{"id":33560,"date":"2026-05-14T09:17:01","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T09:17:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yournews.site\/?p=33560"},"modified":"2026-05-14T09:17:01","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T09:17:01","slug":"who-is-fran-drescher-and-how-did-she-become-sag-aftra-president-all-about-the-nanny-star-pd01-entert-online","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yournews.site\/?p=33560","title":{"rendered":"Who Is Fran Drescher and How Did She Become SAG-AFTRA President? All About \u2018The Nanny\u2019 Star pd01 \u2013 entert.online"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Fran Drescher\u00a0is an\u00a0actor, writer, producer\u00a0and author who audiences may recognize for her iconic laugh \u2014 and\u00a0fashion\u00a0\u2014 throughout the TV sitcom\u00a0The Nanny<\/em>.<\/p>\n

What many may not know about Drescher, 65, is that outside of her work in Hollywood she\u2019s a cancer survivor who launched a\u00a0research and advocacy non-profit. \u201cIt\u2019s been an amazing journey,\u201d she told PEOPLE of her health in 2021. \u201cI have learned tremendous life lessons and experienced incredible silver linings as a result of this experience.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Now, the Emmy nominee is the president of SAG-AFTRA, leading a trade union of 160,000 screen actors and other performers. How did she become the figurehead of a guild membership that just announced an\u00a0industry-wide strike? Read on to learn more about Fran Drescher and her life on- and off-screen.<\/p>\n

How\u00a0The Nanny<\/em>\u00a0launched her career<\/span><\/h3>\n

Drescher was born in New York City\u2019s Queens to parents Morty, a naval systems analyst, and Sylvia, a bridal consultant. While studying at Hillcrest High School, she met her future husband and collaborator Peter Marc Jacobson; they\u00a0married\u00a0in 1978 just three years after graduating high school.<\/p>\n

The pair would go on to executive produce and write\u00a0The Nanny<\/em>, featuring Drescher as Jewish fashionista Fran Fine, who becomes a nanny to a rich British family. The comedy, which aired on CBS from 1993 to 1999, earned the actress two Emmy and two Golden Globe nominations. Brenda Cooper\u2019s costumes earned a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement in 1995.<\/p>\n

Fun fact: a crossover episode of\u00a0The Nanny<\/em>\u00a0featured Drescher\u2019s Hillcrest High classmate\u00a0Ray Romano, who appeared on the show as his character Ray Barone from\u00a0Everybody Loves Raymond<\/em>.<\/p>\n

As an actress, Drescher got her start\u00a0in 1977\u2019s\u00a0Saturday Night Fever<\/em>\u00a0opposite\u00a0John Travolta. Other big screen appearances included 1980\u2019s\u00a0Gorp<\/em>, 1984\u2019s\u00a0Spinal Tap<\/em>, 1989\u2019s\u00a0The Big Picture<\/em>\u00a0and Francis Ford Coppola\u2019s 1996 film\u00a0Jack<\/em>. TV audiences caught her in guest roles in\u00a0Who\u2019s the Boss?<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Night Court<\/em>. Although she lives in L.A., Drescher has also worked in NYC theater, including a Broadway debut as the stepmother in 2014\u2019s revival of\u00a0Cinderella<\/em>.<\/p>\n

She was married for 21 years<\/span><\/h3>\n

Of husband Peter Marc Jacobson, Drescher told\u00a0InTouch\u00a0in 2010 that when they first got together, \u201cWe were just kids and didn\u2019t know who we truly were. We went through a lot together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Drescher and Jacobson ended their marriage in 1999 \u2014 but their friendship and creative partnership continued. On\u00a0The Oprah Winfrey Show<\/em>\u00a0in 2014, the couple discussed Jacobson\u2019s journey to coming out as gay and how it affected their relationship.<\/p>\n

After leading the WB sitcom\u00a0Living with Fran<\/em>, Drescher repeated\u00a0The Nanny<\/em>\u2019s formula for success by teaming up with Jacobson on\u00a0Happily Divorced<\/em>. The sitcom, which aired on TV Land from 2011 to 2013, featured the actress as Fran Lovett, a florist coping with the realization her husband (played by\u00a0John Michael Higgins) is gay.<\/p>\n

A fierce advocate for the LGBTQ community, Drescher\u00a0officiated\u00a0the weddings of real-life gay couples as part of a marriage contest that\u00a0Happily Divorced<\/em>\u00a0promoted in 2012.<\/p>\n

She is a cancer survivor<\/span><\/h3>\n

Drescher is the author\u00a0of two memoirs, 1996\u2019s\u00a0Enter Whining<\/em>\u00a0and 2002\u2019s\u00a0Cancer Schmancer<\/em>, the latter covering her experience with uterine cancer. The\u00a0disease was diagnosed\u00a0properly, she has said, in 2000 after about two years of painful symptoms and eight doctors attempting to treat her.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the most significant things that I learned is that my story was not unique, which was very mind-blowing to me,\u201d she told\u00a0HealthyWomen\u00a0in 2020. \u201cI wrote the book so that others wouldn\u2019t go through what I did. I very quickly realized that my experience is really quite common and happens often. It became clear that the book was not the end, but just the beginning of what became a life\u2019s mission.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cancer Schmancer\u00a0is also the name of the non-profit organization that Drescher launched in the wake of her misdiagnosis and treatment, which included a\u00a0hysterectomy\u00a0that rendered her cancer-free. The org provides\u00a0resources and information for patients and lobbies for healthcare policy change.<\/p>\n

She is the president of SAG-AFTRA<\/span><\/h3>\n

In 2021, Drescher ran for the presidency of\u00a0SAG-AFTRA, the union that comprises the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, assuming the role on September 2. She ran on a platform (called the \u201cUnite for Strength\u201d faction) that prioritized \u201cempowering and protecting members,\u201d she told\u00a0Deadline. \u201cWhether it\u2019s compensation, residuals, safety protections, enforcement, protections from harassment, legislative advocacy, increasing work opportunities, working with our sister organizations in the industry, expanding work opportunities and making sure our contracts stay ahead of technological changes,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Per\u00a0Deadline, actors including\u00a0Tom Hanks,\u00a0Dan Aykroyd, J.K. Simmons and\u00a0Rosario Dawson\u00a0voiced their support for Drescher\u2019s presidency. \u201cIn this new world where streaming is transforming our work and our compensation, we need trailblazing leaders willing to fight for us,\u201d said\u00a0Alec Baldwin\u00a0in a supportive video.<\/p>\n

Debra Messing, for her part, added at the time: \u201cI have long admired Fran for her tireless activism and powerful voice on women\u2019s health, the LGBT community, and all underrepresented communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

When elected, Drescher said in\u00a0a statement, \u201cI am honored to serve my union in this capacity\u2026 Only as a united front will we have strength against the real opposition in order to achieve what we all want: more benefits, stronger contracts and better protections. Let us lock elbows and together show up with strength at the negotiating table!\u201d<\/p>\n

Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for\u00a0PEOPLE\u2019s free daily newsletter\u00a0to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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<\/span> Post Views:<\/span> 7<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fran Drescher\u00a0is an\u00a0actor, writer, producer\u00a0and author who audiences may recognize for her iconic laugh \u2014 and\u00a0fashion\u00a0\u2014 throughout the TV sitcom\u00a0The Nanny. What many may not know about Drescher, 65, is that outside of her work in Hollywood she\u2019s a cancer survivor who launched a\u00a0research and advocacy non-profit. \u201cIt\u2019s been an amazing journey,\u201d she told PEOPLE<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33561,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/yournews.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/yournews.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/yournews.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yournews.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yournews.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=33560"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/yournews.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33560\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yournews.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/33561"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/yournews.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=33560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yournews.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=33560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yournews.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=33560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}