How Fran Drescher went from The Nanny to one of Hollywood’s most powerful women.

Until recently, most people knew Fran Drescher primarily as the nasally, boldly dressed Fran Fine from the ’90s hit sitcom The Nanny.

But the last week has shown the 65-year-old actress in a very different light – as the passionate and dogged president leading Hollywood’s largest union on a strike to protest the “very greedy entity” of major studios and mega-rich streaming CEOs.As the head of Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), Drescher is the voice of about 160,000 actors, TV presenters, performers, dancers and media professionals, all of whom are fighting for better pay and residuals to reflect their contribution to the industry.

“We are the victims here,” Drescher declared in her speech.

“I am shocked by the way the people that we have been in business with are treating us. I cannot believe it, quite frankly:

“How far apart we are on so many things. How they plead poverty, that they’re losing money left and right when giving hundreds of millions of dollars to their CEOs. It is disgusting. Shame on them.”

So, how exactly did a former TV darling make her way to the top of Hollywood’s most influential union?

She’s been an advocate and cancer survivor for years.
In the early 2000s, Drescher overcame a battle with uterine cancer, which took two years and eight doctors to diagnose.

“Through my personal journey as a cancer survivor, I learned to turn my pain into purpose,” Drescher told Deadline.

“I successfully passed a health bill in Washington by unanimous consent… I was appointed the vetted position of U.S. State Department Public Diplomacy Envoy for Health during [the] Bush ‘43 administration by Secretary [Condoleezza] Rice, a title I held through the Obama administration under Secretary [Hillary] Clinton that I continue to hold to this day.”She also launched a non-profit organisation, Cancer Schmancer, which provides resources and information for patients and also works to lobby for healthcare policy change.

Big Hollywood names were behind her.
When she decided to run for president of the SAG-AFTRA union, Drescher promised, “I’m a visionary and a leader who’s prepared to play the hand that’s been dealt to me… I will always fight to strengthen benefits for ALL members.”

She listed the things she would fight for, including compensation, residuals, increased work opportunities and legislative advocacy, and had some heavy Hollywood hitters in her court.

Tom Hanks, Dan Aykroyd, Rosario Dawson and J.K Simmons all supported Drescher, while Alec Baldwin stated, “In this new world where streaming is transforming our work and our compensation, we need trailblazing leaders willing to fight for us.”

Fellow sitcom star Debra Messing also endorsed the actress, saying, “I have long admired Fran for her tireless activism and powerful voice on women’s health, the LGBT community, and all underrepresented communities.”

She beat a Stranger Things star to the presidency.
In September 2021, Drescher beat Stranger Things star Matthew Modine 52.5 per cent to 47.5 per cent to become president.

She had campaigned under the Unite for Strength faction and had been met with criticism and scepticism from the opposing Membership First party who thought she lacked any experience with labour.

Even the newly appointed secretary-treasurer, actress Joely Fisher, publicly questioned Drescher’s capability as a leader.

“Fran Drescher is a shiny object,” Fisher told Variety.

“She’s an accomplished human being. She’s a survivor. She’s talented. She’s a producer. She’s a lot of things. Should she be leading the union? Absolutely not.”

But Drescher stood firm in her new position, showing a feistiness and determination that would later prove a necessity to get through the 2023 strike negotiations.

“What I don’t know, I promise you I will learn very quickly, and what I do know cannot be taught,” the actress said, pointing to the decades of activism and charity work as sufficient experience for her current role.

As she put it, “My life has prepared me for this position.”

And it seems Drescher’s eagerness to fight for the working class has been in her all along. She grew up in Queens with two working parents, starting her first job at just 14 at a supermarket.

As co-creator of The Nanny, Drescher based many of her character’s characteristics on her own life, including her tendency to push back against the elite.

“[Mr Sheffield] was management and willing to cross the line,” Drescher said of the differing lead characters. “Fran was raised to always support labour.”

In the years before she took over as the head of the union, Drescher wasn’t afraid to speak her mind on matters of politics. She protested to “stop capitalist greed” in 2017 and was declared an “anti-capitalist icon” by The Cut magazine.

In her campaign to win the SAG-AFTRA presidency, Drescher promised to bring “positivity and optimism” to the role. And over time, she has proved some of her detractors wrong. Abbott Elementary star Sheryl Lee Ralph, who supported Drescher’s opposition, appears to see a new side to the former sitcom star.

“Fran is fresh,” Ralph says. “Fran is not going to be a puppet. Fran has her own mind; Fran is going to take her time to figure things out. And how do you not at least try to help her do that?”

Her latest fight for the union.
On July 13, contract negotiations broke down between SAG-AFTRA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), triggering the potentially industry-crippling strike.

It is the first time in 63 years that actors and writers have gone on strike at the same time, with the Writers Guild of America (WGA) fighting on the picket line for the third month running.

The WGA represents 11,500 screenwriters, and coupled with the SAG-AFTRA protestors, the strike is expected to halt a large chunk of production in Hollywood TV and film.

Both unions are united in their efforts to secure pay increases and residuals to reflect the lucrative streaming landscape of today, and both writers and actors want assurances that they won’t be replaced by artificial intelligence.

In her impassioned speech declaring the actors’ strike, Drescher fired up.

“Our union and our sister unions and the unions around the world are standing by us, as well as other labour unions. Because at some point, the jig is up,” she said.

“You cannot keep being dwindled and marginalised and disrespected and dishonoured. The entire business model has been changed by streaming, digital, AI…”

“You share the wealth because you cannot exist without us.”