Maggie Wheeler should have had a bigger career

I thought she was an underrated character actress.

I loved her character. She pulled it off perfectly, & was genuinely funny AF.

Lauren Lane (C.C., The Nanny) is another that I would put in that category.

Don't worry bout lol old me.

Thank God I'll never be the subject of these threads!

I'm friends with Maggie. She is a delightful woman who has, btw, a beautiful voice. She teaches acapella singing to kids. But the role of Janice kind of destroyed her career -- every audition she went to afterward she was always asked to "Do Janice for us." Being typecast or, in this case, voice cast, is a real downer.

However she has two lovely daughters and a hunky husband to compensate.

That is unfair, r6, it is like she was punished for being too good in her role.

I remember her from the first season of Ellen Degeneres’ 90s sitcom. I much preferred her to Joely Fisher

I wanna see her with Jami Gertz in anything.

Awww, let her know we love her.

R9 Jami Gertz is an interesting pull unless you think she looks like her quirky sister.

I liked Friends well enough, but laughed out loud every single time Janice did her signature line. It never got old!

She's shown up in a lot of sitcoms over the years. She's so unlike the Janice character that you don't even know it's her

I’ve always liked her. I hope she has a happy fulfilling life.

Very good in a Seinfeld story arc too, in a character very different from Janice.

He’s BALD??? ^

She popped in an episode in the first season of Friday Night Lights as one of the teachers at the school. I bought the first season DVDs and there were deleted scenes that showed that she was supposed to have a bigger role in that episode. Most of her scenes were with Connie Britton and they played well off each other.

Maybe I'm crazy....but I always got the feeling that Janice was partially inspired by (or mocking) Fran Drescher....and how annoying many people found Fran Fine's voice & laugh on The Nanny?? (which debuted the year before Friends).

R18 I think it's a good theory and I have wondered similar things as well. I did wonder if Drescher ever crossed paths with the Friends creators or cast members and they had beef with her.

She just started filming Amy's Winehouse: The Amy Winehouse Story. There's already Oscar buzz.

She also appe3ared occasionally on "Everybody Loves Raymond." She definitely should have had a bigger career.