From the flashy fashion to the hilarious culture-clashes, The Nanny remains a beloved TV classic.
Airing from 1993 to 1999, the sitcom followed the story of Fran Fine, a cosmetics saleswoman hired as a nanny by widowed Broadway producer Maxwell Sheffield after accidentally showing up on his doorstep.
While Fran was a street-smart woman from Flushing who landed in a Manhattan mansion, in real life actress Fran Drescher was the only cast member who earned an eye-watering pay cheque to invest in high-end properties.
As the lead actress, Drescher is by far the wealthiest member of the cast, with an estimated net worth of $US25 million ($A38 million).
The former SAG-AFTRA president reportedly earned $US1.5 million ($A2.3 million) per episode during the final season of The Nanny, making her one of the highest-paid actresses in TV at the time.
Her wealth stems not just from her acting, but from being the co-creator and co-producer of the series alongside her ex-husband, Peter Marc Jacobson.
She also continues to rake in substantial residuals from re-runs and streaming syndication.
Drescher owns a beachfront home in Malibu, which she purchased in 1997 for $US1.2 million ($A1.8 million).
The three-bedroom property is now estimated to be worth about $6-10 million ($A9.1-$A15.1 million).
Back in 2020, Drescher told the New York Post how the Malibu home became a sanctuary after her divorce from Jacobson and battle with uterine cancer.
“This was my first major purchase on my own,” she said.
“It was quite scary but that was the journey I was on: to define myself independently of the marriage and to discover who I am without asking somebody else, ‘What do you think, honey?’”
Earlier this year, Drescher was forced to evacuate her Malibu property due to the LA wildfires.
The TV icon has been living in New York since January. Despite her home still being intact, the actress said her residence “it’s not liveable”.
While she has no plans to return to her LA home any time soon, Drescher told People she feels “very blessed that I have a beautiful apartment on Central Park”.
“It was very healing for me and the dog when we went there,” she said.
“I ended up spending six months there, and really kind of consider that now my main residence. And this little beautiful apartment is my pied-à-terre in LA.”
Unconfirmed reports indicate the rest of The Nanny cast earned a much lower salary than Drescher. They have not made major public real estate purchases.
Their apparent small earnings per episode offers a glimpse into their future money moves.
Charles Shaughnessy
As the second lead, Charles Shaughnessy likely earned a significant salary, ranging between $US20,000 –$US50,000 ($A30,400 -$A76,000) per episode.
His pay cheque may have increased as the show became more successful.
Celebrity Net Worth estimates the actor has an impressive $US3 million ($4.7 million) to his name.
According to reports, Days of Our Lives alum currently resides in Los Angeles. He inherited the title of the fifth Baron Shaughnessy in 2007.
Supporting cast members
The salaries of supporting cast members Daniel Davis and Lauren Lane may have started around $US10,000 –$US25,000 ($A15,000-$A38,000) per episode, with potential increases in later seasons.
Both Davis and Lane are estimated to be worth $US2million ($A3.1 million) each.
Child actors like Nicholle Tom, Benjamin Salisbury, and Madeline Zima may have earned less, though their earnings likely increased as the show progressed.
Nicholle Tom reportedly has a fortune of $US13 million ($A20.6 million) while Madeline Zima’s wealth is $US1.5 million ($2.3 million).
Benjamin Salisbury is worth $US500,000 ($A793,000), according to Celebrity Net Worth.
Renée Taylor, who brought Fran’s food-obsessed mother Sylvia Fine to life and has $US3 million ($4.7 million) to her name.
Parts of this story first appeared in the New York Post and was republished with permission.
