The Nanny child star is all grown up and makes rare public appearance on Aussie TV
“It was an interesting childhood.”
Nicholle Tom was just 15 when she first appeared on The Nanny and played Maggie Sheffield, the eldest child of Maxwell Sheffield (Charles Shaughnessy), the newly widowed Broadway producer who hired Fran Fine (Fran Drescher) to take care of his three children.
Now, the former child star is 45 and surprised Aussie fans by making a rare appearance on TV this week, chatting with The Morning Show’s Larry Emdur and Kylie Gillies.
Nicholle sported slightly more strawberry blonde tresses and wore a navy satin blazer and printed top, a very different look to Maggie on the show, but the star has barely changed.
Speaking about working on the show from 1993 to 1999, Nicholle told the hosts, “I was 15 at the time (of starting on The Nanny) and it was such a growing experience, being that young.”
“I started working on the movie Beethoven when I was 13 and got The Nanny from there,” she added. “It was an interesting childhood.”
Speaking about working with Fran, Nicholle shared, “We were [close], she always seemed like she was my boss, and I was one of the kids on the show, but I really looked up to her always. And I remember talking to her about like my first boyfriend and her advice on that.”
“We hung out, she was always a real mentor to me, she taught me a lot, about everything! She was truly like a nanny to me in real life and on The Nanny! She’s so funny and stylish and it was just a real growing experience to have been influenced – I was completely influenced by her!”
Nicholle has continued working in TV and film since The Nanny, but revealed she wouldn’t be opposed to reuniting with the cast of the hit sitcom for a movie.
“That would be amazing and wonderful,” she told the hosts after Kylie told her that she had heard rumors it was going to happen.
“I think it should happen, it will make a fabulous movie!” Nicholle added.
It might be hard to believe, but The Nanny’s Maggie Sheffield is all grown up now.
Nicholle Tom played the awkward teenage heiress on the hit ’90s show, the eldest child of widowed Broadway producer (and stuffy Englishman) Maxwell Sheffield.
On the show, she sported a blonde bob, preppy clothes and a shy, slightly gawky demeanour.
Now, Tom is 45 years old — and looks rather different, sporting a long mane of strawberry red hair and slightly flashier clothing for an interview with Channel 7’s The Morning Show.
In the TV interview, the actress, who also starred in the Beethoven film series, wore a shiny navy satin blazer, a low-cut print top and a large pendant necklace as she chatted about her time on the show.
“I was 15 at the time (of starting on The Nanny) and it was such a growing experience, being that young,” she told co-hosts Larry Emdur and Kylie Gillies.
“I started working on the movie Beethoven when I was 13 and got The Nanny from there.
“It was an interesting childhood.”
The Nanny ran for six seasons between 1993 and 1999, making a star out of Fran Drescher, who played nanny and over-the-top fashionista Fran Fine.
Since the show finished its hugely successful run, Tom has remained mostly out of the spotlight, appearing sporadically in shows such as Burn Notice, Criminal Minds and Cold Case.
Between 1998 and 2000, Tom voiced Supergirl for DC’s Superman: The Animated Series and she also appeared in the films Panic (2000) and The Princess Diaries (2001).
According to Tom, a potential The Nanny reunion to bring the cast back together after 25 years isn’t out of the question.
“That would be amazing and wonderful,” she said.
“I think it should happen.
“It would make a fabulous movie!”
While Tom has slipped out of the spotlight in recent years, she has 46,000 followers on Instagram and a YouTube channel where she explores the world of home DIY (do-it-yourself).
However, the actress hasn’t posted on Instagram since August 2023, where she unboxed a parcel of clothes that had been sent to her to try on ahead of a reunion with friends from her former acting class.
After the reunion, Tom said it had been a “magical” day.
“Oh what a #MagicDust filled day spent with absolutely magical people!” she wrote.
“My old classmates, my mentors, my inspirations, my confidants, my fellow actors & teachers!
“Thank you for teaching me to breathe, grow and blossom! Topped off with a bee sting!
“I love you all beyond words.”
