Maxwell Sheffield is a principal character on The Nanny. He is the father of Maggie, Brighton, and Grace Sheffield, and is married to Fran Fine. He is portrayed by Charles Shaughnessy.
Background[]
Maxwell Beverly Sheffield was born in London, England on February 9, 1955 to Elizabeth and James Sheffield. He went to Goodrington School at 3 years old until he was 11 years old. He then attended Warren School in Rainham, England from 11 to 18. It is implied that he served during the Falklands War prior to his arrival to America. He has an older sister named Jocelyn Sheffield and a younger brother named Nigel Sheffield. They have have divorced parents. His mother hates Fran and finds her impractical. His father cheated on his mother with his secretary and caused the divorce. After the divorce, James married his secretary which caused Maxwell to hate his step-mother and his father. They stayed together until James' death, when Maxwell and his siblings found out in the will that all his money was left to his secret child, Concepción, giving Maxwell another sister.
Maxwell is a Broadway theatrical producer of some success, his main rival is Andrew Lloyd Webber. It has always irritated him that he had turned down producing the show Cats, as well as Tommy and Hair, and that Webber had made a fortune from it. Maxwell worked closely with his business partner C.C. Babcock (who had her eyes set on him) for almost 20 years.
His wife, Sara Sheffield passed away some years before the start of the show (the cause of death was never stated). Together, Sara and Max have three children; Margaret "Maggie" Sheffield, Brighton Sheffield, and Grace "Gracie" Sheffield. However, his busy schedule does not allow him much time to spend time with them, so he had to find a nanny to care for his children, leading him to hire Fran Fine. Before Fran came along, Brighton had caused three other nannies to quit by faking his own death with a toy knife and ketchup.
Personality[]
Maxwell is very uptight at first and always makes sure his family is in perfect order, whether its wearing modest clothing, their hair is cleaned and nice, and they are perfect in every way. He soon lets up being so uptight when he meets Fran and slowly, his personality changes.
Throughout the Series[]
Fran is uncultured, but has practical and common sense, having grown up in a close-knit Jewish family in Flushing Queens, New York. This sets sets the stage for a lot of culture clashes, especially in the early episodes. Despite mutual attraction, Maxwell and Fran try to keep their relationship professional only. Maxwell is nervous about commitment and is still mourning his deceased wife, Sara, while Fran is still reeling from a broken relationship with her ex-boyfriend, named Danny Imperiali, who dumps Fran for Heather Biblow, During a flight to New York, the plane carrying Maxwell and Fran hits some turbulence, and in the commotion, Maxwell tells Fran he loves her. Upon returning home, he takes his statement back. It is eventually called, "The Thing" and is often held over Maxwell's head by Fran and Niles, his butler since youth.
After a lot of stumbling, Maxwell confesses his true feelings, and he and Fran get married. The engagement sends the jealous C.C. into a mental hospital. Despite being released, she continues her maniacal attempts to separate them, even placing a veil over her head at the wedding, taking Max's arm to walk down the aisle, much to Max's bemusement. She's eventually removed from the aisle by Niles and made to sit down. Maxwell becomes a father again when Fran gives birth to her and Max's twins Jonah Samuel Sheffield and Eve Catherine Sheffield. After the birth, the whole family moves to California, where Maxwell is scheduled to produce a TV show in Los Angeles.
Many episodes have quotes which imply that he is Roman Catholic.
In the episode "The Nanny Behind the Man," Maxwell identifies himself to be a Republican, but in real life, Charles Shaughnessy is an outspoken Democrat.
Relationships[]
C.C. states that Maxwell has had 16 girlfriends, and two wives, named Sara and Fran.
The romantic tension between Maxwell and Fran peaks in 1997, when the couple gets engaged; following sever snafus, they are finally married in 1998. Until that point, they always addressed each other with the proper employer-employee politeness, i.e., "Miss Fine" and "Mr. Sheffield." Maxwell believes they may crash. Upon returning home, Maxwell immediately revokes the statement {this is later referred to as "The Thing" and is held over Mr. Sheffield's head with glee by Fran and Niles).
By then, Mr. Sheffield and Miss Fine begin a tentative romantic relationship, which consisted of a very large milestone; calling each other by their first names. Mr. Sheffield proposes marriage (a move that sends C. C. Babcock, who had an obsessive crush on Maxwell and jealous hatred of Fran, to an insane asylum), and they are married in (1998). They finally give birth to fraternal twins, Jonah and Eve, in 1999. Jonah, who was born first, was named for Fran's side of the family, but was more reserved like his father; and Eve, who was born a few minutes later, was named for her father's side of the family, but was more nasally and boisterous like her mother.
Despite the fact they stopped using each other's last names to address each other when they married, Fran and Max would still switch to their boss/employee roles out of habit. When Max is angry with her, he will instinctively shout "Miss Fine!", causing a worried Fran to reply, "Oh no, I'm Miss Fine again!". The same is true for Fran, who calls Maxwell "Mr. Sheffield" in bed. Before they got married, Fran had many fantasies of them making out.
Quotes[]
Trivia[]
- In the first season, Maxwell notes several times that he was class president at Eton.
- Maxwell has also mentioned before that his middle name is Beverly. It is confirmed on the wedding invitation in the season 5 finale with their full names being shown as Maxwell Beverly Sheffield and Francine Joy Fine.
- Maxwell nearly becomes deaf because of Fran's high pitched voice.
- Maxwell has an appendectomy due to eating some bad food made by C.C.
- Maxwell is oblivious to C.C.'s romantic interest in him.
- Maxwell passed on Cats, Tommy and Hair.
- He is a Republican.
- He favors three-piece suits on a daily basis, rarely wearing casual clothes.
- He is well known for being predictable.
- As a widower, he continued to wear his wedding ring.
- He has a high tolerance for his staff's shenanigans, threatening to fire them but never carrying out that threat when they commit an indiscretion.
Gallery[]
