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Fran Drescher - Biography |
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Drescher was born in Flushing,
Queens, New York City to a Jewish family of Eastern European origin.
Drescher grew up in Queens with her parents, Sylvia and Morty Drescher,
and was a studious girl who was quite popular in school. Drescher attended
Hillcrest High School in Jamaica, Queens. At age fifteen, she met
the man she believed that she would spend much of her life with, Peter
Marc Jacobson. In 1978, at age twenty-one, the two married.
Her first break was a bit part in the movie Saturday Night Fever (1976).
In January 1985, robbers ransacked Drescher's Los Angeles apartment and
raped her and a friend at gunpoint. It took her many years to overcome
this ordeal, and it took her even longer to admit this to the press. She
was paraphrased as saying in an interview with Larry King that although it
was a very negative experience, she found ways to turn her experience into
something positive. In her book Cancer Schmancer, she is quoted to have
said, "My whole life has been about changing negatives into positives."
She saw her rapist sent to prison.
She continued to play small but memorable roles in movies, until she
finally created her own show, The Nanny. She was visiting her friend,
model Twiggy, in England and came up with the plotline. The show aired on
CBS from 1993 to 1999, becoming an instant success, and so did Fran. In
this sitcom, she played a charming and bubbly woman named Fran Fine who
casually became the pantyhose-clad nanny of three children; with her wit
and her charm, she endeared herself to their widower father Maxwell
Sheffield, a stuffy, composed, proper British gentleman and a Broadway
producer (played by British actor Charles Shaughnessy).
Two of the many sides of FranHer voice is a combination of a high nasal
pitch and a New York accent that people find either annoying, endearing,
or humorous (or all three). In her autobiography, Drescher discusses the
fact that this is her real voice — even though it is played up a little
on-camera — and the many voice lessons she has had to take to overcome it
for movie auditions (only to have it, and her machine-gun titter, end up
being her trademark). Her first book was even titled Enter Whining.
In the late 1990s, she was a defendant in a lawsuit, and later dismissed
from it. Acerbic comic Dennis Miller remarked that "no one wanted to have
to listen to her testify!"
Fran has also appeared in a number of films, including This Is Spinal Tap
(1984) This Is Spinal Tap, UHF (1989) starring "Weird Al" Yankovic, Jack
(1996), directed by Francis Ford Coppola, The Beautician and the Beast
(1997) (which she also executive produced) and Picking Up the Pieces
(2000) co-starring Woody Allen. After separating in 1996, Fran divorced
her husband, Peter Jacobson, in 1999. She then dated a man sixteen years
her junior from 1998–2002. Her beloved dog, Chester, who made many
appearances in her movies and on The Nanny, died in 2000 at age eighteen.
She now has a chocolate Pomeranian named Esther and lives in New York. |
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Fran Drescher - Personal Quotes |
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"Think peace."
"Who would make this up?" [upon constantly being asked if her voice
is real] |
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Fran Drescher - Filmography |
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"Entourage" .... Mrs. Levine
(1 episode, 2008)
- The All Out Fall Out (2008) TV episode .... Mrs. Levine
"Live from Lincoln Center" .... Morgan Le Fay (1 episode, 2008)
... aka Great Performances: Live from Lincoln Center (USA:
alternative title)
- Camelot (2008) TV episode .... Morgan Le Fay
"Living with Fran" .... Fran Reeves (26 episodes, 2005-2007)
- School Ties (2007) TV episode .... Fran Reeves
- Plastered (2007) TV episode .... Fran Reeves
- Josh Works for Riley (2007) TV episode .... Fran Reeves
- Reuniting with Fran (2006) TV episode .... Fran Reeves
- Dreaming with Fran (2006) TV episode .... Fran Reeves
(21 more)
"Law & Order: Criminal Intent"
(1 episode, 2006)
... aka Law & Order: CI (USA: promotional abbreviation)
- The War at Home (2006) TV Episode
"The Simpsons" .... Female Golem (1 episode, 2006)
- Treehouse of Horror XVII (2006) TV Episode (voice) .... Female
Golem
Shark Bait (2006) (voice) .... Pearl
... aka Pi's Story (South Korea)
... aka The Reef (UK)
"Living with Fran" .... Fran Reeves (26 episodes, 2005-2006)
- Reuniting with Fran (2006) TV Episode .... Fran Reeves
- Dreaming with Fran (2006) TV Episode .... Fran Reeves
- Going to Bed with Fran (2006) TV Episode .... Fran Reeves
- Masquerading with Fran (2006) TV Episode .... Fran Reeves
- The Whole Clan with Fran (2006) TV Episode .... Fran Reeves
(21 more)
Santa's Slay (2005) .... Virginia Mason
"What I Like About You" .... Fran Reeves (1 episode, 2005)
- Girls Gone Wild (2005) TV Episode .... Fran Reeves
"Phua Chu Kang" .... Fran Fine (1 episode, 2004)
- Episode #7.3 (2004) TV Episode .... Fran Fine
"Strong Medicine" .... Irene Slater (1 episode, 2004)
- Cinderella in Scrubs (2004) TV Episode .... Irene Slater
Beautiful Girl (2003) (TV) .... Amanda Wasserman
"Good Morning, Miami" .... Roberta Diaz (3 episodes, 2003)
- Three Weeks Notice (2003) TV Episode .... Roberta Diaz
- About a Ploy (2003) TV Episode .... Roberta Diaz
- Fear and Loathing in Miami (2003) TV Episode .... Roberta Diaz
Picking Up the Pieces (2000) .... Sister Frida
Kid Quick (2000) .... Kerry
... aka The Adventures of Kid Quick (USA)
"The Nanny" .... Fran Fine (144 episodes, 1993-1999)
- The Baby Shower (1999) TV Episode .... Fran Fine
- The Dummy Twins (1999) TV Episode .... Fran Fine
- Yetta's Letters (1999) TV Episode .... Fran Fine
- The Producers (1999) TV Episode .... Fran Fine
- Ma'ternal Affairs (1999) TV Episode .... Fran Fine
(139 more)
"The Simple Life" (1 episode, 1998)
- Pilot (1998) TV Episode
The Beautician and the Beast (1997) .... Joy Miller
Jack (1996) .... Dolores 'D.D.' Durante
The Nanny Christmas Special: Oy to the World (1995) (TV) (voice)
.... Fran Fine
Car 54, Where Are You? (1994) .... Velma Velour
Without Warning: Terror in the Towers (1993) (TV) .... Rosemarie
Russo
"Civil Wars" (1 episode, 1992)
- A Bus Named Desire (1992) TV Episode
We're Talking Serious Money (1992) .... Valerie
"Princesses" (1991) TV Series .... Melissa Kirshner (unknown
episodes)
"Dream On" .... Kathleen (1 episode, 1991)
- The Second Greatest Story Ever Told (1991) TV Episode ....
Kathleen
"WIOU" .... Jo Finc (1 episode, 1990)
- Pilot (1990) TV Episode .... Jo Finc
Cadillac Man (1990) .... Joy Munchack
"ALF" .... Roxanne (1 episode, 1990)
- Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades (1990) TV Episode ....
Roxanne
Wedding Band (1990) .... Veronica
"The Tracey Ullman Show" .... Sales Assistant (1 episode, 1989)
- By Stuff Possessed (1989) TV Episode .... Sales Assistant
The Big Picture (1989) .... Polo Habel
UHF (1989) .... Pamela Finklestein
... aka The Vidiot from UHF
Love and Betrayal (1989) (TV) .... Germaine
... aka Throw Away Wives (USA)
What's Alan Watching? (1989) (TV) .... Gail Hoffstetter
It Had to Be You (1989)
Rock 'n' Roll Mom (1988) (TV) .... Jody Levin
"Once a Hero" (1 episode, 1987)
- Manos Arriba Mrs. Greely (1987) TV Episode
"Night Court" .... Miriam Brody (1 episode, 1986)
- Author, Author (1986) TV Episode .... Miriam Brody
"Charmed Lives" (1986) TV Series .... Joyce Columbus
"Who's the Boss?" .... Carol Patrice / ... (2 episodes, 1985-1986)
- Charmed Lives (1986) TV Episode .... Joyce Columbus
- The Heiress (1985) TV Episode .... Carol Patrice
"227" .... Mrs. Baker (1 episode, 1985)
- The Refrigerator (1985) TV Episode .... Mrs. Baker
The Rosebud Beach Hotel (1984) .... Linda
... aka Big Lobby
... aka The No-Tell Hotel
Young Lust (1984)
This Is Spinal Tap (1984) .... Bobbi Flekman
... aka This is Spinal Tap®: A Rockumentary by Martin Di Bergi (USA:
complete title)
Doctor Detroit (1983) .... Karen Blittstein
"Fame" .... Rhonda (1 episode, 1982)
- Metamorphosis (1982) TV Episode .... Rhonda
Ragtime (1981) .... Mameh
... aka Love and Glory (Philippines: English title)
Gorp (1980) .... Evie
The Hollywood Knights (1980) .... Sally
Stranger in Our House (1978) (TV) .... Carolyn Baker
... aka Summer of Fear (Europe: English title)
American Hot Wax (1978) .... Sheryl
Saturday Night Fever (1977) .... Connie |
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Fran Drescher - Related Links |
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Wikipedia: Fran Drescher
YouTube: Fran Drescher
Fran Drescher
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