Who is Fran Drescher, Woman Who is Leading Hollywood Strike, Creating Storm With Her Fiery Speech

SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher recently called an actors’ strike and gave a zealous speech in which she expressed her displeasure with all the major studios.

Actors and writers are on a strike against Hollywood for the first time in 63 years after failing to achieve a fair agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents studios and streamers, regarding TV, theatrical, and streaming work. The current president of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), Fran Drescher of The ‘Nanny‘ fame, is leading the actors’ strike against Hollywood executives, production companies, and streaming giants for a fair contract. Here’s everything you need to know about the 65-year old actor and labor leader.

WHO IS FRAN DRESCHER, SAG-AFTRA PRESIDENT?

Fran Drescher’s announcement about SAG-AFTRA’s union, representing more than 160,000 performers would join the Writers Guild of America (WGA) on strike made headlines this week.

Fran Drescher is best known to television viewers as the witty and sassy Fran Fine from the hit ’90s sitcom ‘The Nanny.’ Her roles in Saturday Night Fever, This is Spinal Tap, and Cadillac Man helped her establish a successful Hollywood career in the 1970s and 1980s. The Queens-born actress has long held a more influential position in Hollywood, serving as the head of Sag-Aftra, the union representing actresses and performers.

HOW DID FRAN DRESCHER RISE TO PRESIDENTIAL POWER?

Fran Drescher campaigned against Matthew Modine, the star of Stranger Things, in the 2021 election for Sag-Aftra president. After winning the election, the former actress took office as union president in September of the same year.

Fran Drescher started her speech by thanking everybody at the press conference and highlighting the importance of this negotiation. She said, “What happens here is important because what’s happening to us is happening across all fields of labor by means of when employers make Wall Street and greed their priority and they forget about the essential contributors that make the machine run.”

She continued, “We have a problem and we are experiencing that right at this moment. This is a very seminal hour for us. I went in in earnest thinking that we would be able to avert a strike. The gravity of this move is not lost on me or our negotiating committee or our board members who have voted unanimously to proceed with a strike. It’s a very serious thing that impacts thousands, if not millions, of people all across this country and around the world. Not only members of this union but people who work in other industries that service the people that work in this industry.”

WATCH Fran Drescher’s Impassioned Speech:

We didn’t want a strike, but we are not afraid of a fight. We are #SAGAFTRAstrong! ???????? #SAGAFTRAstrike pic.twitter.com/QLRME29vMC

— SAG-AFTRA (@sagaftra) July 13, 2023

WHAT IS THE ONGOING STRIKE AGAINST BOLLYWOOD?

This is the first time two significant Hollywood unions have announced a simultaneous strike since 1960 when Ronald Reagan was the Actors Guild president. All forms of entertainment, including movies, TV shows, music videos, readings, rehearsals, shoots, voiceovers, fittings, trials, promotions, red carpets, podcasts, and any other work in any capacity from writers, performers, broadcasters, podcasters, actors, and other guild members are completely halted as a result of the protest.

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