Maggie Wheeler Recalls Daughter’s First Steps on 'Everybody Loves Raymond' Set

It wasn’t a studio audience or a scripted punchline — it was the quiet, unscripted moment that made Maggie Wheeler’s heart swell. Her oldest daughter, Juno, took her first steps on the set of Everybody Loves Raymond, the beloved CBS sitcom where Wheeler played recurring character Debra, the neighbor with the endless supply of gossip. The memory, shared in an exclusive interview with PEOPLE on June 16, 2024, at The Paley Center for Media in New York City, is one of those rare, tender snapshots where life and art collide — and somehow, perfectly.

That Night on the Lot

Wheeler, 63, was in the middle of filming an episode when her husband, Daniel Borden, noticed their 13-month-old daughter stirring in a way she hadn’t before. "I was on the stage," Wheeler recalled, her voice still thick with emotion. "My husband was with my baby. She took her first steps — and he didn’t know who to tell. So he carried her out onto the lot. It was dark. Late. Only the security guard was out there. He said, ‘She walked! She’s walking.’" No cameras rolled. No crew clapped. Just the hum of a generator, the crunch of gravel underfoot, and a lone guard who became the first witness to Juno’s milestone. The moment unfolded not in a living room or nursery, but on the backlot of CBS Studio Center in Studio City, Los Angeles — the same place where Ray Romano’s character struggled with his father, and where Wheeler’s own life was quietly unfolding.

A Set That Felt Like Home

What made this moment so meaningful wasn’t just the location — it was the culture that made it possible. Wheeler, who’s been married to Borden since 1990 and has two daughters — Juno and Gemma Remington — says the environment on Everybody Loves Raymond was unlike anything she’d experienced. "It is a blessing, as an actress raising children, when you get to work on a set that really embraces family," she said. "The show is about family. Everybody who made the show really was so supportive of each other and all the kids in the cast." That support extended beyond the actors. The show’s creators — Phil Rosenthal, the show’s visionary creator, and Tom Caltabiano, the executive producer — made sure child actors and crew members’ kids were welcome. On-set babysitters, flexible schedules, and a general ethos of "we’re all in this together" turned the production into a kind of extended family.

The Paley Center Reunion

The June 16, 2024, event at The Paley Center for Media marked the 30th anniversary of the show’s premiere — though technically, it was 28 years since the first episode aired on September 13, 1996. Still, the spirit was unmistakable. The panel, moderated by Rolling Stone’s Alan Sepinwall, brought together Ray Romano, Rosenthal, Caltabiano, and Wheeler — a reunion that felt less like a nostalgia trip and more like a family reunion.

Wheeler didn’t just talk about Juno’s steps. She spoke of late-night feedings between takes, Gemma (her younger daughter) being passed around the crew like a lucky charm, and how the show’s writers would sometimes sneak in lines about parenting because they knew Wheeler was living it. "So many things happened during those early years," she said. "I am so excited that I was able to be part of it."

Legacy Beyond the Laughter

Everybody Loves Raymond ran for nine seasons, 210 episodes, and won 15 Emmys. But its most enduring legacy may be how it quietly changed the rules for working parents in television. Wheeler wasn’t the only cast member raising kids — Doris Roberts (Marie Barone) had grandchildren on set, and Brad Garrett (Robert) often brought his daughter along. But Wheeler’s story captures something deeper: the normalization of parenthood in a space once dominated by the myth of the "dedicated actor" who had to choose between career and family.

Today, with streaming and remote work reshaping entertainment, her experience feels prescient. The idea that a production could be both wildly successful and deeply human isn’t just charming — it’s revolutionary.

What Happened Next?

Juno, now 28, is a photographer. Gemma, 25, who took many of the photos from the Paley Center event and shared them on Instagram, is a filmmaker. Wheeler, who also played Janice on Friends from 1994 to 2004, continues to act and occasionally teaches acting workshops. She still keeps a photo of Juno’s first steps — taken by Borden on his phone, blurry and imperfect — tucked in her script binder.

"That moment didn’t make headlines," she said. "But it made me. And I think that’s the real magic of the show. It didn’t just make us laugh. It let us live."