Big Bang Theory
Season 10 Wed M-Net (*101) 20:00 Repeat Thu M-Net Sat 16:30 Comedy
Melissa Rauch’s voice for her character Bernadette is shrill enough to shatter glass on The Big Bang Theory (2007current). “But that’s not how I sound,” says the 36-year-old of her microbiologist role. “The sweet high-pitched voice is based on my mother!”
1 The New Jersey native hated “the quiet life” and moved to New York after finishing high school. And Melissa adds that “I had the biggest fear that I’d become Snooki [from MTV reality show Jersey Shore, 2009-2012] if I stayed. I’m a bottle of hair dye away as it is”.
2 She graduated from Manhattan College in 2002 with her bachelor degree in fine arts and moved to LA the next year. “But it took a while to settle,” she says – her first role came in 2006 in indie drama Delirious
3 Melissa also did stand-up routines to make cash before her Big Bang role came around. She was a waitress in sports bars too, like her character.
4 Comedy also landed her a hubby – she married her college sweetheart Winston Rauch in 2007. He’s a writer and cast her as a foul-mouthed gymnast in his 2015 comedy The Bronze.
5 And while Bernadette is coming to terms with motherhood, Melissa has no plans to expand her family just yet. “I’ve been asked if I’m pregnant in real life, so I called my parents before the episode (season 9 episode 16) and was like, ‘You’re TV grandparents!’”
6 Dynamite comes in short packages and the 1.5m-tall actress keeps in shape with kickboxing. “It’s a full-body work-out,” she says, adding that “yoga, volleyball and cycling don’t hurt”.
7 Melissa may be a fan favourite, but she doesn’t make her co-stars’ $1 million-an-episode (R13 million) salary. She’s on a “paltry” $60 0000.