Iconic Sitcom Actress Shares Next Career Move ‘If Acting Doesn’t Work Out’ originally appeared on Parade.
Legendary Everybody Loves Raymond actress Patricia Heaton, 67, revealed what she would do if she couldn’t keep acting, and her new dream career was inspired by a recent trip to Italy.
“If the acting thing doesn’t work out, I know what I want to do for the rest of my life,” Heaton told fans in an Instagram recap video of her summer getaway on Tuesday, August 12. “I want to be a truffle hunter!”
Related: Iconic Sitcom Actress Patricia Heaton Celebrates 7 Years of Sobriety
The ageless beauty went on to share how her guide, Matteo, took her out searching for the Italian delicacy with his dogs, and she had “the most marvelous time!” She described how the pups could “smell the truffles from 1000 yards away” before “digging like crazy” to get them. “The dirt [even] smells like truffle!” she explained.
The adventure ended with taking the truffle home, washing it off, slicing it up, and putting it on her pasta. “From Tuscany’s rolling hills to the thrill of the hunt!” Heaton captioned the fun video. “Found the truffles… and maybe my new favorite Italian pastime.”
While Heaton doesn’t seem to have any real plans to leave the acting world, she did recently open up about how hard it can be to find roles as an older woman in a chat with Laura Geller.
“The industry has contracted quite a bit, so we’re in a very changing environment,” she told the makeup maven. “When you get to a category in Hollywood as a woman of a certain age, the opportunities shrink a bit in the best of times… When the business is contracted, it’s even more intense.”
Though Heaton admits she struggled with adjusting to not always having an acting role lined up after 20 years of nonstop sitcom success. “We love to work. We don’t feel like retiring,” she said, comparing Geller and herself. “It’s taken me a couple of years to adjust to being okay [with] exploring other things and not seeing everything as something to take up my time until I get that next gig, because that’s no way to live.” Her new approach is much more “carpe diem.”
“Live for the day, and if that day doesn’t involve an acting job, then do something else that fulfills you creatively, emotionally, or spiritually,” she said. It looks like she’s taking her own advice to heart and trying new things in Italy.
Iconic Sitcom Actress Shares Next Career Move ‘If Acting Doesn’t Work Out’ first appeared on Parade on Aug 12, 2025
This story was originally reported by Parade on Aug 12, 2025, where it first appeared.