Bell and producer Betty Corday as a romantic interest for original character Mickey Horton (John Clarke).
For her work as Maggie, Rogers won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 1979.
She is portrayed as a stoic, opinionated, and family-oriented woman who is generally loving and supportive, but occasionally interferes in her friends' and relatives' lives.
A prominent storyline in 1984 included Maggie discovering that she had Myasthenia Gravis, which mirrored Rogers' real-life struggles with the disease.
Rogers returned to the show in 2004 after producer James E. Reilly decided to have all the murder victims turn up alive on the island of Melaswen, or "New Salem" spelled backwards.
Following a series of experiences together, the pair grew extremely close, and their bond became central to both characters until Mickey's death in 2010.
Suzanne Rogers auditioned for the role on July 13, 1973, and garnered the attention of future daytime legend, Susan Flannery, who played Dr. Laura Horton.
The news of Rogers being cast as Maggie was a different move, taking an actress who loves to dance, to a character of a crippled farm girl.
[11] This disease affected her facial muscles and the medication she needed made her feel ill, with her face appearing swollen while also suffering hair loss.
[14] While limited attempts to give Maggie and Mickey storylines were made, for over a decade, they were relegated to supporting status, often off the front burner and with relative little airtime.
To help with falling ratings at the time, head writer James E. Reilly decided to bring all the characters back from the dead.
Maggie's life became further complicated by the revelation that Dr. Daniel Jonas was really the product of the eggs she had given in hopes of having a child years ago.
Rogers was the first winner for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 1979 for her portrayal of Maggie as an alcoholic.
[20] One day Mickey Horton, suffering from memory problems believing he is a man named "Marty Hanson", stumbles into her farmhouse desperate for food and water, and soon collapses.
Things took a turn for the worse in the eighties when the character and I were diagnosed with myasthenia gravis, but at this point being cured to keep Mickey was her determination.
Laura Horton (Bill's wife and Mickey's ex-wife) explains to her that her paralysis is no longer physical, but mental.
While Linda went on to other relationships (including Mickey's brother Tommy and the wealthy Bob Anderson whom she married), she continued to remain a thorn in Maggie's side.
After Bob Anderson's death, Melissa ran away from the neglectful Linda and eventually Mickey and Maggie took her in, sending her to a private school outside of Salem.
Janice is eventually found and returned to Mickey and Maggie, but Joanna takes a job in Salem and stays close to her daughter.
[26] Later that year Maggie's drinking increases and she is arrested when she has an accident with Janice in her car, both are knocked unconscious and taken to the hospital.
[29] In 1993, Alice and Maggie Horton invest in Billie Reed's up and coming cosmetics company "Countess Wilhelmina".
[30] When Maggie is apparently murdered by a serial killer in 2003,[15] it comes as a shock when Mickey starts a relationship with Bonnie Lockhart.
Mickey is upstairs packing, and when Maggie goes to check on him, she discovers that he had died of a heart attack, leaving her a widow.
[35][better source needed] Maggie has had a difficult time dealing with the fact that her husband is gone, and fears facing life without Mickey.
On January 14, 2010, Mickey's memorial service takes place which includes Hortons from the past and present comforting Maggie.
The grieving Maggie is briefly tempted by a bottle of alcohol she finds in Mickey's office but instead pours it down the sink.
Additionally, Maggie opened her home to her nephew, Nick Fallon, Marie's grandson, who was recently paroled.
He eventually dies from his injuries and Maggie makes the decision to take Daniel off Life Support and donate his heart to her Step-Grandson Brady.
After one serious dizzy spell, Maggie fell down the stairs in the Kiriakis mansion, was rushed to the hospital, where Victor was informed that not only had she broken her back, but that her legs were once again paralyzed, like they had been when she had first met Mickey.
In August 2023, Maggie loses Victor when he is killed off screen due to his plane crashing into the Mediterranean Sea.