Maggie Wheeler

Maggie Wheeler (née Jakobson) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Janice on the television sitcom Friends (1994–2004), and Anita on Ellen (1994–1996). In addition to her acting and voiceover work, she is a singer, songwriter, choir director, and workshop facilitator.^[1]

Early life and education

Wheeler is the daughter of Barbara Jakobson, an art collector, and John Jakobson, a member of the New York Stock Exchange.^[2] She was raised in a secular Jewish household and graduated from The Calhoun School in New York City.^[3]

Career

In the 1980s, Wheeler (under her maiden name of Jakobson) briefly dabbled in voice acting. In the animated series SilverHawks, she voiced not only the villainess Melodia and the heroine Steelheart/Emily Hart, but all of the female characters; she also worked on the Karate Kat and Mini-Monsters segments of The Comic Strip. In 1989 she appeared in the live-action film, New Year's Day, alongside David Duchovny.

After she became Maggie Wheeler, it was rumored that she auditioned for the role of Monica Geller in Friends. She denied this in an interview, stating that she only auditioned for the role of Janice Goralnik, which she was invited to play.^[4] Janice was a recurring character of the series and particularly known as a frequent love interest of main character Chandler Bing. She featured in 19 episodes, appearing at least once in each season.

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 later replaced by Griffin.^[5]

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 Trinette in the animated sitcom Archer.

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

Wheeler is the co-founder and director of the Golden Bridge Community Choir in Hollywood, a non-auditioned, intergenerational choir which supports local and global communities through fundraising concerts. She travels to retreat centers, universities, communities and schools to teach vocal workshops.^[6][7]

Personal life

She has been married to sculptor Daniel Borden Wheeler since 1990. They have two children.^[8][9]

Filmography

Film

Television

References

1. ^ https://www.eomega.org/workshops/teachers/maggie-wheeler Retrieved July 28, 2024.
2. ^ Birk, Libby (2 August 2018). "'Chicago P.D.' Actress Marina Squerciati Claims She's a Secret Daughter of Late Millionaire". Retrieved August 4, 2018.
3. ^ Gladstone, Douglas. "Oh. My. Gawd. Janice from 'Friends' is a choir director". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
4. ^ Wightman, Catronia (September 15, 2014). "Friends Week: Maggie Wheeler on being Janice". Digital Spy. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
5. ^ Griffin, Kathy (2009). Official Book Club Selection: A Memoir According to Kathy Griffin. Ballantine Books. p. 117. ISBN 978-0-345-51851-4. Eventually for the pilot they cast Maggie Wheeler... The show got picked up, but as is often the case, the cast from the pilot changes, and for some reason it didn't work out with Maggie.
6. ^ https://maggiewheeler.net/about Retrieved July 28, 2024.
7. ^ https://www.eomega.org/workshops/teachers/maggie-wheeler Retrieved July 28, 2024
8. ^ "Maggie Jakobson, Actress, Marries". The New York Times. October 21, 1990. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
9. ^ Desai, Karishma (May 20, 2021). "Who Is Maggie Wheeler's Husband?". The List. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
10. ^ "Maggie Wheeler (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved October 14, 2023. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.

External links

• Official website
• Maggie Wheeler at IMDb
• Maggie Wheeler at filmreference.com
• Maggie Wheeler on Facebook