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Maxwell Sheffield
First appearance	Pilot
Last appearance	The Finalé
Information
Age	54 (2007)
Occupation	Broadway producer
Family	Elizabeth Sheffield (mother) Joan Sheffield (step-mother) James Sheffield (father) Jocelyn Sheffield (sister) Nigel Sheffield (brother) Concepcion (half-sister)
Relationships	Fran Fine Sara Sheffield (deceased)
Children	Margaret Sheffield Brighton Sheffield Grace Sheffield Eve Katherine Sheffield Jonah Samuel Sheffield
Portrayed by	Charles Shaughnessy
Created by	Fran Drescher Peter Marc Jacobson

Maxwell Beverly Sheffield (born 1953 in England) was the male lead in the long-running television sitcom, The Nanny. He was played by actor Charles Shaughnessy.

Maxwell was a Broadway theatrical producer of some success, although his main rival was Andrew Lloyd Webber. It has always irritated him that he had turned down producing the show Cats, and that Webber had made a fortune off of it.

His wife Sarah, had died, (it was never stated how she died), some years before the start of the show, and had his business partner, C.C. Babcock, who had her eyes set on becoming the next Mrs. Sheffield, for almost 20 years.

Maxwell's greatest pride was his three children, Maggie; Brighton; and Gracie. However, his busy schedule did not allow him time to spend with them, so he had hoped to find a nanny. Then entered Fran Fine.

Fran was anything but cultured, but she was practical and common sense, having grown up a part of a loving Jewish family in Flushing, Queens. This set the stage for a lot of culture clash, especially in the early episodes.

As time wore on, Maxwell and Fran were always trying to keep their relationship professional. Mainly because he was still mourning Sarah, and she was still reeling from her broken engagement, and subsequent firing from where she worked before.

Eventually, he told her he loved her, but he took it back. It was eventually called "The Thing" and it was often held over his head by both Fran and Niles, the butler.

However, he realized that he did love Fran, and after a lot of stumbling, they eventually got married. The engagement sent the jealous C.C. into a mental hospital; and even during the wedding, she tried to put on Fran's dress and walk down the aisle with him. But it wasn't meant to be.

Maxwell's children had been smothered by him, because he didn't want them to grow up, most especially his shy oldest daughter. Fran helped her come out of her shell, and, in her father's words, "I can't believe how much she looks like her mother."

He became a father again, when Fran gave birth to twin children, Jonah and Eve. Eve was named after his great-grandmother, but was quite a bit like her mother. Jonah was named after Fran's great-grandfather, but was more like his father. After their birth, the whole family moved to California, where he was to produce a movie in Los Angeles.