You Know Her as The Nanny. Now, a Strike Leader

If those watching Thursday's news conference announcing a Hollywood actors' strike didn't immediately recognize the woman speaking, the voice likely gave it away—the "distinctly nasal, Queens-inflected accent" of Fran Drescher, as the New York Times puts it. Yes, the 65-year-old actress who became a household name as star of the 1990s sitcom The Nanny now leads the SAG-AFTRA union that represents tens of thousands of actors. Coverage:

• The speech: Drescher's fiery speech of about six minutes has gone viral, reports Deadline. Watch it here. "I am shocked by the way the people that we have been in business with are treating us!" she said. "It is disgusting. Shame on them!" She also referenced a bigger picture: "The eyes of the world and particularly the eyes of labor are upon us," she said. "What happens to us is important. What's happening to us is happening across all fields of labor."
• Acting background: The BBC traces Drescher's acting story, starting with a breakthrough cameo in Saturday Night Fever in which she says to John Travolta, "So, are you as good in bed as you are on the dance floor?" She formed a creative duo early with husband Peter Marc Jacobson, one that continued even after they divorced and he came out as gay. They produced and wrote The Nanny together. She also had a notable role in the critically acclaimed movie This Is Spinal Tap.

• Politics: Drescher has been vocal with her left-leaning politics for years, once describing herself as "anti-capitalist" in a 2017 interview with Vulture. She said she was not "anti-making money," but said it should be "calibrated within the spectrum of what's a true value." The BBC notes that she is prone to captioning photos with phrases such as "Capitalism has become another word for Ruling Class Elite!"
• The union: Drescher became president of the Hollywood union in 2021 after an ugly election against actor Matthew Modine, who accused her of spreading false information about him, per the Times. Afterward, he was quoted as saying, "I'm ashamed of Fran Drescher, I'm disappointed. But she'll be judged by the people in the world after she's gone, or by whatever God she worships." Still, Drescher appears to have united the union's divisive camps, as seen in the remarkable 97.9% rank-and-file vote to authorize a strike.
• Kardashian controversy: Last week, as the strike loomed, Drescher courted controversy when photos emerged of her posing with Kim Kardashian at a Dolce & Gabbana fashion show in Italy. "This is a joke right?" wrote General Hospital actor Nancy Lee Grahn. "The deadline for a union that she is President of has a deadline to strike Wed at midnight. Livelihoods are on the line. I'm hoping this is not true. It can't be. No one could be this stupid." Drescher explained that it was work, not a vacation, because she's a brand ambassador for Dolce & Gabbana and was obligated to be there, per CNN.
• What's next: Drescher says she and her union are "pumped" for a long strike, reports USA Today. "Right now, we discussed what it would cost if it went for six months, so we're looking for the long haul," she said. Sticking points include compensation in the new world of streaming and artificial intelligence. That applies both to striking actors and striking screenwriters, this being the first time they have gone on strike simultaneously since Ronald Reagan held Drescher's position in 1960.

(More Fran Drescher stories.)