Fran Drescher at the 2023 Screen Actors Guild Awards.Photo:Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
What many may not know about Drescher, 65, is that outside of her work in Hollywood she’s a cancer survivor who launched aresearch and advocacy non-profit. “It’s been an amazing journey,” she told PEOPLE of her health in 2021. “I have learned tremendous life lessons and experienced incredible silver linings as a result of this experience.”
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 anindustry-wide strike? Read on to learn more about Fran Drescher and her life on- and off-screen.
HowThe Nannylaunched her career
Drescher was born in New York City’s 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; theymarriedin 1978 just three years after graduating high school.
The pair would go on to executive produce and writeThe Nanny, 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’s costumes earned a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement in 1995.
Fun fact: a crossover episode ofThe Nannyfeatured Drescher’s Hillcrest High classmateRay Romano, who appeared on the show as his character Ray Barone fromEverybody Loves Raymond.
She was married for 21 years
Of husband Peter Marc Jacobson, Drescher toldInTouchin 2010 that when they first got together, “We were just kids and didn’t know who we truly were. We went through a lot together.”
Drescher and Jacobson ended their marriage in 1999 — but their friendship and creative partnership continued. OnThe Oprah Winfrey Showin 2014, the couple discussed Jacobson’s journey to coming out as gay and how it affected their relationship.
A fierce advocate for the LGBTQ community, Drescherofficiatedthe weddings of real-life gay couples as part of a marriage contest thatHappily Divorcedpromoted in 2012.
She is a cancer survivor
Drescher is the authorof two memoirs, 1996’sEnter Whiningand 2002’sCancer Schmancer, the latter covering her experience with uterine cancer. Thedisease was diagnosedproperly, she has said, in 2000 after about two years of painful symptoms and eight doctors attempting to treat her.
“One of the most significant things that I learned is that my story was not unique, which was very mind-blowing to me,” she toldHealthyWomenin 2020. “I wrote the book so that others wouldn’t 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’s mission.”
Cancer Schmanceris also the name of the non-profit organization that Drescher launched in the wake of her misdiagnosis and treatment, which included ahysterectomythat rendered her cancer-free. The org providesresources and informationfor patients and lobbies for healthcare policy change.
Fran Drescher during Grammys On The Hill: Advocacy Day in Washington, D.C., on April 27, 2023.Paul Morigi/Getty
Paul Morigi/Getty
She is the president of SAG-AFTRA
In 2021, Drescher ran for the presidency ofSAG-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 “Unite for Strength” faction) that prioritized “empowering and protecting members,” she toldDeadline. “Whether it’s 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," she added.
PerDeadline, actors includingTom Hanks,Dan Aykroyd, J.K. Simmons andRosario Dawsonvoiced their support for Drescher’s presidency. “In this new world where streaming is transforming our work and our compensation, we need trailblazing leaders willing to fight for us,” saidAlec Baldwinin a supportive video.
Debra Messing, for her part, added at the time: “I have long admired Fran for her tireless activism and powerful voice on women’s health, the LGBT community, and all underrepresented communities."
When elected, Drescher said ina statement, “I am honored to serve my union in this capacity… 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!”
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Fran Drescher and Duncan Crabtree-Ireland at a press conference on July 13, 2023.CHRIS DELMAS/AFP via Getty
CHRIS DELMAS/AFP via Getty
What she has said about the actors’ strike
On July 13, 2023, contractnegotiationsbetween SAG-AFTRA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) failed. SAG-AFTRA members had voted, on June 5, 97.91% in favor of authorizing a strike before it began AMPTP negotiations on June 7, though that vote did not immediately call for a strike. Now, union leadership has announced it will join the Writers Guild of America on the picket lines ofits strike.
Read more about the ongoing actors’ strikehere.
source: people.com
