Francine Joy “Fran” Drescher is an American television and film actress born on September 30, 1957 in Queens, New York. She’s well-known for her distinctive nasal voice, her Queens accent, her machine-gun laugh, and for a number of comedy roles. Raised by her Eastern European Jewish family in Flushing, Queens, she attended Hill Crest High School and was married by the age of 21. Fran Drescher underwent a harrowing ordeal in January 1985 when she was held at gunpoint and raped by robbers in her apartment. She was able to get past the experience, with her attacker getting caught and sent to jail while she went on to do a number of movies and TV series. Among these are Fame, Charmed Lives, Love and Betrayal, Saturday Night Fever, This Is Spinal Tap, and The Beautician and the Beast.
Fran Fine is played by namesake actress Fran Drescher in the sitcom The Nanny. A native of Queens, New York, she worked as a foot model while studying in a cosmetics college. Later on, however, she was dumped by her fiancé Danny who married Fran’s lifelong rival Heather instead. Fran then starts selling makeup door-to-door in order to make a living, ending up on the doorstep of Broadway producer Maxwell Sheffield. Maxwell decides to hire Fran as a nanny for his three children – Gracie, Brighton, and Maggie – and she moves in with the Sheffield family.
(Image courtesy of CBS)