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.”

Humanitarian of the Week: Fran Drescher

We can define our lives in terms of things or we can define them in terms of actions. In order to achieve our own Belle Époque, we will need to live well in all aspects of our lives. Most importantly, we will need to support our fellow people so that we all may have the beautiful lives we deserve.


One person who represents the spirit of any beautiful era is the exquisite Fran Drescher. As entertaining as she is beautiful, Miss Drescher, has brought joy into our homes for many years—most notably with her program, The Nanny.

However, there’s more to Fran Drescher than her glamorous clothes and trademark laugh. Miss Drescher is a cancer survivor and had tirelessly worked to raise awareness of women’s health for over a decade. In 2000, after two years of unsatisfactory care and misdiagnoses, Miss Drescher was diagnosed with uterine cancer and underwent immediate surgery. Ten years, later, she remains in great health with no post-operative treatment required. In her book, Cancer Schmancer, Miss Drescher chronicles her experience in the hope of raising awareness of uterine cancer and to help those who have been diagnosed.

In 2007, Fran Drescher launched "The Cancer Schmancer Movement" which she dedicated to ensuring that all women’s cancers were diagnosed in the first and most curable stage. 2008 saw Miss Drescher as a U.S. Diplomat by the United States State Department. Given the title of Public Diplomacy Envoy for Women's Health Issues, Miss Drescher has traveled the world working with leaders and health agencies to raise awareness of women’s health issues, encourage patient empowerment and to assist in finding ways for early detection.

Beautiful in so many ways, Miss Drescher is truly the embodiment of our new Belle Époque.