When a young and idealistic Fran Drescher met Peter Marc Jacobson, her college classmate, she knew what love at first sight was. They were both college students full of dreams and love. The impact they had on each other was so great that they moved in together as soon as they had the chance. In 1978 their marriage began, which would last nearly 20 years, but while their love was brewing, they were also cooking up what would be the biggest hit for both of them: The Nanny.
Jacobson, created this acclaimed and classic series to bring something different to the world of television; however, his wife, the flamboyant and sexy Fran, would be responsible for positioning the show at the top of the ratings since its launch in 1993. Thanks to her charisma, her squeaky voice, and her designer outfits, Fran Fine arrived in homes around the world with a fairytale love story with Mr. Sheffield. But life at home was completely different.
Fran and Peter had a stable marriage, but it gradually went downhill until it became a living hell. Not because they had constant fights or because they were submerged in questionable practices, but because he – although he loved her, he couldn’t see her as a couple. In fact, he was gay. For Drescher, it was a hard blow, but that wound will eventually heal. This revelation will take place in 1999; The Nanny was coming to an end, which would also affect the actress, as she would be out of a job.
But she would manage to overcome it, after all, she had already survived a much stronger tragedy. In the 1970s when she decided to live with the producer, they were very young and had neither a stable heritage nor a visionary future. Then, in the struggle to get something else, a profitable job and a better future for the children they planned, they worked their tails off. For this very reason, Peter left home for a while, leaving Fran in charge.
It was the mid-eighties, and the actress was trying to find her place in Los Angeles, but one night, while she was sleeping in her apartment, some men broke into her place stealing everything they found and abusing her. The act took place in her bedroom, and although she tried to resist, she was threatened with a gun, which frightened her so much that she became paralyzed, as she stated decades after the event. She was never the same after that event. However, life tried to make up for the mistake by taking her to the pinnacle of fame.
“I was a victim of a violent crime, and I am a cancer survivor. I went through a very painful divorce. Life deals you blows. No one leaves this planet unscathed. But, as they say, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” said Fran Drescher.
As for her divorce from her husband, both remained good friends and decided to continue working as a team. Thus, the plot of a new series, Happily Divorced, was born, but it did not have the success of The Nanny, so when it was finished Fran ended up taking refuge in the letters. She started writing some essays and columns, although the real catharsis came when she was diagnosed with uterine cancer.
As if the blows of life had not been enough, this disease manifested itself in her life in 2000. She went away for a while to be able to carry out her treatment and to spare death, which, indeed, she succeeded in doing. However, the course was quite uncomfortable and tiring. But after such a disturbing situation, she wrote two books in which he exposed all her problems, not to wait for an answer or a solution, but only to raise awareness of how strange and cruel life can be, but also how strong it makes a person in the face of adversity.
Fran Drescher remarried a millionaire businessman of Indian origin, and they separated in 2016. This did not prevent her from staying in the business and dedicating herself to altruistic causes, such as some foundations to help cancer patients and victims of abuse and harassment. In these places, she talks about how difficult it is to carry so much weight on her shoulders, but also how beautiful it is to live. In fact, for the actress, it is much more valuable to be able to live and know that she made it through than anything else. Fran survived the adversities and plans to do so for much longer, but always smiling and with her forehead -and hairstyle- held high.
