Fran Drescher Biography

Fast Facts

• Was appointed the Public Diplomacy Envoy for Women's Health Issues by the U․S․ State Department
• An advocate for cancer research, she helped get the first Gynecologic Cancer Education and Awareness Act passed into law
• As a struggling actor, she took voice classes to lose her nasal voice, but she dropped the pursuit when she noticed that she only got acting jobs using her "funny" voice
• Was the first runner-up at the Miss New York Teenager pageant in 1973
• Quote: "(On battling cancer) "I was defiant and I wasn't going to let it beat me, as if I wasn't going to let it bring me down․ I was going to become empowered․ I was going to take control of the situation and take control of my body․""
• Quote: "(On marriage equality) "It is our duty to recognize that injustice exists and shift national consciousness to correct that injustice․""
• Widely recognized for her signature nasally voice
• Graduated from Queens College of the City University of New York
• Was a high school classmate of fellow actor Ray Romano
• Convinced CBS president Jeff Sagansky to produce "The Nanny" while the two bumped into each other on a plane trip to Paris