What The Cast Of The Nanny Looks Like Today
With a catchy theme song ("She was working in a bridal shop in Flushing, Queens...") and likable cast, The Nanny earned its place in '90s sitcom history. If you've ever wondered what happened to Fran, the kids and Mr. Sheffield since the show went off the air, we're here to show you what they look like today.
Fran Drescher
Fran Drescher, the show's star, has stayed busy since the show stopped taping in 1999. She was diagnosed with uterine cancer in 2001 and wrote the New York Times best-selling book Cancer Schmancer, which she's since turned into a movement. She was appointed a diplomat in 2008 and worked with women's health advocates to spread cancer awareness, Fox News reported.
Her personal life has been interesting, to say the least. Shortly after The Nanny ended, Drescher divorced Peter Marc Jacobson, her high school sweetheart and husband of 21 years. After the divorce, he came out as gay.
Drescher said, "I have a gay ex-husband! People always say to me, 'How did you not know?'" He loves decorating and fashion and clothes, but we actually did have sex a lot," Page Six reported. She has since married and divorced Shiva Ayyadurai, a scientist and entrepreneur.
She's also done voice work for Hotel Transylvania and Hotel Transylvania 2 and had a show called Happily Divorced, based on her relationship with Jacobson.
Charles Shaughnessy
Charles Shaughnessy played the British father of three Mr. Sheffield on the show. Since its wrap, he's won an Emmy for his work as Dennis the Goldfish in the animated Disney show Stanley. He's also continued his role on Days of our Lives as Shane/Drew Donovan.
Shaughnessy has also popped up on Mad Men in 2008 and 2009 as Saint John Powell.
Also, fun fact, Shaughnessy became a British lord in 2007 after the death of a cousin. The title is from Shaughnessy's great-great-grandfather Thomas who was president of the Canadian Pacific Railway and was given a noble title for his war work in 1916.
"I have told my close friends and asked that they treat me no differently, save the occasional subtle but deferential bob of the head or low curtsey," Shaughnessy told the U.K.'s Express. "Sadly the title comes with no estates, castle, fortune or band of loyal retainers. But I do have large swathes of Canada named after me and a neat coat of arms."
Daniel Davis
Daniel Davis played saucy butler Niles on the show. Since The Nanny, Davis has maintained steady roles in shows like The Blacklist, The Practice, and Ugly Betty. He just wrapped up a short called The Fold. He was nominated for a Tony Award for his role in the play Wrong Mountain.
In September 2016, Davis admitted to news.com.au that he never understood his love story line on The Nanny, where he falls for Mr. Sheffield's coworker C.C. Babcock.
"That's the only part that I never really bought, to tell you the truth. C.C. and I had been so oil and water — I didn't buy that we would end up married. But I had to play it, because that's what they wrote... I don't think I've ever expressed that to anyone before!"
Lauren Lane
Lauren Lane, who played sassy, sarcastic C.C. has decided to live a relatively quiet life. Lane now teaches full-time at Texas State University in the department of theatre and dance. She also acts in regional theater in Austin and back in 2011, starred in Yasmina Reza's comedy God of Carnage.
Lane told Theater Mania a lot of her students come to class and say they "went to bed with her" the night before. "My students are all of the age that they grew up with The Nanny or they watch it now in reruns," she said.
As far as keeping up with her old castmates, Lane has remained close with Davis, and frequently e-mails Shaughnessy.
Nicholle Tom
Oldest Sheffield daughter Maggie was played by Nicholle Tom. Tom has managed to stay on the outskirts of mainstream Hollywood, with a part in the Lifetime TV movie I Didn't Kill My Sister and the Hallmark movie Before You Say I Do, as well as a part on Masters of Sex as a prostitute.
She also has done voice work as Supergirl in Justice League Unlimited and Superman and has snagged roles in Without a Trace, The Mentalist and Burn Notice. You also might remember Tom from her role in the Beethoven franchise.
Tom worked with her sister Heather, who plays Katie on The Bold and the Beautiful, on Hollywood Darlings, which follows friends who grew up in "the biz," and co-stars Jodie Sweetin (Full House), Christine Lakin (Step by Step) and Beverley Mitchell (7th Heaven).
Benjamin Salisbury
Benjamin Salisbury played Brighton, the only boy in the Sheffield family (aside from his father, of course). Salisbury hasn't acted since 2006, his latest work being the short On the Brink. He earned a degree in broadcast journalism from American University. Other than that, what he's been up to is anyone's guess, as he's managed to stay pretty far out of the limelight.
Madeline Zima
Arguably the most successful of the three Sheffield children, 31-year-old Madeline Zima, who played Grace Sheffield, has had memorable roles in popular shows over the past few decades since The Nanny's end. Zima played Gretchen Berg in Heroes, Mia Lewis in Californication (where she had her first full-frontal nude scene) and is currently working on the Twin Peaks revival.
Zima is also very politically and charitably active on Twitter. In March 2017, she posted about her work with South Central Farm, an organization dedicated to "reviving a safe community where families can grow food, breathe clean air and sustain clean jobs." She tweeted on November 9, 2016, the day after the 2016 presidential election, "To my fellow women now is the time to fiercely support one another and love one another we must shine brightly in this dark time. I Love you."
Renee Taylor
The Nanny fans will remember Renee Taylor as Fran's outspoken mother Sylvia. Before The Nanny, she was nominated for an Oscar for writing an adaptation of her musical Lovers and Other Strangers. Since the show wrapped, Taylor, who is now 83, has certainly kept busy.
She has two movies in the works, Tango Shalom and How to be a Latin Lover, which co-stars Rob Lowe, Kristen Bell, and Salma Hayek.
There's also a business side to Taylor—she started two online dating services with her husband Joe in 2013. She also has her own line of anti-wrinkle cream, Renee Taylor's Face Love.
"This makeup artist asked me if I would ever have my face lifted," Taylor told the LA Times. "and I said, 'No, because when I get to heaven I don't want God to go, 'Who are you?'"
Rachel Chagall
Rachel Chagall played Val, Fran's best friend from her bridal shop days. She is 62 now and a mother of two, Uproxx reported.
Chagall's last role was "Chocolate Lady" in Amanda Bynes' What I Like About You back in 2006. Post-Nanny days, she appeared on television in Just Shoot Me! and Strong Medicine.
Ann Morgan Guilbert
Ann Morgan Guilbert played Fran's wise-cracking grandmother Yetta on The Nanny and was always quick for a laugh. She unfortunately passed away on June 14, 2016 at the age of 87. Before that, she kept up a steady stream of guest roles on shows like Grey's Anatomy, Modern Family, Curb Your Enthusiasm and many more.
Guilbert worked all the way up until the year before she died.