Hillcrest High School in Jamaica, New York (was classmat
Nationality :
American
Profession :
Actor
Claim to Fame :
as Fran Fine Sheffield on the CBS sitcom The Nanny (1993-)
Nickname :
Frannie
Chosen by People (USA) magazine as one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world. [1996]
Sold her Spanish house to Alfred Gough and now lives in Malibu.
She was admitted to Los Angeles's Cedars Sinai Hospital on 21 June 2000, after doctors diagnosed her with uterine cancer. But emergency surgery caught it early as it was only at Stage 1 and she didn't have to have radiation or chemotherapy. She has been given a clean bill of health and no post-operative treatment has been ordered.
Is of Italian and Russian-Jewish Descent.
Went to Hillcrest High School in Queens, New York, as did her former husband, Peter Marc Jacobson.
Her father, Mort Drescher, has appeared on "The Nanny" (1993) on more than one occasion.
Owns a chocolate pomeranian named Esther Drescher.
A Patient Advocate on the External Advisory Board for the M.D. Anderson Cancer Centre in Houston, Texas. Also the 2002 recipient of the Public Service Award from the Gynecologic Cancer Foundation.
Became good friends with Dan Aykroyd and Donna Dixon, after co-starring with them in the 1983 film, Doctor Detroit (1983).
Abides by a dairy-free diet.
Was told that she'd never make it in this business unless she lost her thick New York accent.
Famously bumped into the then-president of CBS, Jeff Sagansky, on a plane trip to Paris. She convinced him to hear her and her husband Peter Marc Jacobson's ideas for a television show. After impressing him with her persistence, intelligence, and charm, "The Nanny" (1993) pilot was filmed less than a year later.
Was first runner up for "Miss New York Teenager" in 1973. In order to get an agent, she lied when calling up talent agencies and said she was the winner. It worked and an agent was found.
Earlier in her career, in an effort to get more roles as an actress, she once went to a professional to lose her nasal voice and thick New York accent. She was very successful in learning how to speak "normal", but couldn't get any work that way! By that point, people only wanted to hire if she used the "funny" voice. Meanwhile, it was the voice that made her famous years later.
She along with her then-husband, Peter Marc Jacobson, survived an attack in their home a number of years ago.
Endorsed Hanes' Smooth Illusions line of pantyhose in 1994, appearing in print and TV ads.
Francine Joy Drescher was born on September 30th, 1957 in Flushing, Queens, New York to Morty and Sylvia Drescher. Fran, as she is called, attended Hillcrest High school in New York with another now-famous name, Ray Romano. She was a studious girl and was quite popular. In fact, at age fifteen she'd met the man she thought she'd spend the rest of her life with. That man was Peter Marc Jacobson. Her first break was in the unforgettable movie, Saturday Night Fever (1977) with John Travolta. She continued to play small roles in movies, until she came up with the idea for "The Nanny" (1993). She was visiting a friend in England and came up with the plot line. "The Nanny" became an instant success, and so did Fran. Since then, she has been in films such as The Beautician and the Beast (1997) (which she also produced) and Picking Up the Pieces (2000) co-starring Woody Allen. Fran has since divorced her husband Jacobson. She is a cancer survivor and an inspiration to women everywhere.
