If Fran Drescher could go back in time, the only advice she’d probably give her younger self is to keep going. The Nanny actress recently opened up about some of the trials and tribulations she faced throughout her incredibly successful, decades-long Hollywood career.

“I would say, ‘You’re fabulous,'” the 61-year-old beauty revealed to Closer Weekly in an exclusive interview while attending Edie Parker Flower’s “Garden of Edie Party in Los Angeles on Tuesday, July 30. And, ‘You’re going to go through some stuff but you’re going to come through and land on the other side better than ever.'”

fran-drescher-garden-of-edie-party4
Linnea Stephan / BFA

Fran — who has bravely opened up about her past rape, subsequent cancer battle and even a uterine cancer misdiagnosis — explained that she would tell her younger self that it’s all going to work out. “You’re going to turn your pain into purpose and it’s going to give you a tremendous value to your life,” the Saturday Night Fever actress continued. “And you’re going to become a Buddhist and it’s going to put everything into perspective.'”

Although Fran has been a trailblazer for women in the entertainment industry, she secretly struggled through a very difficult time in her life. Besides battling what she thought was uterine cancer, Fran was also mourning the loss of her 21-year marriage with her then-husband, Peter Marc Jacobson, after he came out as gay.

“From 1999 to 2000, I was still in search of a proper diagnosis,” she told Fox News in July 2017. “My marriage was over. The show was over. It was a very discombobulating and dynamic time for me with a great deal of adjustments, lessons of letting go and all of that stuff.”

Fran Drescher's Cancer Schmancer 2015 Women's Health Summit
Amanda Edwards/Getty Images

Even though Fran has been cancer-free since 2000, she is still a passionate advocate against the formidable disease. In fact, the actress founded her non-profit organization, Cancer Schmancer, in 2007. The organization is dedicated to educating women about preventing cancer through early detection.

“You will never be the same [after trauma],” she admitted to Studio 10 in June 2017. “But whatever that is, forge forward with that and turn your pain into purpose which is what I always do.”

Fran is such an inspiration!

For more on your favorite celebs, pick up the latest issue of Closer Weekly, on newsstands now — and be sure to sign up for our newsletter for more exclusive news!