Sylvia Fine (The Nanny)

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Sylvia Fine
First appearance Pilot
Last appearance The Finalé
Created by Fran Drescher
Peter Marc Jacobson
Portrayed by Renee Taylor
Information
Age 50
Occupation Housewife
Family Yetta Rosenberg (mother)
Joe Rosenberg (father)
Jack Rosenberg (brother)
Marsha Rosenberg (niece)
Freida Fine (sister-in-law)
Stanley Fine (brother-in-law)
Rose Fine (sister-in-law)
Barry Cooperman (son-in-law)
Maxwell Sheffield (son-in-law)
Spouse(s) Morty Fine
Children Nadine Fine Cooperman (daughter)
Fran Fine Sheffield (daughter)

Sylvia Fine (née Rosenberg), is a fictional character on the situation comedy, The Nanny. She was played by actress Renee Taylor.

[edit] Fran's mother

Sylvia is Fran Fine's mother, and was always after her daughter to get married, when Fran wasn't pressuring herself to get married. She, along with her mother, Yetta Rosenberg, couldn't believe how fortunate Fran was to find a job as a nanny for a rich Broadway producer, so soon after being fired from her job at a bridal shop. Sylvia was married to Fran's father, Morty (eventually played in the last episodes by singer Steve Lawrence) for many years, and theirs was a typical marriage. Besides Fran, she had an older daughter, Nadine Fine, who married Barry Cooperman, an air-conditioner repair man.

Although Fran wasn't married to Maxwell Sheffield, yet, she bonded well with his three children. In fact, she met all of them in one fell swoop when they were stranded in Fran's old neighborhood, during a blizzard. Before that, she had only met Grace when Grace ran away to Flushing to find Fran on her day off.

She made it a point to go over to the Sheffield house quite frequently, and she would usually partake of the stocked refrigerator. She was known for her constant and voracious eating. Though Sylvia ate a lot of the time, she was also involved in a canasta league, which allowed for her to bond somewhat, with Brighton Sheffield, during the short time that he was on the team.

When Fran finally married Maxwell, she was overjoyed. So much so, that she shot a glare at anyone who dared to speak against it. Basically everyone held their peace, most especially C. C. Babcock and Maxwell's sister, Jocelyn.

Besides becoming the grandmother to Max's children, she became a grandmother to Fran's children with Max, Jonah and Eve. When Fran and her family moved to California, she naturally went with them.

[edit] Trivia

  • Like most of the characters in The Nanny. Fran Drescher's real-life mother is named Sylvia; her father is really named Morty; and she has a real-life Yetta. All had met the performers playing them, and liked their performances.
  • Sylvia Fine is also the name of a Peabody Award-winning songwriter, who was married to actor Danny Kaye.
  • As the Italian dub of The Nanny was altered to hide the Jewish origins of Fran, Sylvia became Aunt Assunta, an Italian immigrant, related to Francesca and offering temporary shelter and a maternal guidance to her niece.
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