Instruct: Given a question, retrieve passages that answer the question.
Query: When was Fran Drescher born?
Francine Joy Drescher (born September 30, 1957) is an American actress, comedian, writer and activist. She is best known for her role as Fran Fine in the hit TV series The Nanny (1993–99), and for her nasal voice and thick New York accent.
"Happily Divorced" is an American sitcom created for TV Land by Fran Drescher and Peter Marc Jacobson, based upon their own real-life experiences. It is TV Land's third sitcom after "Hot in Cleveland" and "Retired at 35". Fran Drescher stars as Fran, a Los Angeles florist who finds out her husband Peter (John Michael Higgins), to whom she has been married for eighteen years, is gay. Naturally, they get a divorce but, because of their tight financial situation, they continue to live in the same house together. The series is based on Drescher and Jacobson's real-life divorce and his eventual coming out. The series ran from June 15, 2011 to February 13, 2013. On August 23, 2013, TV Land cancelled the series after two seasons. A total of thirty-four episodes were produced and aired.
After separating in 1996, Drescher and Jacobson divorced in 1999. They had no children. Drescher stated, "I would have been able to conceive but not hold on."[21] Drescher has worked to support LGBT rights issues after her former husband came out.[22] Drescher has stated that the primary reason for the divorce was her need to change directions in life. Drescher and Jacobson remain friends and business partners. She has stated that "we choose to be in each other's lives in any capacity. Our love is unique, rare, and unconditional; unless he's being annoying."[23][24]
On February 4, 2014, Drescher made her Broadway debut in Cinderella as stepmother Madame.[2]
To promote Happily Divorced, Drescher performed the weddings of three gay couples in New York City using the minister's license she received from the Universal Life Church.[17] Drescher hand-picked the three couples, all of whom were entrants into "Fran Drescher's 'Love Is Love' Gay Marriage Contest" on Facebook, based on the stories the couples submitted about how they met, why their relationship illustrated that "love is love" and why they wanted to be married by her.[18]
Based on an idea inspired by Drescher's visit with a friend and "The Sound of Music", the season revolves around Fran Fine, a Jewish woman from Flushing, Queens, New York, who is hired by a wealthy Broadway producer to be the nanny to his three children. Drescher stars as the titular character, Charles Shaughnessy as British-born producer Maxwell Sheffield, and the children – Maggie, Brighton and Grace – portrayed by Nicholle Tom, Benjamin Salisbury, and Madeline Zima. The series also features Daniel Davis as Niles, the family butler, and Lauren Lane as C.C. Babcock, Maxwell's associate in his production company who is smitten with him. Several recurring characters also played a role in the sitcoms plotlines, many of whom were related to Fran.
Drescher was a first runner-up for "Miss New York Teenager" in 1973.[7] She attended Hillcrest High School in Jamaica, Queens, where she met her future husband, Peter Marc Jacobson, whom she married in 1978, at age 21. They divorced in 1999.[8] Jacobson was Drescher's constant supporter in her show-business career, and he wrote, directed, and produced her signature television series, The Nanny. Drescher graduated from Hillcrest High School in 1975; one of her classmates was comedian Ray Romano.[9] Drescher's character Fran Fine from The Nanny and Romano's character Ray Barone from Everybody Loves Raymond met at a 20th high school reunion on an episode of The Nanny.[10]
Based on an idea inspired by Drescher's visit with a friend and "The Sound of Music", the season revolves around Fran Fine, a Jewish woman from Flushing, Queens, New York, who is hired by a wealthy Broadway producer to be the nanny to his three children. Drescher stars as the titular character, Charles Shaughnessy as British-born producer Maxwell Sheffield, and the children – Maggie, Brighton and Grace – portrayed by Nicholle Tom, Benjamin Salisbury, and Madeline Zima. The series also features Daniel Davis as Niles, the family butler, and Lauren Lane as C.C. Babcock, Maxwell's associate in his production company who is smitten with him. Several recurring characters also played a role in the sitcoms plotlines, many of whom were related to Fran.
At times, they would also make humorous references to the stars' previous careers or real life off-screen time. This was noticeable when Yetta saw her reflection in the mirror and thought she was seeing Millie Helper from "The Dick Van Dyke Show" (the role that Guilbert played on that long-running show), Maxwell remembering how he wanted to hire a former cast member from "Days of Our Lives" but thought he wasn't "British" enough (a reference to Charles Shaughnessy's former series), C.C. using props to hide Lauren Lane's real-life pregnancy at the time, and Fran meeting her idol—Fran Drescher—who gave her a hint on what she (the TV Fran) was going to do in the next scene in the second-to-last episode in the last season. Drescher also appeared in the series as tough-talking music publicist Bobbi Fleckman, reprising her role from the 1984 film "This Is Spinal Tap", setting up an obvious visual gag where Drescher (as the Nanny) would disguise herself as Fleckman in order to get Mr. Sheffield's attention.
Marvin Hamlisch appeared as Fran's former high school music teacher, a Marvin Hamlisch look-alike. Fran Drescher also reprised her role of Bobbi Fleckman from the 1984 film "This Is Spinal Tap" and made a cameo appearance as herself in the third to last episode. Charles Shaughnessy had a double role as a foreign sultan in one episode. Drescher's real-life parents, Morty and Sylvia, initially appeared as a couple in the waiting room of Grace's therapist and made subsequent appearances as Fran's Uncle Stanley and Aunt Rose; her Pomeranian Chester appeared as C.C.'s pet in more than a dozen episodes. Renée Taylor's husband, actor Joseph Bologna, and their son Gabriel Bologna, had minor roles as doctors on the show. Ray Romano appeared as Fran's former high school classmate Ray Barone, linking "The Nanny" with his comedy "Everybody Loves Raymond". Romano and Drescher actually did know each other in high school. Tom Bergeron appeared as himself, the host of "Hollywood Squares", in an episode in which Maxwell appeared as a star on the show's board as a replacement for Andrew Lloyd Webber. Tyne Daly appeared as a fellow nanny facing forced retirement. David Letterman made an uncredited appearance during a fantasy sequence, where Fran describes how she exaggerated her fame to impress a pen pal.
After two years of symptoms and misdiagnoses by eight doctors, Drescher was admitted to Los Angeles's Cedars Sinai Hospital on June 21, 2000, after doctors diagnosed her with uterine cancer. She had to undergo an immediate radical hysterectomy to treat the disease. Drescher was given a clean bill of health and no post-operative treatment was ordered.
In the 2000s, Drescher made a return to television both with leading and guest roles. In 2003, Drescher appeared in episodes of the short lived sitcom, Good Morning, Miami as Roberta Diaz. In 2005, she returned with the sitcom Living with Fran, in which she played Fran Reeves, a middle-aged mother of two, living with Riley Martin (Ryan McPartlin), a man half her age and not much older than her son. Former Nanny costar Charles Shaughnessy appeared as her philandering ex-husband, Ted. Living with Fran was cancelled on May 17, 2006, after two seasons.
Based on an idea inspired by Drescher's visit with a friend and "The Sound of Music", the season revolves around Fran Fine, a Jewish woman from Flushing, Queens, New York, who is hired by a wealthy Broadway producer to be the nanny to his three children. Drescher stars as the titular character, Charles Shaughnessy as British-born producer Maxwell Sheffield, and the children – Maggie, Brighton and Grace – portrayed by Nicholle Tom, Benjamin Salisbury, and Madeline Zima. The series also features Daniel Davis as Niles, the family butler, and Lauren Lane as C.C. Babcock, Maxwell's associate in his production company who is smitten with him. Several recurring characters also played a role in the sitcoms plotlines, many of whom were related to Fran.
Back in Los Angeles, the pair pitched their idea to Tim Flack and Joe Voci, both in comedy development at CBS. Sagansky brought in experienced producers Robert Sternin and Prudence Fraser, another husband-and-wife team with whom Drescher had worked before while guesting on "Who's the Boss?" in 1985 and 1986. Interested, both couples teamed up to write the script for the pilot together, creating a character with the intention to build off Drescher's image. "Our business strategy was to create a show that was going to complement our writing, complement me as a talent," Drescher said in a 1997 interview with "The Hollywood Reporter". As a result, the characters draw deeply on the Drescher family, including Fran Fine's parents, Sylvia and Morty, and grandmother Yetta, who all were named after their real-life counterparts. Drescher also drew from her own life in creating her character. Like the character in "The Nanny", Drescher was born and raised in Flushing, Queens, and attended beauty school. However, unlike her on-screen counterpart, Drescher never worked in a bridal shop; Drescher wrote that into the character as a tribute to her mother, who did work in a bridal shop. While visiting with his relatives in Fort Lauderdale around the holidays, Sagansky watched a few episodes with his relatives, realized that he had a hit, and ordered a full 22 episodes for the first season.
Based on an idea inspired by Drescher's visit with a friend and "The Sound of Music", the season revolves around Fran Fine, a Jewish woman from Flushing, Queens, New York, who is hired by a wealthy Broadway producer to be the nanny to his three children. Drescher stars as the titular character, Charles Shaughnessy as British-born producer Maxwell Sheffield, and the children – Maggie, Brighton and Grace – portrayed by Nicholle Tom, Benjamin Salisbury, and Madeline Zima. The series also features Daniel Davis as Niles, the family butler, and Lauren Lane as C.C. Babcock, Maxwell's associate in his production company who is smitten with him. Several recurring characters also played a role in the sitcoms plotlines, many of whom were related to Fran.
Based on an idea inspired by Drescher's visit with a friend and "The Sound of Music", the season revolves around Fran Fine, a Jewish woman from Flushing, Queens, New York, who is hired by a wealthy Broadway producer to be the nanny to his three children. Drescher stars as the titular character, Charles Shaughnessy as British-born producer Maxwell Sheffield, and the children – Maggie, Brighton and Grace – portrayed by Nicholle Tom, Benjamin Salisbury, and Madeline Zima. The series also features Daniel Davis as Niles, the family butler, and Lauren Lane as C.C. Babcock, Maxwell's associate in his production company who is smitten with him. Several recurring characters also played a role in the sitcoms plotlines, many of whom were related to Fran.
Sylvia Fine (née Rosenberg), is the mother of Fran Fine, portrayed by actress Renée Taylor, and in early seasons by Fran Drescher (in flashbacks to Fran Fine's childhood).
Chester Drescher (1981–2000) was a performing dog and Fran Drescher's Pomeranian. He played C.C. Babcock's dog on "The Nanny", who seemed to like nanny Fran Fine better than he did C.C. He was also in the 1990 film "Cadillac Man".
Margaret "Maggie" Sheffield-Brolin is the eldest child of Maxwell Sheffield, portrayed by Nicholle Tom. In Fran Drescher's first book, "Enter Whining", Drescher explains that the character was added later, after a network executive suggested "A shy teenager would be a funny contrast to a brazen and flashy Fran."
In 2008, Drescher announced that she was developing a new sitcom entitled The New Thirty, also starring Rosie O'Donnell. A series about two old high school friends coping with midlife crises, Drescher described the premature plot of the show as "kind of Sex and the City but we ain't getting any! It'll probably be more like The Odd Couple."[13] The sitcom failed to materialize however.[13] In 2010, Drescher returned to television with her own daytime talk show, The Fran Drescher Tawk Show. While the program debuted to strong ratings, it ended its three-week test run to moderate success, resulting in its shelving.[14][15] The following year, the sitcom Happily Divorced, created by Drescher and her ex-husband, Peter Marc Jacobson, was picked up by TV Land for a ten-episode order. It premiered there June 15, 2011.[16] The show was renewed in July 2011 for a second season of 12 episodes, which aired in spring 2012. On May 1, 2012, TV Land extended the second season and picked up 12 additional episodes, taking the second season total to 24. The back-order of season two debuted later in 2012. Happily Divorced was cancelled in August 2013.
Drescher was born on September 30, 1957, in Kew Gardens Hills, New York,[3] the daughter of Sylvia, a bridal consultant, and Morty Drescher, a naval systems analyst.[4] Her family is from Southeast and Central Europe. Her maternal great-grandmother Yetta was born in Focșani, Romania, and emigrated to the United States,[5] while her father's family came from Poland.[6] She has an older sister, Nadine.
The Fran Drescher Show (also called The Fran Drescher Tawk Show) is an American talk show hosted by actress Fran Drescher. The series premiered on November 26, 2010, in six cities on Fox owned stations: New York on WNYW, Los Angeles on KTTV, Philadelphia on WTXF, Phoenix on KSAZ, Minneapolis on KMSP and Orlando on WOFL. "The Fran Drescher Show" was given a three-week trial run with the option of being nationally syndicated. In its debut, the program placing a 0.8 rating/2 share in six metered markets. With declining ratings throughout its run, the show did not return.
Drescher and Jacobson created their own television show, The Nanny, in 1993. The show aired on CBS from 1993 to 1999, and Drescher became an instant star. In this sitcom, she played a woman named Fran Fine who casually became the nanny of Margaret ("Maggie") (played by Nicholle Tom), Brighton ("B") (played by Benjamin Salisbury), and Grace ("Gracie") Sheffield (played by Madeline Zima); with her wit and her charm, she endeared herself to their widower father: stuffy, composed, proper British gentleman, and Broadway producer Maxwell Sheffield (Charles Shaughnessy). She reprised her This is Spinal Tap character of Bobbi Flekman, a look-alike for her Fran Fine character, in Season 5, Episode 3 of The Nanny.
Drescher described what she would bring to the program: "I'm thrilled to be able to bring "The Fran Drescher Tawk Show" to daytime TV, which fits me hand in glove," and added that "It will cover all of my passions, everything from pedicures to politics. America will have a chance to see the real Fran Drescher, beyond "The Nanny". I'm the girl next door, a self-made woman who has been to hell and back a few times."
Fran Drescher reprised the role of Bobbi Fleckman during the fifth season of her hit television sitcom "The Nanny"; it was the season's third episode, titled "The Bobbi Fleckman Story". In the episode, Fleckman is now a record label producer for The Brian Setzer Orchestra, and an ex-business partner of character Maxwell Sheffield (Charles Shaughnessy). Drescher's regular character Fran Fine believes Fleckman is attempting to seduce Sheffield, and impersonates her to stop it.