Jamie's former boss and confidant, 3 years her senior and
formerly married to Mark Devanow. A Regional VP at
the Public Relations firm of Farrer, Gantz. for 5 years, she quit
her job to spend more time with her young son Ryan.
Fran likes to shop, take charge in every conceivable situation, and fix up her single friends at annual Valentine's Day parties (at least before Mark left). Paul considers her his friend-in-law. Fran's husband Mark often took his cue from her; in fact she proposed to him. However, after they separate, Fran had a rough time adjusting to single life again. She had quick affairs with Jamie's ex-boyfriend Sherman and Paul's cousin Ira, and even dated Jamie's college classmate Nick.
Fran appeared to have adequate means of support in Mark's absence, even though she was not working (in season #2). She went back to work at Farrer, Gantz., but quit because she thought Jamie resented her taking Jamie's old job there. She then joined forces with Jamie in her PR business, but left it after reconciling with Mark. They toured Europe for 3 months, but she is (presumably) back home alone in New York.
Fran drives in NYC and the Buchmans often borrowed her car in a pinch. Her apartment (#1925, at #171 on an unnamed street) is in the Upper East Side of New York City and the subject of a re-painting exercise. She packed off her young son Ryan to her mother's in Boca Raton, Florida from time to time; he attends a local school though.
Leila Kenzle
stars as the recently divorced Fran
Devanow. Born in Long Island, New York and raised in Rutherford,
New Jersey as one of three daughters, all it took was a
"pushy" mother and a keen interest in the opposite sex
for Leila Kenzle to overcome her stage fright and find the
spotlight to begin her acting career.
Soon after Kenzle received her B.F.A. in theatre from Mason Gross School of Fine Arts Conservatory at Rutgers, she lost her will to act and worked as a hotel phone operator. Kenzle resumed her acting career when a sympathetic casting director coaxed her into auditioning for an off-Broadway show -- and she landed the part.
Her big break came when she was cast as a stripper in the off-Broadway production of "Tony 'n' Tina's Wedding." In 1989, she moved to Los Angeles, still unsure of her calling as an actress, but quickly found work in the first of five television series pilots. Her other TV credits include appearances on "The Golden Girls," "thirtysomething," "The Cosby Show" and a recurring role, as the sister of Fran Drescher's character, in the short-lived series "Princesses." In 1991, she appeared in the feature film "Other People's Money," starring Danny DeVito.
In her spare time, Kenzle enjoys yoga, hiking and shopping for antiques. She also works with adolescent wards of the state as part of Children's International Institute and is active in multiple sclerosis charities. A newlywed, she and her husband, Neil Monaco, a private acting coach, reside in West Hollywood, California.