The Transformation of Maggie Geha: The Rising Actress and Model
Maggie Geha
The actress and model Maggie Geha was born on 4th April 1988, in Boston, Massachusetts, USA and is perhaps best known for playing Ivy Pepper in “Gotham”, and Susan in “All My Children”. After matriculating from high school, the redhead attended Marymount Manhattan College; she also briefly modeled, and was Miss Vermont Teen USA in 2004.
Maggie previously described herself as being a ‘weird, eccentric, outgoing girl’ during her childhood years. According to the actress, her parents were constantly encouraging her to enter showbiz, and pursue a career in the arts due to her personality. The Boston native isn’t afraid to show off her comedic skills, as old videos of her “Ace Ventura” impressions are still floating around on the internet, which date back to 2014 or 2015, when Dubsmash (a now-defunct video sharing social media app) was popular.
Although Maggie grew up in both Boston and Vermont, Vermont has always felt more like home to the “Gotham” star. At first, she didn’t think that becoming an actor was an attainable goal, due to show business being so competitive. Instead, she considered studying a more strait-laced career, and eventually becoming a lawyer or doctor.
‘My parents were both musicians, and I saw how difficult the freelancer life of an artist can be,’ she confessed in an interview. However, halfway through college, Maggie ‘admitted defeat’ and decided to take acting seriously. After obtaining her bachelor’s, she began auditioning, met her manager, and allowed everything to fall into place.
Career
Maggie made her acting debut in 2012 with a cameo in an episode of “Gossip Girl”. The following year, she guest-starred as Inga in the satirical sitcom “30 Rock”, and was cast as Susan for six episodes of the ABC soap opera “All My Children”.
2014 was a busy time for the actress, as she had her first movie role in “Winter’s Tale”, the romantic fantasy film starring Colin Farrel and Jessica Brown. Despite a $75 million budget that pulled out all the stops, the movie was a box office bomb that made only $30 million. The actress’s next movie, “The Rewrite”, also fared poorly at the box office, as it made just $4 million against a $29 million budget.
After playing a receptionist in an unaired pilot episode of “Happyish”, which was cancelled due to low ratings before a second season could be announced, Maggie played a nurse in the comedy movie “Ted 2”, and Paula in the romcom “In Stereo”, which marked Mel Rodriguez’s directing debut. Although a string of lackluster roles would spell disaster for most newbie actors, Maggie was then lucky enough to be casted as Ivy Pepper in season three of “Gotham”.
In a promotional interview with Anthem Magazine, the redhead shared that she’d been living in Los Angeles for two years – apparently seeking a change of scenery from New York – when she received a self-tape audition request from her agent. ‘I just put myself on tape in my living room, and that was pretty much it,’ she revealed. After a meeting with the casting department at FOX, Maggie received a call from her team that evening, and flew to New York a week later to start filming.
However, Ivy was recast after just one year, as the showrunners wanted to move away from Maggie’s comedic version of the character. The actress was replaced by Peyton List of “Mad Men” and “As the World Turns” fame. This was the second time Ivy’s character was recast, with a previous version having been played by Clare Foley.
In August 2018, it was announced that Maggie would be joining the cast of “Mr. Iglesias”, a lighthearted Netflix sitcom that lasted two seasons and aired from June 2019 to December 2020. The former model became Abby Spencer, a religious and naïve history teacher and love interest of Tony Ochoa (played by Jacob Vargas), her laidback colleague who was secretly battling against a gambling addiction.
‘Mr. Iglesias’: Jacob Vargas, Maggie Geha & Cree Cicchino Cast In Netflix Comedy Series https://t.co/IjdMVREUa4 pic.twitter.com/v71LCA76GX
— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) August 17, 2018
“Mr. Iglesias” was positively received by viewers of the streaming platform, and had the potential for greatness. However, it was cancelled due to its protagonist, Gabriel Iglesias, being diagnosed with COVID-19 in summer 2021. As Netflix had taken an unusually long time to announce that it would be moving forward with a third season, it’s possible that they used Gabriel’s COVID diagnosis as the perfect excuse.
Since then, Maggie has played the female lead in the award-winning romcom “Shoulder Dance”, which premiered at the Hollywood Reel Independent Festival in February 2023. Some of the accolades the movie received at the festival include Best LGBTQ Film and Best Supporting Actress, which happens to be Maggie’s first award.
The storyline of “Shoulder Dance” blurs the line between friends and lovers, as two couples – one homosexual and one heterosexual – spend a weekend together with unforeseen consequences for all parties involved. In May 2023, it was announced that worldwide rights to the movie had been acquired by Breaking Glass Pictures; further festival dates and a future theatrical release were also in the works.
In the future, Maggie is interested in exploring new genres, such as period pieces and Westerns. The actress doesn’t rule out playing an outlandish supporting character or doing a sci-fi movie either. ‘I can only hope that my career will bring a whole lot of versatility, and help me to grow and challenge and stretch myself as an actor,’ she’s said.
Personal Life
Maggie posts sparingly on social media, but previously celebrated her one-year anniversary with Daniel Joseph Campbell, who she began dating in 2016 or 2017. The romantic post, which has since been deleted, depicted Maggie and Daniel sharing a kiss while she partly concealed his face with a small sparkler. Since then, they have quietly broken up, and if the actress is currently seeing anyone, she’s making sure to keep it a secret.
According to online sources, Maggie’s net worth is over $5 million. However, we find $500,000 to $1 million to be a more accurate figure. The redhead is 5ft 10ins (178cm) tall and weighs 133lbs (60kgs).
