Our Humanitarian of the Year: Fran Drescher!

Our list of nominees for Humanitarian of the Year included some of the most influential and altruistic people of the last century. However, the total votes pointed to a landslide win for one person—Miss Fran Drescher!

And, I couldn’t be happier about it.

In July of this year, I named Miss Drescher our first “Humanitarian of the Week,” so it’s only fitting that she should be our first “Humanitarian of the Year.” And what a humanitarian! For the countless hours of laughter she’s brought to all of us, she’s also brought immeasurable comfort. Most importantly, however, Fran Drescher has offered hope for a healthy life to hundreds of people through her tireless efforts to raise awareness of women’s health issues.

After her own harrowing battle with cancer, Miss Drescher turned her ordeal into a blessing by creating a worldwide support group via her Cancer Schmancer Movement. Through her visits around the world and the resources she’s provided, Miss Drescher has been responsible for not only encouraging a quality and dignity of life for women in every country, but she’s also ensured continued life for many people for whom hope would have been lost.

And, that’s the beauty of Fran Drescher. This exceptional woman possesses the incredible ability to take something that could have broken most of us and turn it into a global triumph. I can honestly say that we’re all better off for having her in our world.

And, thankfully, Miss Drescher is once again on television with her new talk show, The Fran Drescher Tawk Show which has been airing to excellent reviews in test markets. We wish her well with that project and look forward to her program being picked up nationwide. Furthermore, Miss Drescher will be starring in a new show for TVLand. The cable network ordered a pilot for Happily Divorced, a comedy based on Miss Drescher’s own life with ex-husband and longtime friend, Peter Marc Jacobsen.

I think it’s appropriate that Fran Drescher’s middle name is “Joy.” There’s no better word to describe her. She has brought inestimable joy with her humor, her heart and her humility. I’m very pleased and proud to name Francine Joy Drescher Stalking the Belle Époque’s first “Humanitarian of the Year.”