'People in the US haven’t a clue who Cheryl is': Former Frasier star Jane Leeves on British women breaking America

Cheryl Cole has this week learned just how brutal the American showbiz industry can be.
There are few female British stars who have made it big Stateside - Kate Winslet, Helen Mirren and Keira Knightly among them.
Former Frasier star Jane Leeves is also among the select group, and has admitted even she was clueless as to who Cheryl Cole was.

Snubbed Stateside: Former Frasier star Jane Leeves says Cheryl Cole's success at home means nothing in Hollywood

'People in the US haven’t a clue who Cheryl is,' the 50-year-old says. 'I actually asked someone: "Is she a pop star?"

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'Yes, she is a huge star in the UK, but nobody knows her here.'
'I do have ­sympathy for English people coming over to America,' Jane tells today's Daily Mirror.

Star: Jane (far left) became a household name starring as Daphne Moon on long-running sitcom Frasier

'I went over when I was young and stupid, but now ­English ­people come over when they are ­already ­successful in ­Britain. It is so much harder for them. They don’t have the time to pursue things.'
The Sussex-raised actress moved to LA when she was 21, and worked for over a year selling souvenirs as she attended acting school and auditions.
She eventually won a small part on Murphy Brown before landing her big break as Daphne Moon on the hit sitcom Frasier.

'It is a fickle business': Jane says she 'has sympathy' for British stars like Cheryl who find it tough to break the U.S. market

'It is a fickle business, but I have worked very hard,' she tells the paper. 'I have always been a hard worker. You have to have faith it will work out.
'Now when I look back at my younger self, I think, "My god, I was brave", but I’d never want to change ­anything because it’s been so fantastic.'
Jane is starting work on a new sitcom, Hot In Cleveland, co-starring Betty White, Wendie Mallick and Valerie Bertinelli, and says she finds it refreshing that none of the stars have succumbed to Hollywood pressure to go under the knife.

Jane is now starring in Hot In Cleveland with Betty white, Wendie Mallick and Valerie Bertinelli

None of us have been injected or pushed from pillar to post – and that is extremely rare in America.
'As an actress, it seems such a bizarre thing to do to yourself by pretty much ­immobilising your face.

'You can tell when someone has done it. I admire women who haven’t.'