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Fran Drescher was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Tuesday, Sept. 30
At the ceremony, Jacobson praised Drescher for her accomplishments, both on and offscreen, and how she has changed many lives
Drescher, 68, tells PEOPLE about collaborating with Jacobson over the years and their latest work together
Fran Drescher had one of the most important people in her life by her side on her special day.
Ex-husband Peter Marc Jacobson served as the emcee at the actress’ Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony on Sept. 30, which is also Drescher’s 68th birthday.
Her frequent creative collaborator began, “When I met Fran, we were 15 years old in high school. We both remember that day we met. She was coming down the steps and I was going up the steps, and I thought to myself, ‘That is the most beautiful girl I have ever seen.’ “
“And then she spoke,” he said, met with laughter from guests.
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Peter Marc Jacobson speaks onstage during the ceremony honoring Fran Drescher with a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on September 30, 2025
Later in the ceremony, Jacobson took another chance to share his love for Fran, calling her “my soulmate.”
“I love you from the bottom of my heart. There aren’t words for it, but I love you, I love you, I love you, and I only wish you the best. Nobody deserves this more.”
The Nanny alum and the TV writer were married for 21 years before they split in 1999. It wasn’t until two years after their divorce that Jacobson revealed to Drescher that he is gay.
In the immediate aftermath, the two didn’t speak. That changed in 2000, when Drescher was diagnosed with uterine cancer. Drescher’s diagnosis led to them rekindling their friendship.
“You realize how precious life is,” Jacobson previously told PEOPLE. “Any moment spent on hate is a moment wasted.”
The actress recently returned to work after stepping back from her role as SAG-AFTRA president, on projects she collaborates with Jacobson on, including something in The Nanny universe.
“That’s one of the things that I need to really get into again now that I’m done with the presidency. And we’re going to do it differently, write it a different way, do it just ourselves. It’s just we’re starting again,” she shared.
“We’re starting at ground zero, and having fun doing it. I like when I have fun. Like I said to Peter, ‘We have to get a writer’s assistant.’ He’s like, ‘Really? Why can’t we do it?’ No, because then it’s not fun. I have fun writing it. I don’t have fun being the writer’s assistant for it too,” she laughs.
“Now that I forced him into realizing that, he’s so grateful because it’s so much better, so much better. We’ve got to make it fun.”
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Fran Drescher Drescher attends the GRAMMYs on the Hill Advocacy Day Awards Dinner at The Hamilton on April 08, 2025
Of her recent honor, as well as her upcoming Fran Drescher Retrospective at the Hollywood Museum, Drescher is touched to look back at her history, but adds, “I’m not ego-driven by any of this stuff.”
“Not being famous, none of it,” she continued. “Most of the time, it just feels like work. A big precedent is work. I have to be on. I have to look good — the heels are hurting me, the bras digging, and all of that you don’t see. So, it makes it work a little bit.”
Drescher continued, “I know my strengths. I’m not egotistical about it. I just know that I have leadership qualities. I’ve been that way my whole life. I speak clearly and rationally. And I’m a systems analyst’s daughter, so I see systems.”
Read the original article on People