When Everybody Loves Raymond first aired, the comedy revolved around Ray, Debra, Robert, Frank, and Marie. The loud and boisterous family was a hit with viewers and while the combination of the core five worked, the creators of the show wanted to bring in a character that was a stark contrast to the loud Barone family. The character they created to be the most soft-spoken eventual member of the Barone family was Amy MacDougall, played by Monica Horan.
Before Horan was cast for Everybody Loves Raymond, Brad Garrett was a fan-favorite as the self-deprecating older brother of Ray, played by Ray Romano who was paid an insane salary while on the show. Robert was loved slightly less than Ray and never let anyone in the family forget that. But once Debra’s friend, Amy came into the picture, a romance would bloom that, after quite a rocky road and several breakups, would eventually lead to marriage. This combination on screen would lead to Garrett’s being nominated for and winning several Emmy Awards, which should have made Garrett have a career that was off the charts versus the strange twists and turns it took after the series ended.
Despite the success that Horan had on Everybody Loves Raymond, her resume did not appear to benefit from her exposure on the show, making it appear as though she struggled to find work after the sit sitcom ended in 2005. But for some, being more selective about roles in Hollywood after working continuously for nearly a decade is a personal choice, as opposed to not being able to find work, leaving fans to wonder just which camp Horan fell into.
Before she became a regular on Everybody Loves Raymond, Horan was a struggling actress. However, she had managed to land roles on several hit shows, including, LA Law, In Living Color, Coach, and more
The success was slow coming and Horan almost quit the business because of it. But it was when she landed the role of Amy that Horan’s career took off and gave Horan professional stability for the first time since she made the decision to become an actor.
“I didn’t go to network on things and in fact, it’s the reason why, when I decided I was gonna quit the business, it’s because I didn’t… half the things I was auditioning for… but the things I would finally get the audition for was terrible and then I wouldn’t get it and I’d be devastated that I didn’t get the terrible thing that just seems so ridiculous.”
Horan went on to say “… I don’t want to audition for things I don’t care about and I fired my agent. I said, ‘Don’t send me out anymore. I’m gonna be my mother and housewife and finally not burn the French toast.’ That was the first year I did Everybody Loves Raymond. It literally was the week before I fired the agent and the following week Phil [Rosenthal] said, ‘I want you to come in on show.'”
“That was kind of a little miracle because I had just said, ‘I’m not going to go for this anymore. It’s not me,’ and he had this part,” Horan remembered.
“It was so fun. The part was just so… It’s not that it was so far from anything I’d done before. It was actually the thing that was closest to me that I’d ever done… [Phil] thought that my personality would be funny with Brad and with Robert. That’s how that started. After that episode, it was a little like the Gloria Monty thing, like, ‘Let’s bring that kid back.'”
