Fran Drescher (The Nanny) already celebrated her 64th birthday
She is straight herself, but for many queers she is an absolute role model and not least a style icon: Fran Drescher. In the 1990s, she took off as nanny Fran Fine in "The Nanny" and managed to conquer the hearts of fans within a short time.
Now Fran turned 64 on September 30. Privately, she is far more relaxed about numbers like these than her series character, who repeatedly emphasized - when asked about his age - that he was "29.
Why is Fran Drescher so popular with queers?
Fran always speaks comparatively openly about her private life. Among other things, it is no longer a secret that she has many gay friends and acquaintances. Interestingly, her ex-husband Peter Marc Jacobsen, with whom she produced "The Nanny", is also gay.
The two regularly post pictures on Instagram, leaving no doubt that the switch from partnership to heartfelt friendship has worked.
But it's not just her closeness to the community that has made Fran a true queer style icon. Her looks also contribute to the fact that many gays around the world can identify with the (now) mid-sixties woman.
Interestingly enough, topics around homosexuality were already a theme now and then in "Die Nanny". Unlike other series of the time, however, this one wasn't about making fun of a group of people. Instead, Fran was now and then simply saddened when a man she found attractive might be gay.
Shrill looks, a partly even shriller voice and the fact that Fran Drescher and Fran Fine seem to have a lot in common, ensured that a woman with a tolerant role model character flickered across the TV screens... And still does today.
What is Fran Drescher doing these days?
The last episode of "The Nanny" was filmed at the end of the 1990s. Accordingly, the question: "What has Fran Drescher actually done in the last twenty years?", is quite justified.
Fans in the U.S. were able to admire her (and, incidentally, "Mr. Sheffield," Charles Shaughnessy, in a guest role) in the popular series "Livin' with Fran." Even more, she hosted her own talk show, where she invited several of her former colleagues, including Lauren Lane aka C. C. Babcock.
The latest coup, however, she landed in a completely different area. Because: she was elected union leader of the SAG-AFTRA. This is an organization in which actors and actresses are represented... And which are now represented by the ex-nanny. The final result was very close. Drescher won with a margin of about 1,500 votes against Matthew Modine.
Queers in TV series - how the view of society can change
If you take a little time to look at the various portrayals of queers in TV series, from 1970 to today, you will quickly realize that a lot has happened here. One of the earliest examples in this context is probably "Jack of Hearts with Two Ladies". Two women live together with a man who pretends to be gay to his landlord so that he doesn't get in trouble for the - at that time actually still unthinkable - combination and doesn't have to move out. Back then, people didn't bother to keep prejudices against gay men under wraps. And the landlord is also visibly afraid of any homosexual advances.
In "The Nanny," as mentioned above, such topics were treated far more tolerantly. Even though the series was filmed at a time when Fran's ex-husband had not yet come out.
Today, series like Sex Education show how easy it is to deal with the topic in a stylish AND humorous way, and that it's perfectly okay to live diversity on TV and in the movies, too. Accordingly, the development is obviously going in the right direction - at least in the artistic and cultural sphere.
Happy Birthday, Fran Drescher and thank you for many fun hours, enlightenment, tolerance and versatility!
Soon the time will come, Hape Kerkeling will release an album.