Chip Chick
While she may best be known for her time as the beloved character who was “working in a bridal shop in Flushing, Queens” before becoming “the Nanny” for an affluent family, actress Fran Drescher has done many amazing things throughout her career.
You may have seen her name popping up in headlines since the SAG-AFTRA strike, as she inspired the Screen Actor’s Guild as their President and demanded better conditions and fair pay for the world’s favorite entertainers. Here is some more interesting information on the accomplished Fran Drescher.
Fran was born in Queens, New York, in 1957. As a teenager, she attended Hillcrest High School in New York alongside famous actor and comedian Ray Romano. She briefly attended Queens College but ended up enrolling in cosmetology school.
In 1978, Fran married television writer Peter Marc Jacobson, whom she met while they were in high school. They were married until 1999.
Fran had a big acting break when she first starred in the movie “Saturday Night Fever” in 1977. By the 1980s, she had a reputation as a character actress and starred in several comedy films like “GORP” and “This Is Spinal Tap.” She also made her way onto television shows and made a few guest appearances in the mid-80s.
Everything changed when Fran and Peter decided to collaborate to create their iconic television series “The Nanny” in 1993. After she brought Fran Fine to life, the show was a hit and successfully ran on CBS from 1993 to 1999.
Throughout the late 90s and early 2000s, Fran continued to appear in guest roles in films and television series. In 2000, she bravely underwent a hysterectomy after being diagnosed with uterine cancer, prompting her to create her non-profit organization, the Cancer Schmancer Movement.
She briefly tested her own talk show, “The Fran Drescher Tawk Show,” in 2010 and made her Broadway debut in 2014 as the evil stepmother in the revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Cinderella.”
In 2008, Fran was impressively appointed as a U.S. diplomat by former President George W. Bush’s Assistant Secretary of State, Goli Ameri. She traveled the world as a Public Diplomacy Envoy for Women’s Health Issues, visiting and supporting organizations whose mission was to promote and provide treatment for women’s health.
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