Fran Dresher co-created and executive produced the sitcom  "The Nanny". For her work, the actress was twice nominated for an Emmy as Best Actress in a Comedy Series in 1996 and 1997.

Drescher had a small part in "Saturday Night Fever" (1977), uttering the memorable line "Are you as good in bed as you are on the dance floor?" to John Travolta. She attracted a little attention as a snappy secretary in "American Hot Wax" (1978) and as a plastic public relations director in Rob Reiner's "This Is Spinal Tap" (1984), but generally appeared in supporting roles in forgettable features (i.e., "G.O.R.P" 1980; "Doctor Detroit" 1982).

She fared better as Robin Williams' whining mistress in the uneven "Cadillac Man" (1990) and in a re-teaming with the actor in Francis Ford Coppola's "Jack" (1996). Her first big screen lead in "The Beautician and the Beast" (1997), executive produced by the actress and her husband, was almost a spin-off of her TV series.

Drescher had guest appearances on sitcoms such as "ALF", "Who's the Boss?" and "Night Court" and appeared in a handful of TV-movies like the comedies "I'd Rather Be Calm" (CBS, 1982) and "Hurricane Sam" (CBS, 1990) and typically in dramatic works such as the spooky thriller "Stranger in Our House" (NBC, 1978) and "Without Warning: Terror in the Towers" (NBC, 1993), in which played a teacher.

After marking time as one of the students in "Fame" (NBC, 1982-1983), she brought her talent for daffy, deadpan wisecracking to the short-lived "Princesses" (CBS, 1991) opposite Julie Hagerty and Twiggy Lawson. In the latter, she created a role that was a blueprint for what has become her best-known character.