Leading from the Heart

Over the course of her career, longtime SAG-AFTRA member Fran Drescher has earned a level of success many other performers in the industry dream of. But on the evening of Sept. 2, the legendary actor, producer, director, showrunner and activist earned herself a new title: SAG-AFTRA president.

She continues the work of leaders from SAG-AFTRA’s legacy unions, as well as that of her predecessor, Gabrielle Carteris. And while the entertainment and media industry continues to evolve, she has already marked her presidency to be one of tenacity, forward-thinking and even a bit of chutzpah.

Born and raised in Queens, New York, Drescher’s start began with the Miss New York Teenager pageant in 1973. Although she placed as frst runner-up, it gave her the push to take what would eventually become a successful career into her own hands. She paid for her own headshots and began to cold-call talent agents. It took her little time to get signed and land roles in commercials while attending cosmetology classes. Sometime later, she began to transition into theatrical projects, and landed appearances in flms such as Saturday Night Fever (1977) and This Is Spinal Tap (1984), as well as on ’80s television sitcoms Who’s the Boss? and ALF.

But she would become most known for her own television show, The Nanny, the iconic TV sitcom starring Drescher as a cosmetics saleswoman-turned-nanny for a widowed Broadway producer. While many may know of the story of her chance encounter with former CBS president Jeff Sagansky during a transatlantic flight in 1991, the inspiration for “The Flashy Girl From Flushing” actually came days later, following an afternoon spent with the daughter of a good friend. In a 2017 interview with talk show Studio 10, she recalled calling her then-husband and longtime creative partner Peter Marc Jacobson to pitch the idea.

“I said, ‘What do you think of a spin on The Sound of Music, only instead of Julie Andrews, I come to the door?’ He only thought about it for a minute, andthen says, ‘That’s the one we’re going to pitch to CBS.’”

Drescher and Jacobson would go on to sell The Nanny to CBS, as well as lead the show’s creative development. But in the two years prior to the show’s premiere in 1993, Drescher faced the obstacle of staying true to the original version of the main character Fran Fine. Not only did that entail keeping Drescher’s own thick, high-pitched New York accent, but  defending her decision to portray the character as Jewish, when the network suggested the character be Italian.

Said Drescher in a recent interview on The Drew Barrymore Show, “Even though I knew it was my big break, we [declined]. I don’t like to have regret, and I thought, ‘If I go along with this … and it doesn’t fly, I’m going to be kicking myself.

“I made it a cardinal rule to go with my gut and try to convince others why something I think is the right idea, rather than people-please.”

The Nanny went on to be a hit, with high Nielsen ratings and viewership. Much of its storyline and characters were based on Drescher’s personal experiences and real-life relationships with family and friends, and featured noted celebrity guest stars, including the 34th SAG Life Achievement honoree and fan favorite Elizabeth Taylor.

By its sixth and fnal season in 1999, the show and Drescher had earned 12 Emmy nominations and a win in the Outstanding Individual Achievement in Costume for a Series, as well as a Golden Globe nomination in the Actress in a Musical or Comedy TV Series category. With continuous syndication throughout the years, as well as numerous foreign adaptations, Drescher has become a TV icon with a legacy much like other female television pioneers such as Lucille Ball and Mary Tyler Moore. In the time since, she’s gone on to lead other shows, such as Happily Divorced (2011–2013) and Indebted (2020), and authored two memoirs, Enter Whining (1996) and Cancer Schmancer (2002), and a children’s book, Being Wendy (2011).

Upcoming projects include a reprisal of her character Eunice in the animated Hotel Transylvania franchise, a guest star appearance in season two of the Hulu original series Dollface and a musical adaptation of The Nanny.

However, what has continued to make Drescher as beloved as her best-known characters are her activism and philanthropic work. While it seems the industry is shifting toward making diversity, equity and inclusion the standard in everything from writers rooms to casting, she was already a step ahead nearly 20 years ago. Throughout The Nanny series, Drescher showcased diversity through guest stars that included 50th SAG Life Achievement honoree Rita Moreno, British singer-songwriter and LGBTQ activist Elton John and the late American musician Ray Charles, who had a four-episode cameo as a love interest to Fran Fine’s grandmother Yetta. Even in an era where guest star appearances were a common occurrence on television, pop culture experts mark the show’s choices as a progressive counterpoint to its peers at the time.

When asked about the show’s diversity and inclusion in a 2020 Vogue interview, Drescher said, “There was a point where I felt like the show was too white, and I wanted to infuse people of color, because it wasn’t happening in the ’90s. But we were set in New York in the theater world, and I wanted to bring other elements to it.”

Drescher’s advocacy has also extended into championing causes for victims of sexual assault and rape. In Enter Whining, she recalls a horrifc home invasion in 1985, in which intruders broke into her home and attacked her and a close family friend, and her 10-year journey of healing, including undergoing therapy.

In her Studio 10 interview, she said, “There were women who asked me to sign [my book], and I thought, ‘If people could see where I came from that low point to where I am now, maybe it’ll help and inspire others who have been sexually assaulted to … pick up the pieces.’

“You’ll never be the same, but you can forge forward and turn your pain into purpose.”

Learning how to turn painful personal experiences into activism has served Drescher well in the years since. She is an advocate of LGBTQ causes, including a 2010 partnership with the Human Rights Campaign’s project in support of same-sex marriage in New York. Additionally, she has vocalized support of her ex-husband Jacobson, since his coming out in 1999, and the two have continued to develop new projects, including Happily Divorced, which was loosely based on their experiences in the early years following their divorce.

But what’s been most noted is the attention she’s brought to women’s health and cancer awareness. Drescher, herself a survivor of uterine cancer, detailed her experiences, including frequent misdiagnoses from several doctors over the course of two years, in her second book, Cancer Schmancer. In 2007, she went on to found the Cancer Schmancer Movement and Cancer Schmancer Foundation, a nonproft organization that approaches women’s health care through wellness education, increased accessibility to early screenings and legislation in support of cancer awareness. The Cancer Schmancer Foundation was integral in the unanimous passing of the 2007 Gynecologic Cancer Education and Awareness Act, and as the organization’s president, Drescher has frequently spoken in Washington, D.C., in support of cancer education. For her work, she was named one of the Top 5 Celebrity Lobbyists by Washingtonian Magazine, alongside Bono, George Clooney, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt.

Additionally, she has served as a public diplomacy envoy for the U.S. State Department during the Bush and Obama administrations.

It is Drescher’s history in the industry, experience as a lobbyist and her ability to turn her personal experiences and those of others into greater calls to action that enables her to handle the unique position of SAG-AFTRA president. She championed unity throughout her campaign and echoed those same sentiments during her closing address at the union’s 2021 national convention on Oct. 18.

“I come into this position without bias or partisanship and will galvanize every single one of you who share my vision,” she said. “And may the polarizing fall to the wayside, for our future depends solely on making kindness and compassion for each other our compass. I look forward to working with each of you as we move forward in unity towards the realizing of great achievements and seminal pivots in new and fruitful directions.”

In addition to pledging to work with other union leaders and legislators, her speech touched on how to reduce waste in the industry, the formation of a senior fund, broadening the eligibility qualifcations for the SAG-AFTRA Health Plan, a greater focus on reproductive rights, and a new lifestyle program.

“I understand all too well the essential right to quality health care and the importance of good health, and this area will be a signifcant focal point for me on behalf of all members,” said Drescher. “Healthy members means fewer claims, which could translate into better policies at lower premiums, resulting in more members who can qualify for insurance.”

She also stressed the need for greater diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, as well as a stronger presence of women within union leadership roles and a zero tolerance policy for workplace harassment and assault.

She concluded her speech with the earnestness and confdence that has marked her career, both on and off screen. “I wanted to wear a lot of hats in this business, and I’m proud to say that I successfully have. But I have also gained invaluable insights and learned many lessons that will only help us as I steer this ship and seek inroads not navigated. I know that I can make a difference, and everything that I have accomplished in my life has prepared me for this one defning moment.

“I ask that you trust me and take this ride with me, as you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.”