Here's What Happened To Daphne From Frasier
Back in the '90s, there were a few sitcoms that everyone seemed to be watching — "Friends," "Seinfeld" and, of course, "Frasier." "Frasier" starred Kelsey Grammer as a psychiatrist living with his elderly father in Seattle. Daphne Moon, played by Jane Leeves, was soon hired as Frasier's father's caretaker, and the character became a fan favorite. "Daphne was like a pair of comfy shoes," Leeves once told Vanity Fair. "She had a sort of earthiness and honesty that definitely came from me." To say the show was popular would be an understatement. It ran for 11 seasons and brought in 24.2 million viewers in its first season alone.
As Daphne, Leeves quickly became one of the best-known faces on TV. She even picked up an Emmy nomination for the role in 1998. But what has Leeves been up to since the series finale in 2004? In the nearly two decades since the sitcom ended, the actress has forged her own path in comedy and drama. However, that's not all she's been up to. Here's a look at what "Daphne" is doing today.
It took Jane Leeves 'a long time to get over the fact that the show had ended'
When "Frasier" came to an end in 2004, it wasn't easy for Jane Leeves to say goodbye. "It took us all a long time to get over the fact that the show had ended," she later told the Daily Mail. "It was a decade of some of the most fantastic experiences of my life, and there were times I'd wake up crying that it was all over."
It's hard to imagine, then, that Leeves almost didn't get to play Daphne over the life of the show. As the cast confirmed to Vanity Fair, NBC wanted Leeves to play Daphne, but the star of the show, Kelsey Grammer, wasn't so sure. "I was nervous about a British-accented housekeeper turning us into a dreadful 'Nanny and the Professor.' So, I asked to read with her," he recalled. Aafter just one minute of reading with Leeves, though, Grammer was sold.
As for Leeves, she was sold right away. "When I read the pilot for this it wasn't really a tough choice at all," Leeves revealed in a 1995 interview, explaining that she gave up a recurring role on "Murphy Brown" for the new series.
Following Frasier, Jane Leeves shielded her kids from the public
During her time on "Frasier," Jane Leeves met and married the TV executive, Marshall Coben. However, for a while, Leeves thought she might never marry. The actor explained in an interview that she struggled in the dating world. "I didn't think I'd meet anyone and I only had eyes for Moose [the dog on 'Frasier']." But then co-star David Hyde Pierce introduced her to Coben. "I never thought I'd settle down — especially with someone as wonderful as Marshall," she said. "He's my knight in shining armour. My dream man." The pair married in 1996 (via The Herald).
The pair went on to have two children, Isabella, born in 2001, and Finn, born in 2003 – just five months before "Frasier" wrapped. "Literally, I had my second baby the day after we shot an episode," Leeves revealed in a 2011 interview. Despite earning massive fame on "Frasier," she said she's not sure being famous has much of impact on her children. "I've kept them out of the public eye. ... We live in Malibu at the beach, and they spend most of their days at the beach playing. So I don't think it has affected them."
In an interview with Michelle Rivera that same year, Leeves revealed how much she enjoys parenting, saying, "I have loved bringing these two little people into the world and watching them evolve as individuals, with unique personalities and talents. Having the ability to encourage them in their own pursuits and dreams is what I feel being a parent truly is."
Jane Leeves returned to the stage
During the run of "Frasier," Jane Leeves took on another iconic role in the Broadway musical "Caberet." In between seasons of the sitcom, she took over from Molly Ringwald to play Sally Bowles from April to July 2002, making her Broadway debut. "That's just one of those roles — you know — it's a dream role," she said in a 2020 interview. "It's sort of one of those iconic roles for women."
By 2003, Leeves was considering leaving the small screen for the stage. "My friends say I'm mad to even think about coming back to the UK because the pay doesn't compare but to be honest, I can afford to be a little bit mad now," she told the Evening Standard. "I miss England and am looking forward to getting back," she added.
Although Leeves didn't end up moving back to the U.K. to pursue a theater career following the end of "Frasier," Leeves did return to the stage in 2009 with a role in the national tour of "An Evening Without Monty Python."
She did plenty of voice work after Frasier
After "Frasier" came to an end in 2004, Jane Leeves continued to act. Her career as a voice artist especially took off.
She voiced numerous children's characters, including the Ladybug in "James and the Giant Peach," Eenie in "Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties," Lulu the chimpanzee in "The Penguins of Madagascar," Wanda in "Phineas and Ferb," Commander Estoc, an Imperial officer, in "Lego Star Wars" and a mouse version of the Queen of England in "Micky Mouse Mixed-Up Adventures." As Rob LaDuca, the show's producer, told iNews, "We figured that Mickey and Minnie are royalty in our shows, so the Queen should definitely be a mouse." So, yes, Leeves is essentially royalty.
While Leeves focused more on voice acting once "Frasier" ended, she did voice some characters while also playing Daphne Moon, including the ladybug in "James and the Giant Peach," Edwina in "The Simpsons," and Margaret Beetle in "The Adventures of Tom Thumb & Thumbelina."
Jane Leeves starred in the comedy Hot in Cleveland
One of Jane Leeves' biggest roles to date — aside from "Frasier" — was playing Joy Scroggs on the TV Land original comedy "Hot in Cleveland" from 2010 to 2015. "I was certainly in the market for a half-hour comedy," Leeves explained to AssignmentTX in 2014. "I had been approached about some hour-long dramas, but I have kids, and I know friends who do them; the hours on those are hideous."
"Hot In Cleveland" came along and seemed like the perfect fit. Plus, it allowed her to play a new type of character. "I've gone from playing someone grounded and happy to playing a cynical old bag and I love it," she told the Daily Mail.
The show also gave her the chance to work with the likes of Valerie Bertinelli, Wendie Malick (another "Frasier" alum), and the late, great Betty White. "Yes we do all have history together, and have great respect and admiration for each other," Leeves told Michelle Riviera in 2011. "There's great comfort in knowing that we are all looking out for one another. It's a true friendship both on and off the set."
She aged naturally while continuing to work in Hollywood
As Jane Leeves got older, she made an effort to age naturally despite the pressures placed on middle-aged women in Hollywood. In 2013, Leeves spoke to the Daily Mail about what she saw as a dangerous trend in plastic surgery. "I don't want to have some hideous surgery that's not even going to guarantee me any work and could make me unemployable," she said. "People know how old I am, so it's OK if I look my age." She went on to explain that she believed that plastic surgery had the power to ruin careers. "Meg Ryan destroyed her career with plastic surgery," she opined.
She concluded that she wanted to avoid plastic surgery as she wanted to be a good influence on her daughter. "I don't want Isabella to think that's what it's all about," she said. "There's enough pressure on young girls nowadays without them having to worry about that. It just doesn't send the right message to young women, and that's a big concern."
Jane Leeves attempted to recreate The Vicar of Dibley
While still on "Frasier," Jane Leeves and her co-star Peri Gilpin had the idea of starting their own production company. They soon formed Bristol Cities (a funny name for breasts in cockney slang) and began producing TV shows and films while not acting on the show. As she told The Guardian, she had been interested in producing "to get English people to respect [her]."
In 2001, the pair bought the U.S. rights to the BBC show "The Vicar of Dibley" (via BBC News). In 2007, several years after "Frasier" concluded, the BBC series was Americanized and slated to star Kirstie Alley; however, the show wasn't picked up by the network. Gilpin and Leeves also reportedly bought the rights to "Stories I Couldn't Tell While I Was a Pastor" by Bruce McIver but, unfortunately, the production company never made it into a film.
Jane Leeves took on a unique new role in 2018
In 2018, Jane Leeves appeared in her next big project: "The Resident." Leeves plays surgeon Kit Voss, who offers some lightness to the show. As producer Andrew Chapman told Entertainment Weekly of the character, "In a lot of ways, Kit is the moral center of the show. When there's a problem dealing with right or wrong, we often go to her as the arbiter." Leeves told TV Insider that she was shocked to be chosen for the role. "They wanted to [add a] note to the show — not necessarily hugely comedic, but a bit of humor," she revealed. "And I love this character. She's assertive without being aggressive, and her greatest joy is being able to fix her patients."
In 2019, after "The Resident" concluded its second season, it was announced that Jane Leeves would star alongside Hannah Simone of "New Girl" fame in a new comedy pilot for ABC. According to Deadline, the pilot was written and produced by Simone and co-executive produced by the team behind "New Girl." However, it seems the series was not picked up by the network — but that means fans of "The Resident" don't lose out on time with Kit.
As of this writing, Leeves remains on the show, which is in its sixth season. Despite some rumors about the show potentially being canceled after the current season, series co-creator Amy Holden Jones told Digital Spy, "The ratings are incredibly stable. ... It has the potential to go on and on, but whether it'll be given that shot, I don't know."
Jane Leeves stayed close to the Frasier cast
Even though "Frasier" came to an end in 2004 after 11 seasons, Jane Leeves always remained in contact with her cast mates. "We've all remained very close," she told the BBC. "And Peri [Gilpin] is actually in London with me now, Peri who played Roz, we're traveling together because we're, you know, best friends in real life. David [Hyde Pierce] is the godfather to my kids and so is John [Mahoney] and we see each other all the time."
In fact, according to an interview with Ability Magazine back in 2011, Gilpin revealed that she and Leeves were actually neighbors. "My kids are her goddaughters and my kids are in kindergarten with her son, who I love," she gushed. "She's a dear, dear friend."
When Mahoney died in 2018, Leeves paid a touching tribute to her friend, telling The Wrap, "John was the dearest sweetest man I have ever known." It seems pretty clear that although "Frasier" ended, Leeves' friendships with everyone in the cast never did.
She won't appear in the Frasier reboot
Even though Jane Leeves evidently adored her time as Daphne Moon in "Frasier," she won't be reprising the role any time soon. Although a "Frasier" reboot is in the works for a 2023 release, many of the original cast members aren't involved. According to the Independent, Leeves is one such OG member who has confirmed she won't be returning. In fact, it seems that Leeves was always sort of against the idea of returning to the character of Daphne. In 2010, when asked about a potential reboot, Leeves told the Daily Mail simply, "It was a great show, perhaps we should just remember it as it was."
Nevertheless, the reboot has continued. "For a while we were going to try to bring back the whole cast, the whole legacy cast," Kelsey Grammer told People in 2022. "David basically decided he wasn't really interested in repeating the performance of Niles. In a very funny way, it just took us to a new place, which was what we originally wanted to do anyway, which was a 'Frasier' third act." By the sounds of things, they decided to take the character of Frasier away from the world of the original series, which means that the old supporting characters, including Daphne, wouldn't need to be around. Nevertheless, Grammer explained that audiences won't be left to guess what happened to them. "We'll certainly be responsive about the fact that there was a brother and such," he added.