A fashion icon of her time, the star from the iconic ’90s TV sitcom The Nanny, Fran Drescher wore everything from cute crop tops to oversized coats. She modelled some of the most stunning designer pieces, but according to the actor, her slender physique was the result of post-traumatic stress.
Ten years before her career on The Nanny, Drescher was a victim of a violent crime that she never dealt with until her rise to fame.
Drescher revealed that she was sexually assaulted at gunpoint during a harrowing home invasion in 1985, she said during a discussion at The Wing in New York, in 2018. Fran revealed that PTSD was responsible for her petite frame, “I had to deal with it once I became famous and it came out, though—thank God I was in therapy! Honestly, I just loved going to work and being Fran Fine, because she was nothing but funny and light, and my life was kind of a mess. I think that was part of why I was so thin.”
Added Drescher: “I look back at some of those episodes, and I remember what was going on behind the scenes, and it wasn’t pretty. When I sold the show [in 1993], I was 142 pounds (64 kilograms)—and by the time we were in our fifth season, I was maybe 110 pounds (49 kilograms). I was burning the candle at both ends.”
Today, Drescher has returned to a healthy weight as well as overcome uterine cancer, Drescher said she’s all about “honouring my body,” and doesn’t miss her old physique. The actress explains how at the time she managed to grab some pieces from her time on The Nanny, but, she said, “most of them don’t fit anymore. And I’m really okay with that. I couldn’t be that thin anymore and still look good.”
Still, Fran confesses she still has a soft spot for the 1990s, and for the era’s fashion in particular, as we all do!
“The ‘90s was such an exciting time,” Drescher told Page Six. “It was the dotcom boom, the Clinton era, and money was free-flowing. And what we saw emerge out of that era — Moschino, Dolce & Gabbana, Versace, Todd Oldham—was incredible. Even Chanel, a classic older label, was getting young. I wore Chanel miniskirts on the show, with the cropped jackets and chain belts! It was a better decade.”
And though star had teased the rumours of a Nanny reboot earlier last week, she shut down the idea during her Friday chat. “It’s not true,” the she confirmed. “I mean, never say never, but what I said was: Peter [Marc Jacobson, Drescher’s ex-husband and The Nanny co-creator] and I are working on a very exciting project that I think the fans will be very happy with — when we’re ready to announce it.”
Since The Nanny ended with her character marrying her wealthy boss, Mr Sheffield (Charles Shaughnessy), a reboot would have to involve some major changes. “I’m not looking to revisit Fran Fine because, first of all, it wouldn’t be the same show. It can’t be The Nanny — I’m Mrs Sheffield now!” she said.
