The Stunning Transformation Of Melissa Rauch

Melissa Rauch came a long way before landing the role of Bernadette on "The Big Bang Theory." Even after graduating from theater school, the young actress had to work hard to be taken seriously as a performer, and waited tables in New York City for a steady paycheck while handing out fliers on the street in hopes that anyone would come see her perform. While Rauch did book some TV roles, many of her early creative endeavors never made it to the screen. "I was so grateful when ['The Big Bang Theory'] happened," Rauch told Backstage. 

According to Rauch, her role on the CBS show was only supposed to be a guest appearance. However, when the show's writers had her character get engaged to Howard Wolowitz, Rauch realized that she had finally landed a recurring role in the comedy world as part of the watched comedy on television (via The Los Angeles Independent). 

While the wildly popular series came to an end in 2019, it's safe to say it started off Rauch's career with a bang (pun totally intended). Here's a look at the stunning transformation of Melissa Rauch.

Melissa Rauch knew she was in for a life of laughs when she became obsessed with comedy in kindergarten. "I remember my parents said that there are people who do impersonations for a living," she revealed on "At Home with Linda & Drew Scott." As Rauch explained to the HGTV stars, her parents' words of encouragement are what inspired her to make comedy her career.

While Rauch wasn't allowed to stay up past her bedtime, her parents would record late night talk shows for the coming-up comedian so she could see her favorites on screen. Soon, Rauch was given the opportunity to show off her comedy chops at her school's talent show. During a 2016 interview on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," Rauch revealed that she prepared a stand-up set the school showcase. 

Speaking to Conan O'Brien in 2012, the actress said she was quite the class clown. "I would watch sets of, like, Whoopi Goldberg, and do things that were wildly inappropriate that I really didn't understand." In fact, as Rauch admitted, her parents were often called in to her school due to her raunchy jokes and wild behavior. Oops!

Melissa Rauch spent her childhood honing her comedic abilities — and when it was time to start her college career, the future star enrolled in a university that would help her develop her skill even more. However, she had to pack up her bags (as well as her jokes) and move from her small town in New Jersey to New York City to make it happen.

During her time at Marymount Manhattan College, Rauch became classically trained in theater and performance; but her thick New Jersey accent seemed a bit out of place for what she was performing. As Rauch explained on "At Home with Linda & Drew Scott," professors even told her she couldn't "do Shakespeare" with her accent. 

To help break her accent so that she'd be taken seriously by her peers and professors, the budding actress enrolled in a dialect class. This helped Rauch expand her range as both a classically trained performer and aspiring stand-up comedian — and soon the future star was impressing her classmates by performing SNL-worthy impressions of famous people.

Melissa Rauch might have been super focused on achieving her comedy goals while in college, but that doesn't mean she was too busy to make new friends. In fact, chasing her dreams as both an aspiring comedian and college student led Rauch to meet screenwriter Winston Beigel –  a man who would later become quite important to the future star.

Upon discovering they both had similar comedic aspirations, Rauch and Beigel decided to team up for even more creative brain power and began writing together on a regular basis. As Rauch told Backstage, writing quickly became essential to who she was as an artist. "I didn't care if five people saw it—[writing] feeds the creative part of me and gets to the goods of why you're doing this," the actress revealed.

These writing sessions led to the funny duo spending quite a bit of time together, as Rauch admitted on "At Home with Linda & Drew Scott." And in an adorably romantic turn of events, the man who started as Rauch's writing partner eventually became her life partner.

As Melissa Rauch admitted on the podcast "At Home with Linda & Drew Scott," she and Winston Beigel didn't know each other all too well when they decided to become partners in comedy. "[We] were barely, I mean, barely friends when we actually started writing together," the comedic actress revealed. 

However, their barely-there friendship didn't stay that way for long. Even though the two are known more for comedy than romance, they found themselves in a real life love story while they were both still students, and eventually went on to wed in 2007 (via MSN). "He is my best friend and the love of my life, in addition to being an incredible writing partner," Rauch gushed to New Jersey Monthly. 

Writing aside, Rauch is happy she met her soulmate so early on in her life. "The only thing I regret is not meeting him even sooner, as my life has just gotten better since he came into it," Rauch said on "At Home with Linda & Drew Scott." One thing's for sure — these two will definitely have a lifetime full of love and laughter!

When Melissa Rauch and Winston Beigel graduated from college, they began working together on a story about a college kid trying to make it in the real world. Obviously, the two had been inspired by their own experiences as college kids; however, something about their story just wasn't working. 

Fortunately, while watching television on their couch one random day, they finally discovered what their story was missing. "We saw Jenna Bush speaking at the Republican Convention on TV, and she was about the same age as us," Rauch explained on "At Home with Linda & Drew Scott." The actress continued, saying, "And we got the idea to sort of combine her story, a fictional story about her, with [our story]." This resulted in a one-woman show called "The Miss Education of Jenna Bush," starring Rauch.  

After performing "The Miss Education of Jenna Bush" at the New York International Fringe Festival, Rauch was approached by an agent. Knowing this was her shot, she and Beigel decided to move to Los Angeles, California. "That was essentially what got me out of waiting tables," Rauch admitted to Linda and Drew Scott.

Though Melissa Rauch's big move to Los Angeles came after her one-woman show in New York City proved to be a hit, the actress continued to struggle to find jobs that would stick.  Once, she auditioned to be a hand model for a TGI Friday's commercial, but even her hands couldn't make the cut (via Backstage). "I was doing a lot of driving around, crying in my car," she admitted on Entertainment Tonight about her time in Hollywood. 

Throughout all the rejections, she continued to write with her husband, Winston Beigel, as it helped her stay busy and keep her mind off rejection. "[Writing is] such a great way to feel like you're not at the mercy of such a hard, hard industry," Rauch told Backstage. "So many times as an actor you feel beaten up and rejected and there's such a lack of control."

One of Melissa Rauch's first professional jobs was in VH1's comedy sketch series "Best Week Ever," in which she appeared from 2004 to 2008. While the show wasn't exactly huge by Hollywood standards, it was a big step for Rauch's career, as the actor detailed to Us Weekly.

Not only was this job her first real success in the industry, but it also gave her her first taste of what being famous might be like. "I went back to my mall in New Jersey, which is what I do when I go visit my parents, and I was at a Wetzel's Pretzels," the actress recalled. "The manager was like, 'I love the show! It's awesome!' and gave me a free pretzel. I was so excited!" However, when the show was canceled, Rauch apparently had to start paying for her pretzels again.

While her early brush with fame didn't necessarily make her crave stardom, it did make her fascinated with small-town celebrities. Years later, she and her husband even wrote a movie inspired by her experience (via Interview magazine).

A call to audition for a new television sitcom called "The Big Bang Theory" couldn't have come at a better time for Melissa Rauch. "I was at the unemployment office the day before I got the audition for this show," she told Entertainment Tonight. In 2009, the actor was offered the role of Bernadette Rostenkowski on "The Big Bang Theory"; however, it was initially intended to only be a guest appearance during the show's third season. 

"I thought I was just gonna be here for a week," Rauch told TV Insider. However, as Bernadette's love interest, Howard Wolowitz, fell in love with her, the producers on the show fell in love with Rauch too. Finally, after years of struggling to break into entertainment, Rauch was offered a recurring role on the popular sitcom, which ended up lasting nearly a decade. "The fact that I know I have a job to come back to after the summer is such a dream come true," Rauch said in a 2014 interview on "Larry King Now."

Not only did Rauch receive a consistent gig, but she got her break into show business on what would become the longest multi-camera comedy in television history (via Deadline). Her time in the spotlight was just taking off into stardom. "I'm just eternally grateful for the course that ['The Big Bang Theory'] put my life on," Rauch told Entertainment Tonight.

In 2010, Melissa Rauch played Summer for six episodes of the third season of the vampire show "True Blood." Her character dated Hoyt after his mother set them up to distract him from Jessica. You may remember Summer as the one with the biscuits and the strange doll collection.

For Rauch, the show was a great experience as it was one of her first big roles. Working with actors Jim Parrack and Ryan Kwanten was a "blast," she told True Blood Online. "They were so warm and welcoming to me. In addition to being extremely talented, much like the rest of the cast, they are unbelievably nice."

Rauch went on to say that the job wasn't only great for her career — it was also incredibly fun. "I seriously loved everything about my time on the True Blood set," she said. She even had a funny experience with her hair and makeup team when she spotted a tiny hair piece. "I said, 'That's the cutest hair piece I ever saw. Are they clip-on bangs?'" she recalled. "Everyone started laughing. Turns out it was something called a 'merkin.' It's a hairpiece — but not for your head!"

As Melissa Rauch revealed in a 2016 interview with Backstage, when she originally auditioned for "The Big Bang Theory," she did so using a Canadian accent. 

Though this accent didn't stick, the impersonations she practiced as a kid and the dialect classes she took in college did come in handy for creating a unique voice for Bernadette. "Bernadette's voice is very similar to my mother's ... except without the Jersey accent." Rauch revealed on "The Rubin Report."

When fans find Rauch out and about, they're usually shocked to hear the actress respond in a much lower register than her famed character. "Sometimes I'll get recognized, and then they'll hear my voice, and be like, 'Oh, that's not — that's not you,'" Rauch told Dave Rubin.

While Melissa Rauch was finding her voice on "The Big Bang Theory," she was also creating unique voices for cartoon characters. In fact, Rauch's impressive impressions and vocal range led to her landing roles in "Ice Age: Collision Course," "Sofia the First," and "Jake and the Never Land Pirates."

"You approach doing [voiceover work] the same way you would any other acting role," Rauch explained to "The Movie Times." The actress continued, joking, "Except for the fact that you don't have to wear makeup, and you do it without Spanx."

When she landed the role of the bad gal in "Batman and Harley Quinn," Rauch used her Jersey roots for inspiration. "I knew Harley had a higher pitched tone, and a bit of a New York accent," she explained to Empire. Rauch continued, saying, "I come from a New Jersey family where everyone could be former gun molls, [so] I wanted to give a nod to my background without being as shrill." 

Apparently, you can take a girl out of Jersey, but you can't take the Jersey accent out of the girl.

Melissa Rauch loved starring on "The Big Bang Theory" — but, during her off seasons, she found herself wanting to star on the big screen. So, the actress decided to take things into her own hands and write her own film with husband Winston Beigel. Rauch explained her thought process to Vanity Fair, saying, "Okay, well, I may not be getting the film roles I want, so let's create them." 

And create them, she did! Rauch and her husband soon came up with an idea for a film about a one-time Olympic bronze medalist who, years later, refuses to stop living in her past glory days. Appropriately titled "The Bronze," the film proved to be a hard sell, as many producers argued they needed a big box office name for the flick to be a success. However, Rauch knew the lead role inside and out, so she and Beigel financed it themselves until they were finally able to sell it to Sony Pictures Classics (via Backstage). 

"I don't know that this role would have come along for me had I not written it with my husband," Rauch admitted to Vanity Fair.

Melissa Rauch is proof that hard work, faith in yourself, and a little luck from the universe is sometimes all you need to succeed. 

Speaking with Fountain Interviews in 2012, Rauch gushed about one of her biggest acting idols, saying, "Meryl Streep, I just look up to so much." Like many performers, Rauch had long dreamed of working with the iconic Streep — so imagine her excitement when she was finally given the chance to live out her dream seven years later. 

Just as Rauch was wrapping up her time on "The Big Bang Theory" — which came to an end in 2019 – she landed the opportunity to star in "The Laundromat." Distributed by Netflix and released in 2019, "The Laundromat" tells the true story of a journalist, played by Streep, who investigated the 2016 Panama Papers scandal. (via Variety). "Working with and being in the presence of [director] Steven Soderbergh and Meryl Streep was nothing short of a dream come true," Rauch gushed about the experience on Instagram.

Melissa Rauch is a mother now, but her journey to parenthood was not an easy one. When she first became pregnant in 2017, it was both an exciting and emotional time. Instead of announcing it on Instagram as most ecstatic expectant mothers do, she penned a personal essay for Glamour, describing the miscarriage she had experienced before finally expecting her daughter, Sadie. 

"During the time when I was grieving over my pregnancy loss or struggling with fertility issues, every joyful, expectant baby announcement felt like a tiny stab in the heart," she wrote, explaining how she didn't want other women to feel the same way when she announced her exciting news.

The story of her second baby didn't seem to be any easier. When Rauch gave birth to her son Brooks in 2020, she found herself in the hospital room without her husband, due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, she wasn't afraid. "I won't be alone," she penned in a second essay for Glamour. Rauch continued, writing, "I have a partner. The same one that's been listening to my heartbeat inside me for nine months." 

Shortly after Melissa Rauch gave birth to her daughter, the new mama became inspired to eat healthier. 

In 2019, Rauch partnered with the health food brand House Foods to create a children's picture cookbook called "The Tales of Tofu." "I was excited to figure out a fun way to introduce kids to a less familiar, but incredibly good-for-you-food that's so versatile," she told Parade of one of her personal favorite foods. While tofu notoriously gets a bad rap due to its chewy texture and barely-there flavor, Rauch was determined to make tofu appealing to children by crafting recipes that incorporated tofu in surprising, creative ways.

"I was excited to include chocolate pudding in the book," Rauch told Parade. The actress continued, saying, "It feels like you're eating something so decadent and it's actually good for you, so that's something that I love." As delicious as that sounds, it's hard to imagine kids wanting to eat tofu every day.

Melissa Rauch might have been turned away when she auditioned to be a hand model for a TGI Fridays commercial, but now her hands are forever immortalized on the Hollywood Walk of Fame! 

The day after filming the series finale of "The Big Bang Theory" in April 2019, Rauch and her castmates, including star Kaley Cuoco, had the honor of stamping their handprints into cement in front of Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood, California (via The Los Angeles Independent). "As if being a part of ['The Big Bang Theory'] wasn't enough of an honor of a lifetime,  getting to share this moment at the [Chinese Theater] with these wonderful friends today was truly incredible," Rauch gushed on Twitter. 

There's no arguing that "The Big Bang Theory" solidified a place for Rauch in the entertainment industry — and the breakout star said she's looking forward to what the rest of her career has in store. "My heart has been so happy working on this show, and I want to continue to do something that makes my heart happy," Rauch revealed in a 2019 interview with Parade.

"The Big Bang Theory" may have finished in 2019, but Melissa Rauch is still going strong. In 2020, it was announced that Rauch would be producing and starring in a sequel to the famous sitcom "Night Court." Since then, the sequel has been picked up by NBC and, according to Rauch, is due to premiere in early 2023.

As Rauch told Hollywood Life in 2020, working on the show meant a lot to her. "We definitely want to honor the original while bringing a fresh take to it ... We are really really excited about it. I was a fan of the show growing up." She even managed to bring back original star John Larroquette, which she described as a "dream come true." Of reboots, Rauch said there's "such a comfort factor" at play. No doubt that's how audiences will also receive the "Night Court" sequel.