Maggie Wheeler

Margaret Emily Wheeler (née Jakobson; born August 7, 1961) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Janice on the sitcom Friends where she was a recurring character most notable for being in a relationship with Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry). She was also a recurring character on Everybody Loves Raymond as Linda as well as Anita Warrell on the sitcom Ellen.

Maggie Wheeler
Wheeler in 2013
Born
Margaret Emily Jakobson

(1961-08-07) August 7, 1961
New York City, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1982–present
Known forFriends
Spouse(s)
Daniel Borden Wheeler
​
​
(m. 1990)​
Children2

Personal life

Wheeler was born and raised in New York City, the daughter of Barbara, a writer, and John Jakobson, who began his career on Wall Street as one of the youngest members of the New York Stock Exchange.[1][2] She was raised in a secular Jewish household[3] and graduated from The Calhoun School in New York City. She married Daniel Borden Wheeler in 1990.[4] They have two children.

Career

In the 1980s, Wheeler (under her maiden name of Jakobson) briefly dabbled in voice acting on the animated series SilverHawks, where she provided all the female voices, specifically the villainess Melodia and the heroine Steelheart/Emily Hart, and on the Karate Kat and Mini-Monsters segments of The Comic Strip.

After she became Maggie Wheeler, she auditioned for the role of Monica Geller. After many interviews she confirmed the same,[5] she was however invited to play Janice Goralnik, a recurring character who was a frequent love interest of main character Chandler Bing. She appeared at least once in each season; her 19 episodes tie her with Christina Pickles for Friends’ third most frequent guest actor, behind only Elliott Gould's 20 episodes, and James Michael Tyler's 150 episodes.

She also auditioned for the role of Debra Barone, on the American sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond. Although she was the producers' choice, CBS ended up selecting Patricia Heaton. Instead, Wheeler played the recurring role of Debra's friend, Linda.

According to Kathy Griffin's autobiography, Official Book Club Selection, Wheeler was cast in the role of Vicki for the pilot episode of Suddenly Susan and was eventually replaced by Griffin.[6]

She had a star billing in the first season of Ellen. She appeared on the hit comedy Seinfeld in the episode "The Fix-Up", as one of Elaine's friends who is set up with George. She has appeared in many other television programs, including Drake & Josh, ER, The X-Files, The War at Home, Will & Grace, Jack and Jill, How I Met Your Mother and Curb Your Enthusiasm.

In 1997, Wheeler voiced Harley Quinn's replacement in the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Joker's Millions".

In 1998, she appeared in the remake of Disney's The Parent Trap, playing the younger of a mother-daughter pair of camp counselors. Wheeler provided the voice of Odile in Barbie of Swan Lake, and in 2010 she voiced Trinette in four episodes of Archer on FX.

In 2011, she guest starred in the Disney Channel series Shake It Up as Dina's mom.

Filmography
Film roles
Year Title Role Notes
1982 Soup for One Nurse
1983 Portfolio Assistant Choreographer
1987 Someone to Love Attendee
1989 Mortal Sins Marie
New Year's Day Lucy
1993 Sexual Healing Suzanne Short film
1998 The Parent Trap Marva Kulp, Jr
2003 Barbie of Swan Lake Odile Voice role; direct-to-video film
2006 Dr. Dolittle 3 Brown Hen / Fluffy Hen
2007 Waking Dreams Jenny
2015 The 3 Tails: A Mermaid Adventure Maria
2019 The Addams Family Trudy Pickering Voice role
Television roles
Year Title Role Notes
1984 The New Show Various 8 episodes
1985 The Paper Chase N/A Episode: "The Day Kingsfield Missed Class"
1986 SilverHawks Melodia / Steelheart Voice role; main role
1990 L.A. Law Paula Lights Episode: "The Good Human Bar"
1991 Dream On Bonnie Decker Episode: "So Funny I Forgot to Laugh"
1992 Seinfeld Cynthia Episode: "The Fix-Up"
Civil Wars Patricia McDermott Episode: "Mob Psychology"
Doogie Howser, M.D. Elena Spencer Episodes: "What You See Ain't Necessarily What You Get", "The Patient in Spite of Himself"
1993 Sexual Healing Suzanne
1994 The X-Files Det. Sharon Lazard Episode: "Born Again"
  • 1994–2004
 Friends Janice Litman-Goralnik (née Hosenstein) Recurring role, 19 episodes
1994–1996 Ellen Anita Warrell Main role (season 1); guest role (season 3); 7 episodes
1995 Pride & Joy Flight Attendant Episode: "Terror at 30,000 Feet"
1996–2004 Everybody Loves Raymond Linda Gruenfelder Recurring role, 11 episodes
1998 The New Batman Adventures Fake Harley (voice) Episode: "Joker's Millions"
Love Boat: The Next Wave Cindy Episode: "True Course"
1999 Get Real Jennifer Episode: Pilot
2001 Jack & Jill Kristen Moss Episodes: "Crazy Like a Fox, Hungry Like the Wolf", "Bag Full of Love"
It's Like, You Know... Rachel Episode: "Walking Tall"
2002 Will & Grace Polly Episode: "Dyeing Is Easy, Comedy Is Hard"
Justice League Antiope / Perfume Lady/ Firefighter / Pilot Voice role; episode: "Fury: Parts 1 & 2"
2003 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Stand-Up Comedian Episode: "Last Laugh"
2004 Kim Possible Dr. Renton Voice role; episode: "Motor Ed"
2005 Paine Management Jeanine Bernsen Television movie
Fat Actress Woman Diapering Baby Episode: "Charlie's Angels or Too Pooped to Pop"
Higglytown Heroes Street Sweeper Hero Voice role; episode: "Higgly Frog Day/Eubie's Ele-Fantastic Adventure"
E-Ring Investigator Episode: "Escape and Evade"
2006 Drake & Josh Denise Episode: "Alien Invasion"
ER Amy Kellerman Episode: "Ames v. Kovac"
Friday Night Lights Teacher Episode: "It's Different for Girls"
2007 The War at Home Mindy Episodes: "It's a Lower-Middle-Upper-Middle Class Problem", "The War of the Golds"
How I Met Your Mother Margaret Episode: "Dowisetrepla"
2009 Without a Trace Gail Menken Episode: "Wanted"
The Breakdown Jennifer Unsold television pilot
  • 2009–2012,
  • 2017
 Archer Receptionist, Trinette Magoon Voice role; 11 episodes
2010 Glenn Martin DDS N/A Voice role; episode: "Jackie of All Trades"
2011 Shake It Up Mrs. Garcia Episodes: "Twist it Up", "In The Bag it Up"
Curb Your Enthusiasm Ilene Solotaroff Episode: "Palestinian Chicken"
The Closer Gail's friend Episode: "Road Block"
2013 Californication Ophelia Robbins Recurring role, 5 episodes
2014 Hot in Cleveland Rachel (Melanie's Childhood friend) Episode: "Murder House"
2015 I Didn't Do It Fortune Teller Episode: "The Bite Club"
2016 Maron Steph Episode: "Shrink and Kink"
2018 Shameless Fiona's lawyer Episodes: "A Gallagher Pedicure", "Sleepwalking"
The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants Lunch Lady (voice) / Mrs. Yewh (voice) / T.P. Mummy (voice) Episodes: "Captain Underpants and the Terrifying Perilous Misfortune of the T.P. Mummy", "Captain Underpants and the Squishy Predicament of the Stanley Peet's Stinky Pits"

References
  1. "John Jakobson Obituary". Legacy. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
  2. Birk, Libby. "'Chicago P.D.' Actress Marina Squerciati Claims She's a Secret Daughter of Late Millionaire". Popculture. Entertainment Tonight / TV Guide Network. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
  3. Gladstone, Douglas. "Oh. My. Gawd. Janice from 'Friends' is a choir director". Times of Israel. The Times of Israel. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  4. "Maggie Jakobson, Actress, Marries". The New York Times. October 21, 1990.
  5. Wightman, Catronia (September 15, 2014). "Friends Week: Maggie Wheeler on being Janice". Digital Spy. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
  6. Griffin, Kathy (2009). Official Book Club Selection: A Memoir According to Kathy Griffin. Ballantine Books. p. 117. ISBN 978-0-345-51851-4. wheeler.
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