Mayim Bialik Was Never The Same After The Big Bang Theory

"The Big Bang Theory" introduced Amy Ferrel Fowler as Sheldon Cooper's love interest at the end of Season 3, and over the course of nine years, Amy slowly became a regular character. At the same time, the world also turned its attention to the real-life neuroscientist who portrayed the role — Mayim Bialik. Though the sitcom wasn't Bialik's first gig, it had been a while since her last life-changing role where she played a main character in the '90s sitcom, "Blossom." From 2010 to 2019, Bialik underwent a stunning transformation and became more and more central to "The Big Bang Theory" cast. The actor still often refers to the series as "life-changing." 

Unsurprisingly, she was never the same after the show wrapped. Bialik revealed having undergone five stages of grief when the show ended. "I think I've been in denial about it ending," she wrote on her blog, Grok Nation, around that time, and documented the rage, depression, bargaining, and eventual acceptance she felt."This is not a linear process, this grief thing and the end of TBBT has reminded me how deep and insidious grief can be." She revealed in a separate post that she wasn't even able to stay at the wrap party on the first night. "It was really big and loud and hectic, I was feeling so overwhelmed emotionally that I didn't stay too long." So instead, she went back to her hotel room, changed, and spent some time alone. After saying goodbye to Amy, Bialik spent some time being a full-time mom.

The truth about Mayim Bialik's education may have surprised some "The Big Bang Theory" viewers. After earning a PhD in neuroscience from UCLA in 2007, Bialik spent the next three years in academia. She was married and had two children, so acting, at that point, was sidelined. "I have a doctorate in neuroscience. I left the industry for 12 years, actually," she said on "The Graham Norton Show." Like many with advanced degrees, Bialik pictured a teaching career in academia, but the financial pressure was real. "I was literally running out of health insurance and figured if I could just get a couple parts, I'd get my SAG insurance back." 

With the allure of being enrolled in the SAG-AFTRA health plan, Bialik auditioned for "The Big Bang Theory," though she had never heard of the show. "I was cast, and literally, my life changed." It caught her by surprise. "I had, at that time, a toddler and a little older toddler." Her elder son, Miles, was five years old, and her younger son, Frederick, was two when she debuted as Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler at the end of Season 3. What initially was planned as a one-time appearance became a recurring role in Season 4. Amy also became one of the most loved characters as her bond with Sheldon deepened on the show. Bialik has been in the public eye ever since, and by the time "The Big Bang Theory" wrapped, she had become a household name. 

The success of "The Big Bang Theory" also meant a pay raise for the neuroscientist, and Mayim Bialik's net worth may surprise you. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the four-time Emmy nominee was reportedly paid over $425,000 per episode in 2017. Even though Bialik already had an established acting career before playing Amy, the pay was unmatched. Having spent years in school working toward her degrees, Bialik was foreign to a celebrity's lavish lifestyle, but as the end of "The Big Bang Theory" also marked a professional and personal milestone for her, the star found herself at a jewelry store. "I had never considered buying something expensive to commemorate the end of the show," she wrote on Grok Nation. "It was just not on my radar."

She wanted something special to remember the show by, and if anyone deserved a fancy watch, it was her. "I just finished nine years on a show that changed my life. I let myself think about how it might be nice to have something I could look at to remind me of the show." However, as a first-time celebrity, she had no idea what to do. "I was clueless." She felt "distaste" for buying herself fancy things. "I thought about the diamond industry and how I couldn't support it," she wrote. But eventually, Bialik decided to push her feelings aside and took a brave step forward into her new life by going home with several high-end accessories.

Fame is a double-edged sword. "The Big Bang Theory" didn't just change Mayim Bialik's life, it became part of her life. Bialik compared the show's impact on her life to starting a new career. There were a lot of celebratory moments, as well as some scares. "I'm 45 and kind of done with excitement, but we'll see," she told CBS News. "I navigated everything with a lot of therapy and a good support system." Ever since Bialik became famous for playing Amy, she has been linked to the character and the show in nearly every interview and speech, which can be both terrifying and flattering.

There was also a time when Bialik found herself being trapped in the success of "The Big Bang Theory." "You couldn't avoid seeing the show even if you didn't want to," she said. "It was constantly on." When the series was at the peak of its popularity, it was everywhere — in the press, on television, and even in casual conversation. For Bialik, it wasn't much of a choice but something that she had to learn to live with. "You kind of couldn't avoid us and that brought its own level of notoriety for the show." To play Amy, she had to straighten her hair all the time, which left permanent damage. "It stops about here," she told Kara Mayer Robinson in an interview, gesturing her chest. "And it won't grow anymore."

Amy's experience resonated with Mayim Bialik on a personal level. Like Amy, Bialik grew up in a conservative family. "I was a late bloomer and I play one on television," she told Insider. The way "The Big Bang Theory" approached sex and intimacy through Sheldon and Amy's relationship on-screen touched her deeply and inspired her to share her own experience in an article on her blog, which attracted the attention of Jill Santapolo, publisher of Philomel Books, a Penguin Random House imprint. "I talked about some of the aspects of modesty and privacy that I think are really special — both for me as a person and for this character — and Jill felt that that was a perspective that's missing from a lot of dialogue we have, especially with young girls about their bodies and intimacy and sexuality."

Bialik's scientific brain kicked in. From there, the idea flourished into a unique book about sexuality and the changes that a girl undergoes from puberty to adolescence, aiming to open a conversation between parents and kids. "I basically suggested that I not only tackle that but write sort of an encyclopedia about being female, everything from puberty and hormones to how our brain and body grow and learn," she said. Her third book, "Girling Up: How to Be Strong, Smart and Spectacular" was published in 2017, followed by "Boying Up: How to Be Brave, Bold and Brilliant."

Jill Santapolo isn't the only publisher who saw an opportunity with Mayim Bialik. Her education, knowledge, and fame created a unique selling point — she was suddenly the face of a celebrity scientist, and many publishers were hungry to use her image to boost sales. "I've been approached by a lot of different publishing companies to put my face on a shiny, happy science book for girls," Bialik told Paste Magazine. "That's not what I wanted to do." The idea of exploiting her fame initially served as an obstacle in the actor's writing pursuit as she struggled to find meaningful projects.

"I'm the first person to say that I think it's really obnoxious and pretentious when celebrities write books, and it looks like they're just doing it to make money," Bialik said.  But what eventually changed her mind about being a celebrity who writes books was when she recognized how sharing her knowledge would benefit others. "There seems to be a lot of desire to hear my perspective on my style of parenting, what that meant for my family, and how it impacted us." By sorting through the mess, Bialik found her true calling in sharing her experience and knowledge to educate the public. "My second book, honestly, came out of sharing recipes, and people saying, 'We want more recipes like that. Can you please put out a book?'"

Since Mayim Bialik entered the public eye as Amy, she has been frequently invited to give inspirational speeches at universities. She became a role model to aspiring scientists. "Once you become a scientist that becomes the lens through which you see the world, at least that has been my experience," Bialik said when she gave a speech at UC San Diego in 2015. Though she wears many hats in life — an artist, an entertainer, a mother, etc., her work in academia is where her heart is, and the hit sitcom brought her closer to her mission. "Name a newspaper, name a magazine, they won't do an article about STEM advocacy, but they will do an article about an actress on 'The Big Bang Theory' and her love for STEM advocacy." 

Over the years, Bialik continued doing university visits, where she used the series as an entry point to talk about STEM career choices and her experience working in the field. In 2021, she spoke at Penn State University. In 2023, she guest lectured at Kent St. University. "The Big Bang Theory" was the one thing that made it all possible. "For me, coming from the world of academia... I know people like all those people on the show," she said during the Q&A section of a speaking engagement at the National Science Teaching Association. "The Big Bang Theory" gave her a platform to be heard, both through Amy's character and her advocacy work in real life.

"The Big Bang Theory" not only had an impact on Mayim Bialik's career as a scientist but also on her acting career in the entertainment industry. Bialik was invited to make a cameo appearance on the "Night Court" reboot series, headlined by her "The Big Bang Theory" co-star, Melissa Rauch (who played Bernette). "Obviously, we've kept up our friendship and our relationship over the years since 'Big Bang Theory' ended," Bialik told Yahoo Entertainment. What made their friendship extra special is that Rauch happened to be a "Blossom" fan, a detail that also got translated to her "Night Court" character, Abby Stone. Bialik played a version of herself in an episode in "Night Court" Season 3, who Abby worshiped, but it turned out that Bialik was stalking her. The two even managed to drop a "The Big Bang Theory" Easter egg. 

"You know, I have actually done a lot of things besides 'Blossom,' 'Call Me Kat,' and 'The Big Bang Theory'," Bialik said in the episode (via Us Weekly). "You were in that? I only remember the girl with the high voice. She was great!" Rauch replied. Bialik is the third "The Big Bang Theory" actor to appear in "Night Court." Raj's actor, Kunal Nayyar, previously appeared in Season 2 as a fashion designer. It seems that even though the show ended in 2019, the connections formed during its run are still strong. Bialik admitted that she has kept in touch with her co-stars: "We each independently communicate and sometimes in groups."

After "The Big Bang Theory," Mayim Bialik joined the iconic puzzle show, "Jeopardy!" as a guest host alongside Ken Jennings after Mike Richards' exit and briefly became a permanent host in 2022 — but the job was not as easy as Bialik thought it'd be. In a joint "Jeopardy!" podcast interview with Jennings (via "Today"), the actor talked about the experience: "I feel like, if I make a mistake, even if we can go back and edit it, it feels very embarrassing because I think people are like, 'Oh, she a celebrity,' or 'Oh, she's got a PhD, she shouldn't make simple math errors,' but sometimes, I do! It's very stressful, sorry." She was certainly not alone in that experience: Jennings admitted that he even said his name wrong sometimes.

"Jeopardy!" has a huge fan base and brought another level of exposure to Bialik. She found herself at the center of criticism and controversy. "Just people casting aspersions on my vaccine status, which I've been completely open about — my children being vaccinated, us all being vaccinated against COVID," she told Glamour. "Those things are in particular hurtful because they're untrue." She was also accused of being anti-feminist for supporting breastfeeding. "That's just crazy," the actor remarked. Bialik, who is known to be straightforward, was very vocal about where she stands on the Israel-Hamas war. In 2023, the actor went on strike in solidarity with the WGA and eventually announced her departure from the show in December.

Through Grok Nation and her YouTube channel, Mayim Bialik has been talking about religion and Judaism in an attempt to bring more awareness to the subject. From vocalizing political opinions to explaining specific traditions, the actor doesn't shy away from her Jewish roots on social media. "Being Jewish is such an integral part of my existence I don't even think of it as a separate identity," she told Hadassah Magazine. Like many people, Bialik also had her doubts and questions about religion. Her YouTube videos explain religious practice from a scientific perspective and what it means to her personally. "For me, practicing Judaism means to commit to a structure of intention and meaning, which brings my life mindfulness and purpose," she said in her YouTube video titled, "Why I'm Religious?"

But even before her conscious attempt to utilize her study in Hebrew and Jewish Studies (which she minored in college) to educate the public, Bialik's appearance on "The Big Bang Theory" is already inspiring. "An Orthodox Jewish woman who somehow found a way to make it in Hollywood? It amazed the 18-year-old me," wrote entertainment writer Adrianna Chaviva Freedman on Forward. "She shows that females can be successful in Hollywood without dressing and acting in a sexualized manner. She shows that it's cool to be a Jewish female," said Shari Rosenman, co-founder of LA Jewish Homeschoolers (via Hadassah Magazine). 

Mayim Bialik started working on a screenplay while filming "The Big Bang Theory." In 2019, she teased a project based on "a conglomeration of family experiences" through Grok Nation, which later became a feature movie, titled "As They Made Us," starring Dustin Hoffman, Dianna Agron, Candice Bergen, and Simon Helberg (who played Howard in "The Big Bang Theory"). Bialik made her directorial debut. In an interview with Variety, the star revealed the idea came to her when she experienced a tragic loss in 2015. "Grief is the tool that is being used to tell the story of this family," she said. "For me, it's really a story about four very complicated characters, each who are redeemed in their own way." 

When Bialik first played with the idea in 2015, it was simply something that she felt compelled to put down on paper. "I started writing prose. It wasn't even in screenplay format." But the idea gradually took shape in a familiar form, pushing Bialik into a new territory that she had never given much thought about. "There are so many stages of making your first film, especially for me, learning as I go." She couldn't stop working on it, being it so special and personal to her, and after seven years, "As They Made Us" came to fruition. The film was released in 2022. "It took a lot of labor and a lot of love to pull it together. It's still very surreal."

Mayim Bialik started a podcast about mental health called, "Mayim Bialik's Breakdown," in 2021. Though it was the COVID-19 pandemic that gave it a final push, her time at "The Big Bang Theory" had a role to play in her own mental health journey. "Being back in the limelight and being a mom and all these things kept sort of cumulatively adding up, and it was really at the start of COVID that my partner Jonathan Cohen and I decided to start a podcast," she told Daily Blast LIVE. But "Mayim Bialik's Breakdown" isn't just about sharing her stories. The actor utilized her connections to bring celebrities and experts to tell their stories, addressing the blindspots that people tend to miss about emotional well-being.

When asked what the most common myth about mental health is, the actor shared from experience: "One thing that I often hear is like, 'I can figure it out on my own.'" She debunked the myth of the systemic belief that people don't believe in getting help in that interview. As shocking as it sounded, the four-time Emmy nominee admitted to feeling useless sometimes, which had nothing to do with how accomplished she is in other people's eyes. "Feeling imposter syndrome, feeling 'less than', always feeling competitive with yourself even if no one is telling you to be? Those are features of a personality that have nothing to do with how many Emmys you've been nominated for."