Melissa Rauch | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Rauch in 2013 | |
| Born | Melissa Ivy Rauch (1980-06-23)June 23, 1980 (age 45) |
| Alma mater | Marymount Manhattan College |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2006–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
Melissa Ivy Rauch (/raʊʃ/; born June 23, 1980)[1] is an American actress. She is best known for playingBernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz on theCBS sitcomThe Big Bang Theory from 2009 to 2019, for which she was nominated for theCritics Choice Television Award in 2013. She starred in and executive produced 3 seasons of the revival ofNight Court.
Rauch's other acting credits include playing Tina on theAmerican remake ofKath & Kim and Summer on theHBO fantasy horror dramaTrue Blood. Rauch also starred in, co-wrote, and co-produced the 2015sportscomedy-drama filmThe Bronze and provided the voice ofDC characterHarley Quinn in the 2017 animated filmBatman and Harley Quinn. Rauch also had supporting roles inI Love You, Man (2009),Ice Age: Collision Course andFlock of Dudes (both 2016), andOde to Joy (2019). In 2019, Rauch played Meryl Streep's daughter in the feature film The Laundromat directed by Steven Soderbergh.
Rauch was born to David and Susan Rauch inMarlboro Township, New Jersey. She developed an interest in acting at a young age. After seeing her first Broadway shows with her family, she would try to recreate them in her basement for hours at a time. Rauch earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in acting and graduated fromMarymount Manhattan College in New York City in 2002.[2]
Some of Rauch's early work was as a regular contributor toVH1'sBest Week Ever television show.[3]
In 2009, Rauch began playing the recurring role ofBernadette Rostenkowski, a co-worker ofPenny's atThe Cheesecake Factory who began to dateHoward Wolowitz, in the third season ofCBS'sThe Big Bang Theory.[4] The following season, her character became Howard'sfiancée, and Rauch was promoted to a series regular. The characters married in the season five finale. In December 2011, Rauch and fellow cast members ofThe Big Bang Theory received the first of six nominations for theScreen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series.[5][6][7][8]
Other acting credits includeTrue Blood (in which she had a recurring role in 2010 asSummer, a girl who likesHoyt),The Office, theAmerican remake of the Australian TV seriesKath & Kim,Wright v Wrong, and the filmI Love You, Man.
Rauch is also part of the comedic stage showThe Realest Real Housewives cast withCasey Wilson,June Diane Raphael,Jessica St. Clair andDanielle Schneider. The show began running at theUpright Citizens Brigade Theatre in 2011.[9]
Rauch co-wrote and co-produced the filmThe Bronze, in which she starred as Hope Ann Greggory, abronze medal-winninggymnast clinging to her glory days of 12 years earlier. It opened the 2015Sundance Film Festival.[10]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 sinceMelissa McCarthy inBridesmaids".[10]Sony Pictures Classics acquired the film in September 2015.[11]
In 2017, Rauch voicedHarley Quinn in the animated filmBatman and Harley Quinn[12] and she voiced Light Thief in "Light Riders" fromBlaze and the Monster Machines.
She starred in theNight Court revival series playing Judge Abby Stone, the daughter of Judge Harold T. Stone and Gina Stone from the originalNight Court series.[13] Season 1 premiered onNBC on January 17, 2023, and was co-produced by Rauch and her husband Winston Rauch, in association withWarner Bros. Television Studios andUniversal Television. The show was cancelled after 3 seasons.[14]
Rauch co-founded the pediatric cancer charity, Oscar's Kids, which raises vital funds for childhood cancer research and creates magic moments for kids facing terminal cancer.
ref: https://oscarskids.org/
Rauch is married to writer Winston Rauch (né Biegel),[15] who collaborated with her onThe Miss Education of Jenna Bush and other projects.[16] They have been married since 2007 and have two children, a daughter born in 2017 and a son born in 2020.[16][17] She announced her 2017 pregnancy by writing an essay inGlamour, where she reflected on amiscarriage she had previously suffered.[18]
The voices she uses for portrayingthe character Bernadette onThe 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" ofMrs. Wolowitz in interactions with Mrs. Wolowitz.[19] Both are "very different" from Rauch's real voice.[20]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Delirious | Megan | |
| 2009 | I Love You, Man | Jogger | |
| The Condom Killer | Audra | Shot and also producer | |
| Adventureland | Woman in diner | Uncredited | |
| 2013 | In Lieu of Flowers | Carrie | |
| 2014 | Are You Here | Marie | |
| 2015 | The Bronze | Hope Ann Greggory | Also writer and executive producer |
| 2016 | Ice Age: Collision Course | Francine | Voice,cameo |
| Flock of Dudes | Jamie | ||
| 2017 | Batman and Harley Quinn | Harley Quinn / Dr. Harleen Quinzel | Voice,direct-to-video[12] |
| 2019 | Ode to Joy | Bethany | |
| The Laundromat | Melanie Martin | ||
| 2020 | Cats & Dogs 3: Paws Unite! | Gwen the Cat | Voice, direct-to-video |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 12 Miles of Bad Road | Bethany | 3 episodes |
| 2008–2009 | Kath & Kim | Tina | Season 1 (recurring; 6 episodes) |
| 2009–2019 | The Big Bang Theory | Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz | Season 3 (recurring; 5 episodes) Season 4–12 (main role) |
| 2010 | The Office | Cathy Duke | Episode: "The Delivery" |
| True Blood | Summer | Season 3 (recurring; 6 episodes) | |
| Wright vs. Wrong | Daisy Cake | Television film | |
| 2014 | Jake and the Never Land Pirates | First-Mate Mollie | Voice, episode: "Smee-erella" |
| Teenage Fairytale Dropouts[21] | Miss Macabre | Episode: "Something Wicked This Way Substitutes" | |
| The Hotwives of Orlando | Calliope | Episode: "Say You, Séance" | |
| 2015 | Sofia the First | Fairy Tizzy | Voice, 2 episodes[22] |
| Scooby-Doo! and the Beach Beastie | Kiki | Voice, television film | |
| 2017 | Star vs. the Forces of Evil | Baby | Voice, episode: "Baby" |
| Marvel's Ant-Man | Wasp | Voice, 2 episodes | |
| Blaze and the Monster Machines | The Light Thief | Voice, episode: "Light Riders" | |
| 2019 | Black Monday | Shira | 2 episodes |
| Robot Chicken | Betty Spaghetty, Rainbow Brightstar | Voice, episode: "Molly Lucero in: Your Friend's Boob" | |
| 2020 | Animaniacs | Marie Antoinette | Voice, episode: "France France Revolution" |
| 2022 | Firebuds | Beth Bayani | Voice, 3 episodes |
| Celebrity Jeopardy! | Herself | Contestant | |
| 2023–2025 | Night Court | Judge Abby Stone | Main role and also executive producer |
| Award | Year | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Critics' Choice Television Awards | 2013 | Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series | The Big Bang Theory | Nominated |
| Online Film & Television Association | 2016 | Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series | Nominated | |
| People's Choice Awards | 2014 | Favorite TV Gal Pals(shared withKaley Cuoco andMayim Bialik) | Nominated | |
| Screen Actors Guild Awards | 2012 | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series | Nominated | |
| 2013 | Nominated | |||
| 2014 | Nominated | |||
| 2015 | Nominated | |||
| 2016 | Nominated | |||
| 2017 | Nominated |
I don't know if I can blameMelissa Rauch for any of this, but it wasnot a great introduction for her take on Harley.
[Photo caption] Melissa Rauch with parents Susan & David Rauch, older brother Ben Rauch, and boyfriend Winston Beigel atThe Miss Education of Jenna Bush
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
