When one thinks of The Nanny, the beloved CBS sitcom that ran from 1993 to 1999, one tends to think of Fran Drescher — and more specifically, of her iconic, nasally voice. Which is only natural, of course, as Drescher was the heart and soul of the series.
However, without the initially insufferable Sheffield children — studious eldest daughter Maggie, rebellious middle son Brighton, and the precocious youngest, Grace — Maxwell would never have needed Fran Fine’s assistance in the first place. And while we saw all three of them grow up before our very eyes on television, most of us don’t know what Nicholle Tom, Benjamin Salisbury, or Madeline Zima are doing in 2017…but luckily, the internet exists, so we can find out.
Nicholle Tom
Tom, who also famously starred in the Beethoven movies around the same time The Nanny was a hit, has come a long way since back in the day when she needed Fran to help her with boys, fashion, and her confidence.
Now 38, she still acts regularly, recently starring in the Lifetime movie I Didn’t Kill My Sister and appearing on episodes of Gotham, Masters of Sex, About a Boy, and the short-lived Stalker.
She’ll next appear as a high school principal in a film called F*&% the Prom, which stars The Originals actor (and Louis Tomlinson girlfriend) Danielle Campbell and is being produced by The Fine Brothers, aka those guys who make modern teens try stuff we loved from the ’90s to make us feel old.
She also keeps fairly active Twitter and Instagram accounts, where she recently posted photos from the Women’s March in Los Angeles with Lance Bass.
Her two siblings, her twin brother David and sister Heather, are also working actors, with Heather in particular finding success on The Bold and the Beautiful.
She looks fantastic, and we’re so glad to see that she’s BFFs with other ’90s TV queens in 2017.
Benjamin Salisbury
Unlike Tom, Salisbury has disappeared from the public eye, with his last acting role being a 2006 short film. A huge hockey fan, the last article we could find on Salisbury is from 2010, when he was quoted in a Los Angeles Times sports piece as supervisor of game presentation and events for the Los Angeles Kings. There are photos of him taking hockey classes with his wife from around the same time, but the 36-year-old doesn’t have much of a social media presence to speak of.
Hopefully, he’s having a blast and enjoying his hockey, wherever he may be.
Madeline Zima
Of all three Sheffield children, 31-year-old Zima has arguably been the most visible post-Nanny. As a teenager, Zima starred alongside Hilary Duff in A Cinderella Story, though her most famous roles were her recurring stint as bisexual college student Gretchen Berg on Heroes and teen seductress Mia Lewis on Californication.
According to her IMDB page, Zima’s next projects will be the upcoming Twin Peaks revival (!!) and something called “Untitled Livi Zheng Project.” She too has active Twitter and Instagram accounts, and participated in the Women’s March last weekend.
In 2013, Zima told TheTVpage.com that making The Nanny “wasn’t fun” for her, explaining that “there were other experiences on other sets where people treated me kindly…there was just a kindness and a sensitivity that didn’t exist on the set of The Nanny. They treated me more like a prop than like a human being.”
Ouch. Well, we can’t wait to watch Zima in Twin Peaks — and hope she has a better time there than Laura Palmer.
