Fran Drescher

FRAN DRESCHER

Date of Birth: September 30, 1957

A successful writer, actor, comedian and activist, Fran Drescher grew up in Queens, New York. Her mother was a bridal consultant and her dad was a systems analyst. Fran took drama in high school, where Ray Romano was one of her classmates. Though her teachers were impressed with her performances in various school plays, they felt her thick accent and nasal voice would hold her back from a professional career. Fran spent a year at Queens College, then dropped out to enroll at a cosmetology school to pursue hairdressing.

However, she soon realized showbusiness was her calling and in 1977, Fran made her screen debut with a small role as a dancer in Saturday Night Fever starring John Travolta.

In her next film, American Hot Wax (1978), Fran landed a larger role, this time playing opposite Jay Leno and Tim McIntire.

However, it wasn't until she co-created with her then-husband, Peter Marc Jacobson, the hit TV series The Nanny, in which she played Fran Fine, an outspoken nanny of three children, that Drescher gained household recognition. The series ran for six years, and during that time, Fran was nominated twice for an Emmy as Outstanding Lead Actress for the Emmy and twice for Best Female Performance in a TV series at the Golden Globes.

Other film credits include The Hollywood Knights (1980), Doctor Detroit (1983) and UHF (1989).

After 21 years of marriage, she and Jacobson divorced in 1999. He later came out as a gay man. Chosen by People magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World in 1996, Fran has survived rape, robbery (In 1985 two armed robbers broke into Drescher and Jacobson's Los Angeles apartment and raped her in front of her husband) and uterine cancer. In 2002 her inspiring book Cancer Schmancer was published. In addition, she began a non-profit organization for women with cancer. In 2008, Fran won a TV Land Award for her work in The Nanny.

Since The Nanny, Fran has starred in two other TV series—Living with Fran and Happily Divorced, which she co-created with her ex-husband, based on their lives. Fran also provided the voice of Eunice in the animated film Hotel Transylvania (2012), alongside Adam Sandler and David Spade, reprising her role in Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015) and Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018).

Filmography

Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018) (voice)
Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015) (voice)
Hotel Transylvania (2012) (voice)
The Reef (2006)
Santa's Slay (2005)
Beautiful Girl (2003)
Pick Up the Pieces (200)
The Beautician and the Beast (1997)
Jack (1996)
Car 54, Where Are You? (1994)
We're Talkin Serious Money (1992)
Cadillac Man (1990)
Wedding Band (1990)
It Had to Be You (1989)
UHF (1989)
The Big Picture (1989)
Young Lust (1984)
This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
Doctor Detroit (1983)
Ragtime (1981)
Gorp (1980)
The Hollywood Knights (1980)
American Hot Wax (1978)
Saturday Night Fever (1977)