When it came to The Nanny cast, she had style, she had flair, and she was there — that’s how she became “The Nanny.” There was nothing better than turning on CBS and seeing that catchy animated opening for The Nanny, which centered around Jewish fashionista Fran Fine, who became the nanny of three children in the New York-British high society. In fact, the show took much inspiration from the real life of Fran Drescher, who grew up in Queens, is a Jewish woman and, of course, the star.
The hit comedy brought in 12 Emmy nominations, mostly honoring Fran and the amazing costumes created by Brenda Cooper, who took home the only Emmy Win in 1995. This show was all things the ’90s and was anchored by quirky characters with their own long- running gags. Today, let’s head back to Flushing, Queens to see what led the cast to this hit ’90s show, and what they’ve been up to since.
1. Fran Drescher (Fran Fine)
Fran Fine is hired as a nanny for Maxwell Sheffield’s three kids after she shows Sheffield her references… which are written in lipstick. Shocking? Not for this stylish queen. Fran Drescher’s own company produced the show, and she hired friends and relatives to be regulars and production staff. Additionally, it helped keep the core together, six years without a major change in casting.
Drescher began acting in 1977 with a small dancer role in the classic John Travolta film, Saturday Night Fever. Then, in ’78 she gained attention in the Linda Blair-led and Wes Craven directed TV movie, Stranger in Our House. In 1984 she was hysterical as Spinal Tap’s publicist, trying to explain why the band’s “Smell the Glove” album cover just wouldn’t fly.
She even reprized her publicist Bobbi Flekman as a look-alike for Fran Fine in Season 5 of The Nanny. In ’85 she guest-starred on two episodes of Who’s The Boss, which is ironic because Fran modeled The Nanny after that show.
Drescher appeared in the Francis Ford Coppola-directed Jack in 1996. Then it was time to return to TV, creating and starring in 2011’s TV Land show, Happily Divorced.
Fran revealed troubling news while she was filming The Nanny. The show required the production to hire professional laughers rather than willing strangers, because back in 1985 Drescher’s experienced a traumatic home invasion where two armed robbers assaulted her and her friend at gunpoint. Her now ex-husband, Peter Marc Jacobson, was beaten and tied up and forced to watch the horrific scene. She said in interviews that she managed to turn the traumatic, negative experience into something positive, noting that her rapist was in prison and given two life sentences.
Fran is a major advocate for healthcare as she was diagnosed with uterine cancer after several misdiagnoses. She underwent an immediate radical hysterectomy and was given a clean bill of health, all of which was documented in her book Cancer Smancer.
Today, Fran is 66 years old and her most recent performances are her voice work in the 2022 animated film Hotel Transylvania: Transformania, an episode of the sitcom Mr. Mayor and the TV movie Secrets of the Morning. Fran Drescher, a brave woman, and fantastic entertainer.
2. Charles Shaughnessy (Maxwell Sheffield)
Broadway Producer Maxwell Sheffield hires Fran Fine for the in-house job. At first, he wasn’t too sure of her, but the nanny grew on him, so much so that an eventual romance blossomed.
Second lead in The Nanny cast is Charles Shaughnessy, who began acting in 1983 and quickly catapulted to fame in his breakout role on Days of Our Lives, part of a super couple with Patsy Pease’s character from 1984 to 1992, and he’d reprise his Shane Donovan again in the 2000s. In total he was in more than 1,100 episodes.
After The Nanny, Shaughnessy got a lot of voice gigs, like 33 episodes on the Animated Disney show, Stanley as Dennis the Goldfish, for which he won a Daytime Emmy. He then reunited with Drescher in her short-lived 2005 show, Living with Fran for 7 Episodes.
We last saw Charles co-star with Lou Ferrigno Jr. in the 2021 film Final Frequency, in a recurring role on General Hospital between 2021 and 2023 and the 2021 miniseries Day of Our Lives: Beyond Salem. Today, he’s 69 years old and has two children with his wife of nearly 40 years, former actress Susan Fallender.
3. Nicholle Tom (Margaret Sheffield)
Margaret Sheffield, also known as Maggie, is Maxwell’s eldest daughter. She began as a shy and awkward teenager and, as Fran puts it in the pilot, “You don’t need a personality when you’re an Heiress.” However, Fran helped her blossom into a beautiful and confident young woman.
Nicholle Tom began acting in 1990 and was quickly thrown a bone, playing adorable Ryce Newton in 1992’s Beethoven, continuing with Beethoven’s 2nd in ‘93, and voicing her character for the animated series in ’94. Not a bad start.
