FRAN DRESCHER

Everybody’s favorite nanny stars in a Lifetime Christmas movie, The Christmas Setup (Dec. 12). Drescher, 63, plays Kate, who can’t resist matchmaking when her New York lawyer son, Hugo (Ben Lewis), comes home to Milwaukee for the holidays, setting him up with Patrick (Blake Lee), his secret high school crush.

What drew you to The Christmas Setup?

I love that it’s Lifetime’s first LGBTQ holiday rom-com. I always go to the mat for gay civil liberties and any marginalized group. The more we can normalize it by showing it in stories like this, the better it’s going to be for society as a whole.

Tell us about your character, Kate.

She’s very positive; she’s a force. She’s very into her community and is unconditionally accepting of her children. She gives for the greater good, and I like that.

You were diagnosed with uterine cancer 20 years ago, and Cancer Schmancer is your advocacy passion project. How have you worked on that during the pandemic?

We immediately shifted gears and said, “Let’s do a Zoom interview series called Corona Care 4 You.” We interviewed outside-of-the-box medical doctors from all over the world who offered advice for people on how to help support your immune system, what you might do should you test positive and things to do to support your body to fight the virus.

What’s the happiest you’ve been this year?

I celebrated my 20-year anniversary of wellness on June 21. I always thought I was going to have a major bash, but we were in lockdown. I was one of eight girlfriends that all socially distanced on my deck. We ate and laughed and were all together, and that was a very joyful experience.