"It came hot on the heels"— When Maggie Wheeler’s Queens accent gave Friends iconic character Janice her signature sound

The iconic sitcom Friends featured an ensemble cast comprising David Schwimmer, Matthew Perry, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston, and Matt LeBlanc. During its run from 1994 to 2004, the comedy series featured recurring guest roles like the Central Perk manager, Gunther, and Chandler's on-again-off-again girlfriend, Janice.

Janice Hosenstein, played by Maggie Wheeler, quickly became one of the most memorable characters outside of the show's core group. Her nasally, high-pitched voice and catchphrase, "Oh My God!" made her a favorite among fans, and set her apart from other guest stars on Friends.

Before auditioning for the part of Janice, Maggie starred as Anita Warwell on the short-lived sitcom, Ellen, and was unexpectedly fired after the show's first season.

In September 2020, Maggie told Australia's news.com that she was "shaken" by the experience, but in some ways, felt free to take more risks for her next audition, which happened to be for a fast-talking New Yorker on Friends. She recalled her thought process while auditioning in front of the show's creators— Marta Kauffman, Kevin Bright, and David Crane— remembering how she chose to do a Queens, New York accent.

"On any other day I might have done the audition differently, but it came hot on the heels of that and I felt free and decided to do what I wanted to do on that day and it worked in my favor. (Friends) wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t had to go through the fire," she said.

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Everything to know about Maggie Wheeler's appearance on Friends

In August 2016, Maggie Wheeler appeared on This Morning, the Irish breakfast news program hosted by Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes. While reminiscing about her time on Friends, she revealed how she came up with the iconic laugh.

"(The laugh) happened organically in the first rehearsal, because I needed to find a way to laugh, because Matthew Perry is so funny..... So I created Janice's laugh as a safety measure for when Matthew made me laugh."

Maggie Wheeler appeared in 19 episodes throughout the show's 10-season run, and was seen in at least one episode every season. Janice first appeared in episode 5 of season 1, The One with the East German Laundry Detergent. Her last appearance was in episode 15 of season 10, The One where Estelle Dies.

In season 6 episode 17 of Friends, titled The One with Unagi, Janice only appears as a voice on a mixed tape she gave to Chandler. She is not credited on the episode.

Janice's New York accent and loud personality were reportedly inspired by Fran Drescher’s character from another 1990s sitcom The Nanny, which aired on CBS.

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Maggie Wheeler's last film role was in Mark, Mary & Some Other People

In 2021, Maggie Wheeler starred in the comedy film, Mark, Mary & Some Other People. Hannah Marks wrote and directed the movie, which was produced by Marks, Jonathan Duffy, Brendan Walter, and Peter Williams, among others. It premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 10, 2021, and was released theatrically on November 5, 2021.

The film centers around a newly married couple played by Ben Rosenfield and Hayley Law, whose married life gets infinitely complicated after they decide to have an open marriage.

Maggie plays Lisa in the film, and her fellow cast members include Matt Shively, Lea Thompson, Odessa A'zion, Gillian Jacobs, Sofia Bryant, Steve Little, Peter Williams, and Kelli Berglund, to name a few.

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Viewers can stream all seasons of Friends on HBO Max.