It’s no secret that the Hollywood industry has a diversity problem. The exclusion of Latinos in the arts was the basis of a study conducted by Professor Stacy L. Smith and the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative. The results, which were released last month, were dismal. As of 2018 “only 4.5 percent of all 47,268 speaking or named characters across the last 12 years were Latino and a mere 3 percent of lead or co-lead actors.” For Latinos, this news is not a surprise. That is why we hold Latino actors, the few that have gotten the chance to work and especially those that have been in the Hollywood industry for decades, with such high regard. For us, there is one such person that not only has been our representation in Hollwyood but has also told the story of historic Latinos.

Edward James Olmos has led a remarkable career in film and television that spans more than 45 years. 

This Mexican-American thespian has 121 acting credits to his name, and that does not include his work on Broadway, as a director, or composer. Within his storied career in Hollywood, Olmos has an estimated 29 awards in his field and 27 nominations. It would surprise some people to know that Olmos had aspirations that didn’t include acting at all.

Olmos was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Boyle Heights and in Montebello, California.

In a 2013 interview, Olmos said he had a strong work ethic thanks to his parents who were always working. He was raised by his great grandparents and strived to try it all from sports to music and even politics. As a young teen, Olmos wanted to be a baseball player. He also the lead singer of a band. “I really had a strong passion for baseball,” Olmos said, who was first caught up by the sport at age five. But admits he didn’t have the talent for it at such a young age. He said it was the divorce of his parents, around the age of seven, that made him want to dedicate himself to the sport. He said baseball taught him a lot about discipline which helped him understand his capabilities as a person. In 1960, around the age of 15 and 16, Olmos began to have another passion. He wanted to be a rock n’ roll star. Even though he said he couldn’t sing very well, he called himself a performer. For two years that he performed in a rock band, Olmos said his father stopped talking to him because he didn’t approve of his new path. 

After years as a stage actor, his breakthrough role came in 1981 in the film “Zoot Suit.”

In 1964, while in college, Olmos took his first acting class. He said his discipline of baseball and his passion for singing lead him naturally to consider acting. He said he tried auditioning but always got turned down. He kept at it and studied acting under the greats. He started doing theater in Los Angeles, and in 1978 he got a role in the theater production of “Zoot Suit” about the true story of the 1943 riots in Los Angeles that resulted in the arrests of many Latinos. In 1979, Olmos received a Tony Award nomination for his role of  El Pachuco. In 1981, a film version of the play hit theaters and Olmos comprised as El Pachuco once again. 

In 1988, Olmos portrayed the true story of math teacher Jaime Escalante in the beloved film “Stand and Deliver.”

The story depicts how students from  James A. Garfield High School in East Los Angeles overcame immense obstacles to pass AP Calculus tests during their senior year. The film received several Independent Spirit Awards including for Best Male Lead, which Olmos won, and Best Supporting Male for actor Lou Diamond Phillips. Olmos also received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. Olmos remembers that role fondly and with emotion. “Nobody wanted to give us a penny to tell the story of a Bolivian man helping kids take a math test,” he said earlier this year to Remezcla.  “Watching my performance, I realized what he gave us, it was like catching lightning in a bottle and we did it.” 

Today, Olmos continues to have a stellar body of work from “Battlestar Galactica” to “Portlandia” and “Mayans M.C.”

Some of his most recognized roles including in “Selena,” “Blade Runner,” “American Me,” and “My Family” and the work he is doing today on television has solidified Olmos as an icon in Hollywood and within the Latin community. 

“In 1964, when I started out we weren’t 22 percent of the population of the U.S, we were much less. We were also less than 2 percent of all the content in television and film. Today, with 22 percent of the population, we are still less than 4 percent of all content. We are in a worse place now,” he said. While that is an unfortunate fact, we’re still so thrilled and proud that he continues to represent us today. 

READ: 30 Years After Being Released, Here’s Where The Cast Of ‘Stand And Deliver’ Are Today

I know I’m not the only who puts on old reruns of The Nanny as the background noise to me falling asleep basically each and every night. It’s a show that I actually hated as a kid and now that I’m older and can understand some of the downright dark humor, I am a true stan.

The relationship between Fran Fine and Mr. Sheffield and between Miss CC Babcock and Niles the butler, are all too hilarious. So when news broke that the shows original Fran Fine, Fran Drescher, was hoping to cast Cardi B in the iconic role – I nearly lost it, along with thousands of others.

And, although Cardi B hasn’t yet confirmed that she’s interested, we seem to be making some itty bitty progress toward the ultimate TV show reboot.

There’s a rumor on the block that Fran Drescher herself has reached out to Cardi B to play her iconic character in a reboot of ‘The Nanny’.

The Nanny star Fran Drescher says she’s been in talks with Cardi B’s team about a possible reboot of her famous sitcom.

Drescher broached the topic in a recent interview with ET, in which she called the rapper her “top choice” for the role.

Rumors of a possible The Nanny reboot starring Cardi B have swirled for almost a year, and while it seemed at one point that they wouldn’t materialise, Drescher didn’t rule out the possibility in her latest chat

If you’ve seen Hustlers, or existed on the internet for more than one hour, you’ve been witness to Cardi B’s natural comedic talent. It made her a star after she established the rules for cold-weather dressing, it bolstered her emerging rap career, and it landed her a selection of truly hilarious scenes in the best movie of the century. Amidst this, Fran Drescher—iconic star of The Nanny—took note. Talent recognizes talent!

And I, for one, can’t handle the news.

At the least, it would give a very vocal contingent of Twitter something other to do than pit Cardi B and Nicki Minaj against each other. Beyond that, imagine the teenie-tiny Chanel skirt suits and Moschino ensembles and one-liners and wig possibilities! I don’t know what you believe in, but please, in this moment, grab someone close to you and pray.

OK, so it’s not new news but the possibility of Cardi B as the nanny is gaining some serious traction.

After revealing in 2018 that she was considering a reboot (not revival) of the famed sitcom, Drescher floated Cardi B’s name through the press as a viable lead. It’s been close to a year since she made that announcement, and the rumors are gaining traction. As she exclusively told ET at NBC’s Comedy Starts Here event in Los Angeles, “big news” is coming that could concern the future of Belcalis Marlenis Almanzar:

“That was just kind of laying out groundwork. I do think she’s great, and she would be kinda like my top choice, if she’s disciplined to do this show every week. It can be a grind, but she’s got a baby now and it could be a very comfortable, lovely way to, you know, work, be seen worldwide, and still do mini-concert tours when you’re on hiatus.”

I mean Cardi B would be the perfect, Fran Fine. Let’s just start with the fashions:

Cardi has clearly been inspired by the character’s legendary fashion sense in the past, stepping out in head to toe leopard print at last year’s Milan Fashion Week, even captioning the photo “Fran Drescher in @dolceandgabbana”

And OK, Cardi isn’t from Queens (like OG Fran) but she is a loud and proud fellow New Yorker.

Don’t worry: Cardi’s not going to be cast as a Jewish girl from Queens. The Nanny is slated for a reboot not a revival or follow-up series (an important distinction in these nostalgic times). Cardi would be playing a fully new character in a 21st century setting.

And Fran Drescher isn’t just thinking Cardi B. She’s got several great ideas for the possible reboot. In an interview with ET, she said: “I could play Sylvia, the mom. And John Leguizamo could play [Fran’s dad], Morty. So, you know, we’ll see. There’s a lot of opportunities to do something fantastic with it and bring it right into the 21st century.”

Please say yes Cardi? Please, please, please, please, please. Drescher’s promised there’s a big Nanny announcement coming in the next few weeks.

I know I am not alone – Twitter is this close to starting a Change.org petition.

And I would be the very first signature on that petition. This has to happen. From their fashion likeness to their New Yorkerness to their powerful female roles in their everyday lives and their on-screen personas, Cardi B is the ultimate choice to play Fran Fine.