Melissa Ivy Rauch (; born June 23, 1980) is an American actress. She is best known for playing Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz on the CBS sitcom ''

The Big Bang Theory ''The Big Bang Theory'' is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady for CBS. It aired from September 24, 2007, to May 16, 2019, running for 12 seasons and 279 episodes. The show originally centered on five charact ...

'' from 2009 to 2019, for which she was nominated for the Critics Choice Television Award in 2013. From 2004 to 2008, Rauch worked as a regular contributor on the

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...

series '' Best Week Ever''. Rauch's other acting credits include playing Tina on the American remake of ''Kath & Kim'', Summer on the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

fantasy horror drama '' True Blood,'' and the lead role on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

's revival of ''

Night Court ''Night Court'' is an American television sitcom that premiered on NBC on January 4, 1984, and ended on May 31, 1992, after nine seasons consisting of List of Night Court episodes, 193 episodes. The show is set in the night shift of a Manhattan ...

'' from 2023 to 2025. Rauch also starred in, co-wrote, and co-produced the 2015

sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...

comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

film '' The Bronze'' and provided the voice of DC character

Harley Quinn Harley Quinn (Dr. Harleen Frances Quinzel, PhD) is a fictional American character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm for ''Batman: The Animated Series'' as a henchwoman for the ...

in the 2017 animated film '' Batman and Harley Quinn''. Rauch also had supporting roles in ''

I Love You, Man ''I Love You, Man'' is a 2009 American bromantic comedy film written and directed by John Hamburg, based on a script by Larry Levin. The film stars Paul Rudd as a friendless man looking for a best man for his upcoming wedding. However, his ...

'' (2009), '' Ice Age: Collision Course'' and '' Flock of Dudes'' (both 2016), and ''

Ode to Joy "Ode to Joy" ( ) is an ode written in the summer of 1785 by the German poet, playwright, and historian Friedrich Schiller. It was published the following year in the Thalia (German magazine), German magazine ''Thalia''. In 1808, a slightly revi ...

'' and '' The Laundromat'' (both 2019).

Early life

Rauch was born to David and Susan Rauch in

Marlboro Township, New Jersey Marlboro Township is a Township (New Jersey), township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is located within the Raritan River, Raritan Valley region and is a part of the New York metr ...

. She is Jewish. She has a younger brother, Ben. She developed an interest in acting while attending Marlboro High School. Her

Bat Mitzvah A ''bar mitzvah'' () or ''bat mitzvah'' () is a coming of age ritual in Judaism. According to Jewish law, before children reach a certain age, the parents are responsible for their child's actions. Once Jewish children reach that age, they a ...

had a "Melissa’s Comedy Club" theme. Rauch earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in acting and graduated from

Marymount Manhattan College Marymount Manhattan College is a private college on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. As of 2020, enrollment consisted of 1,571 undergraduate students with women making up 80.1% and men 19.9% of student enrollment. Columbia University Masters ...

in New York City in 2002.

Career

Some of Rauch's early work was as a regular contributor to

's '' Best Week Ever'' television show. In 2009, Rauch began playing the recurring role of Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz, a co-worker of Penny's at The Cheesecake Factory who began to date Howard Wolowitz, in the third season of CBS's ''

''. The following season, her character became Howard's fiancée, and Rauch was promoted to a series regular. The characters married in the season five finale. In December 2011, Rauch and fellow cast members of ''The Big Bang Theory'' received the first of six nominations for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. Other acting credits include '' True Blood'' (in which she had a recurring role in 2010 as

Summer Summer or summertime is the hottest and brightest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, daylight hours are the longest and darkness hours are the shortest, with day ...

, a girl who likes Hoyt), ''

The Office ''The Office'' is the title of several mockumentary sitcoms based on a British series originally created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant as '' The Office'' in 2001. The original series also starred Gervais as manager and primary charac ...

'', the American remake of the Australian TV series '' Kath & Kim'', ''Wright v Wrong'', and the film ''

''. Rauch is also part of the comedic stage show ''The Realest Real Housewives'' cast with

Casey Wilson Cathryn Rose "Casey" Wilson (born October 24, 1980) is an American actress, comedian, and screenwriter. Originally known for her performances with the Upright Citizens Brigade comedy troupe in New York City, Wilson's first major television appe ...

, June Diane Raphael, Jessica St. Clair and Danielle Schneider. The show began running at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in 2011. Rauch co-wrote and co-produced the film '' The Bronze'', in which she starred as Hope Ann Greggory, a

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

-winning

gymnast Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, sh ...

clinging to her glory days of 12 years earlier. It opened the 2015

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

. '' Variety'' said: "Rauch, who co-wrote the screenplay with her husband Winston, has never carried a film before. But she delivers the best breakthrough comedic performance by an actress since

Melissa McCarthy Melissa Ann McCarthy (born August 26, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Melissa McCarthy, numerous accolades, including two Primetime Emmy Award ...

in '' Bridesmaids''". Sony Pictures Classics acquired the film in September 2015. In 2017, Rauch voiced

in the animated film '' Batman and Harley Quinn'' and she voiced Light Thief in "Light Riders" from '' Blaze and the Monster Machines''. She starred in the ''Night Court'' revival series playing Judge Abby Stone, the daughter of Judge Harold T. Stone and Gina Stone from the original ''

'' series. Season 1 premiered on

on January 17, 2023, and was co-produced by Rauch and her husband Winston Beigel, in association with Warner Bros. Television Studios and

Universal Television Universal Television LLC (abbreviated as UTV) is an American television production company that is a division of NBCUniversal Television and Streaming#Universal Studio Group, Universal Studio Group, a division of NBCUniversal, which, in turn, is ...

. The show was cancelled after 3 seasons.

Personal life

Rauch is married to writer Winston Rauch (né Beigel), who collaborated with her on ''The Miss Education of Jenna Bush'' and other projects. They have been married since 2007 and have two children, a daughter born in 2017 and a son born in 2020. She announced her 2017 pregnancy by writing an essay in ''Glamour'', where she reflected on a

miscarriage Miscarriage, also known in medical terms as a spontaneous abortion, is an end to pregnancy resulting in the loss and expulsion of an embryo or fetus from the womb before it can fetal viability, survive independently. Miscarriage before 6 weeks ...

she had previously suffered. The voices she uses for portraying the character Bernadette on ''The Big Bang Theory'' were inspired by experiences growing up in a "house of screamers". She usually portrays Bernadette using a "sweet, high-pitched purr", and switches to an "eerie, haranguing imitation" of Mrs. Wolowitz in interactions with Mrs. Wolowitz. Both are "very different" from Rauch's real voice.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rauch, Melissa 1980 births Actresses from New Jersey American television actresses Living people Marlboro High School alumni Marymount Manhattan College alumni People from Marlboro Township, New Jersey 21st-century American actresses American film actresses American voice actresses Jewish American actresses 21st-century American Jews Actors from Monmouth County, New Jersey