NEED TO KNOW
- Maggie Wheeler spoke exclusively with PEOPLE at the Paley Center’s 30th anniversary celebration of the hit sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond
- Wheeler revealed that one of her daughters took her first steps on the show’s set
- The Friends alum shares daughters Juno and Gemma with her husband, Daniel Borden
Maggie Wheeler’s daughter had a major first on the set of Everybody Loves Raymond.
The actress, 63, recalled her oldest daughter Juno taking her first steps as she was filming the hit sitcom while speaking exclusively with PEOPLE at the Paley Center’s 30th anniversary celebration of the show on Monday, June 16, in New York City.
“I’m so fortunate I was able to be there from the beginning,” Wheeler says. “That’s where my daughter took her first steps, my first daughter.”
Wheeler shares daughters Juno and Gemma with her husband, Daniel Borden.
“I was on the stage and my husband was with my baby,” she continues. “My daughter took her first steps and he didn’t know who to tell, so he carried her out onto the lot and it was dark. It was late at night. Only the security guard was out there and he said, ‘She walked! She’s walking.’ ”
“So many things happened during those early years,” the actress says. “I am so excited that I was able to be part of it.”
The special event was part of The Paley Museum’s PaleyLive series and saw star and producer Ray Romano, show creator Phil Rosenthal, executive producer and writer Tom Caltabiano and more reunite for a panel moderated by Rolling Stone’s Alan Sepinwall.
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Wheeler and Patricia Heaton were both in the audience for the panel and walked the red carpet.
Wheeler, who starred as Linda Gruenfelder on the show in a recurring role, also told PEOPLE about how much she valued the working environment.
“It is a blessing, as an actress raising children, when you get to work on a set that really embraces family,” she says. “The show is about family. Everybody who made the show really was so supportive of each other and all the kids in the cast. I really feel like I was able to walk away from the show feeling really supported and really loved.”
Everybody Loves Raymond followed Romano and Heaton as husband-and-wife Ray and Debra Barone, who share three kids. The show explored their family dynamic with appearances from their loved ones, including Wheeler’s Linda, a close friend of Debra’s.
Heaton, who shares four kids with husband David Hunt, also opened up to PEOPLE about balancing motherhood with filming the series.
“I started the show with two kids. I was pregnant in the first season and the third season,” she says on the red carpet. “My kids came with me to work. This was really a beautiful time where we were all having our families and creating a family on the show.”
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