are quarantining with little children."