List of The Nanny characters
The Nanny is an American television sitcom which originally aired on CBS from 1993 to 1999, starring Fran Drescher as Fran Fine, a fashion queen from Flushing, New York who becomes the nanny of three children from the New York/British high society.
Main characters
Fran Fine
Francine Joy "Fran" Sheffield is the series' nasal-voiced, big haired protagonist, portrayed by actress Fran Drescher. Her character is bubbly, outgoing, and humorous but also caring and responsible of the kids and her job, and plays the mother figure for them. Fran frequently gets into trouble, but usually solves the problems herself through seemingly ridiculous antics or by relying on her street smarts. She was a fashion icon in the show, often wearing black turtlenecks, or clothes right off the runway. Her closeness with the Sheffield family leads to a growing romantic relationship with Maxwell, which becomes official in Season 5. In the last season Fran and Maxwell have twins; a boy and a girl named Jonah and Eve. Also, in the last episode, Fran, Maxwell, Grace, along with [|Niles], C.C., Sylvia, Morty, Yetta, Val, and Fred move from New York to California.Early life
The youngest daughter of Sylvia and Morty Fine, Fran was raised in Flushing, Queens with her older sister Nadine. Her Jewish ancestors immigrated to the United States via Ellis Island, and anglicized their name to Fine.Fran and her best friend Val Toriello attended Hillcrest High School. After graduating from high school, Fran attended cosmetology college while working as a foot model. She later worked in the bridal dress shop of her boyfriend, Danny, after being 'pre-engaged' for three-years. At the start of the series, Fran was dumped as girlfriend and employee by her boyfriend and resorted to selling cosmetics door-to-door.
Relationship with the Sheffield family
In the show's pilot episode, Fran arrives at the home of Broadway producer Maxwell Sheffield, hoping to sell cosmetics. Patriarch Maxwell Sheffield happens to be in need of a nanny to take care of his three children: Margaret "Maggie" Sheffield, the oldest ; the youngest, Grace "Gracie" ; and the somewhat bratty middle sibling, Brighton. Niles, the butler, mistakenly thinks Fran has come to apply for the open nanny position. Fran decides to apply for the position and shows Mr. Sheffield her references, which are written in lipstick. Max ultimately realizes that Fran did not come there for the nanny position but he is desperate and hires Fran after she shows an aptitude with Maxwell's three high-maintenance children, who have driven away all previous nannies. Fran, with her nontraditional nurturing style and no-nonsense honesty, soon becomes a favorite with the kids as well as Maxwell, as they come to respect her opinions and love her as a person.Romance
Regretting her past breakup with her boyfriend Danny, Fran often feels the need to date. Fran is desperate to find a soulmate and often tries to date Jewish men. This compelling desire mainly comes from the obsessive, overbearing nature of her mother, Sylvia, who often nags Fran about the subject of marriage.As she continues to work for Mr. Sheffield, Fran develops many fantasies about being romantically and sexually involved with him, such as the two kissing passionately. In one episode, a drunk Fran accidentally climbs in bed alongside a sleeping Max. Upon waking up to find herself in bed next to Max, she says, "I'm havin' that dream again." In the last episode of season 3, Maxwell confesses to Miss Fine that he loves her when their plane from Paris to New York meets some turbulence, and he believes they may crash. Upon returning home, Maxwell immediately revokes the remark, claiming it was based more on panic and the possibility of death, while also being a spontaneous response, and was something he wanted to tell her before they perished. This incident is later referred to as "The Thing" and is held over Mr. Sheffield's head with glee by both Fran and Niles his butler for almost a whole season.
In the beginning seasons, they always address each other with proper employer-employee politeness, i.e., "Miss Fine" and "Mr. Sheffield". By the fifth season, Mr. Sheffield and Miss Fine begin a tentative romantic relationship, which consists of a very large milestone: calling each other by their first names. The romantic tension between them lasts until the middle of the fifth season, when the couple are engaged. Maxwell proposes marriage and, following several snafus, they are finally married in the season 5 finale. Fran gives birth to fraternal twins, Jonah Samuel and Eve Catherine, in the series finale. Jonah, being named for Fran's side of the family, is more reserved like Maxwell. Eve, being named for Maxwell's side of the family, is more nasal and boisterous like Fran.
Despite the fact that they stop using each other's last names to address each other when they become engaged, at times Fran and Max still switch to their boss/employee roles out of habit. When Max is angry with her, he will instinctively shout "Miss Fine!", causing a worried Fran to reply, "Oh no, I'm 'Miss Fine' again!" The same is true for Fran, who sometimes calls Maxwell "Mr. Sheffield" during intimate moments in the bedroom. When she and Maxwell finally become a couple, Fran sometimes exclaims "Oh, Mr. Sheffield" when they kiss.
Running gags
- Fran's voice – Fran has a nasal voice, and a heavy Queens dialect. Apparently, Fran has unique or deformed adenoids. Many comments are made by characters in reference to the distinctive voice, which is often found annoying to most of her peers. Whether Fran herself is aware of this is inconsistent throughout the series – sometimes she is oblivious her voice is different, but in other episodes she is aware of the effect of her voice on others and jokes about it. The sound of Fran's voice is a very frequent gag on the show, with Fran sometimes even referencing it by noting how some other people get recognized because of their unique voice.
- Fran's obsession with Barbra Streisand – On several occasions, Fran has alluded to her belief that Barbra Streisand is God, or at least the Messiah, claiming that if her mother and Barbra were both drowning, she would save her mother because "Barbra can walk on water." Fran has had many opportunities to meet Streisand or see her perform, often being foiled by plot devices – most notably severe Braxton Hicks contractions in the season 6 episode "Maggie's Wedding." Fran did meet Streisand in the season 4 episode "The Car Show," when Mr. Sheffield faked food poisoning to encourage her to overcome a fear of driving. Fran makes quite an impression on Barbra by going through Barbra's personal things, as she does whenever the opportunity presents itself, and pilfering a purse and single shoe.
- Fran's dating life – Fran will often jump at any chance of meeting a man, due to her compulsive desire to get married, brought on by her loving though overbearing mother, Sylvia. Based on her Jewish background, Fran's most ideal attraction is toward Jewish men, preferably doctors, which is often shown whenever a man makes a cultural reference such as having a Jewish name or celebrating events such as Bar Mitzvahs. All of her relationships until Max become unsuccessful, even though Fran is obsessed with having an extended relationship. These disappointments are resolved by her psychologist, Dr. Miller. With the ending of a relationship, Fran often bounces back to her growing relationship with Maxwell Sheffield, a pattern about which they both seem to be totally oblivious until later seasons. Despite marrying a gentile herself, Fran is overjoyed when she learns that the male model whom her step-daughter, Maggie, is dating, and later marries, is Jewish.
- Fran's age – Fran often tries to expand her youth by lying about her age, particularly when it comes to men. Fran is quick to say that she is in her late twenties but she was really in her early to mid 30s throughout the series. However, she is extremely defensive to anybody who comes close to assuming any age that refers to middle age. Her age is such a secret, in fact, that even the FBI cannot figure it out. However, in season 3, Fran's age was revealed to be somewhat older than 33 when Val mentioned that Fran is older than she is and Val admits that she herself is 33. Just before Fran's wedding, Fran says she was born during President Kennedy's administration. Nonetheless, she has indirectly revealed her age in some instances throughout the series including in a season 5 episode in 1998 where she claims to her boyfriend that she's 34. In addition, she celebrated her 30th birthday in a season 1 episode and when questioned by her mother in a season 3 episode about the amount of time it will take for her to get back her figure after giving birth to a child, she answers "I don't know Ma. 32 years?" Therefore, her birth year would most likely be 1964 and her age upon marrying Maxwell was 34. In reality, Fran Drescher was 36 at the beginning of the series.
- Fran's extended family – Fran typically brings up her family members. One episode had her make several references to "Cousin Toddy", who's revealed to be fashion designer Todd Oldham, and appeared as himself.
- Fran's food preference – Though Jewish, Fran is very open about her and her family's love of non-kosher food. She often notes how bacon is one of her favorite food choices, and rather enjoys other non-kosher foods such as lobster, ribs, pizza with meat toppings, pork, ham, ham and cheese sandwiches, hog dogs, etc.
Maxwell Sheffield
Maxwell's wife, Sara, died some years before the start of the series and he has worked closely with C.C. for almost 20 years.
Maxwell's busy schedule does not allow him to spend much time with Maggie, Brighton, and Gracie Sheffield so he had to find a nanny; enter Fran Fine. He is overprotective of Maggie, not wanting her to date.
Although Maxwell does not himself hold an aristocratic British title at any point in the series, it is once said that he is the first prominent Sheffield man in generations to not be a titled peer or knight, so it is safe to assume that he comes from a historically upper class family with a history of title holding.
Despite mutual attraction, Maxwell and Fran try to keep their relationship professional. Maxwell is nervous about commitment and is mourning his deceased wife, while Fran is still reeling from a broken relationship with ex-boyfriend Danny, whom she almost marries again in a later episode.
After a lot of stumbling, Maxwell commits to Fran and confesses his true feelings, and he and Fran get married in the fifth season of the series. The engagement causes the jealous C.C. to have a nervous breakdown and she spends time in a mental hospital. After being released, she continues her maniacal attempts to separate Max and Fran, even placing a veil on her head at the wedding, and taking Max's arm to walk down the aisle, much to Max's bemusement. She is eventually removed from the aisle by Niles, the butler, and forced into a seat.
On the eve of his wedding to Fran, Maxwell's late wife, Sara, appears to him. Sara reveals that she was the one who brought Fran into his life so she could become the nanny. When asked what she thought of Fran's voice, she states, "I thought she had a cold!"
Maxwell becomes a father again when Fran gives birth to their twins Jonah Samuel and Eve Catherine Sheffield. After the birth, the whole family moves to California, where Maxwell is scheduled to produce a TV show in Los Angeles.
His age ranges from 39 to 46 as he mentioned that he was 42 years old in "That's Midlife." He also stated that he was 44 years old in "The Nose Knows".
In the episode "The Nanny Behind the Man," Maxwell identifies himself to be a Republican and admits that his middle name is "Beverley".