Who is Fran Drescher? SAG-AFTRA president and actor announces Hollywood strike - what has she been in?

Actress and SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher broke the news of a widespread actors' strike after union members voted for a mass walkout.

Drescher, along with National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator of SAG-AFTRA Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, held a press conference to announce the strike, which is expected to bring most of the industry to a halt.

The SAG-AFTRA union announced a widespread strike on Thursday 14 July after discussion between the actors' union and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents major Hollywood studios and streaming services, broke down amid anxiety in the union membership on a range of topics including the use of AI in the industry. Major film and television productions have been halted as a result, with more than 160,000 actors walking off set.

Here's everything you need to know about the union's president Fran Drescher.

Who is Fran Drescher?

Fran Drescher, 65, is an American actress and comedian mainly known for her role on US television in the 1990s sitcom The Nanny. The show, which she created with her ex-husband Peter Marc Jacobson, starred Drescher in the main role of Fran Fine.

The Nanny was inspired by Drescher's own experiences growing up in the New York neighbourhood of Flushing, Queens and followed an American-Jewish woman as she took on the role of a nanny for an upper-class New York-British family It was a huge hit in the states, running from 1993 to 1999 and picked up nominations for Emmys and Golden Globes.

She went on to star in more television shows throughout the 2000s, including sitcoms Living with Fran and Happily Divorced.

Alongside her work on television, Drescher has also appeared in film. Her first role was in the 1977 hit Saturday Night Fever. Over the years she has also starred in other projects such as This Is Spinal Tap and the Hotel Transylvania movies.

She made her Broadway debut in 2014 as stepmother Madame in the stage version of Cinderella.

Drescher has also been a vocal activist in politics in the past. A supporter of the Democratic Party, she campaigned and endorsed Hilary Clinton in her 2008 campaign for the presidential selection, and later endorsing Barack Obama in his 2012 presidential re-election campaign.

In 2021, she was elected as the president of the SAG-AFTRA union, which represents actors and professionals in the film-making industry. Drescher appealed to members by calling on her experience within the industry and within politics.

What did Fran Drescher say about SAG-AFTRA strike?

At a press conference announcing the strike, Drescher said: “The gravity of this move is not lost on me… it’s a very serious thing that impacts thousands if not millions of people. This is a moment of history that is a moment of truth. If we don’t stand tall now we are all going to be in trouble.”

Asked how long the strike would last, she added: “That’s up to them [AMPTP], we are open to talking to them tonight. All of this is because of their behaviour, it’s up to them if they want to talk in a normal way.”