The introduction of a significant other on a sitcom doesn’t always go over well. Just look at Lauren Tom, who had a tough time when she joined the cast of “Friends” as Ross Geller’s (David Schwimmer) surprise girlfriend — Tom told Today that she was booed by live audiences because they wanted Ross to be with Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston), and her character was getting in the way.
Yet, sometimes, such an introduction works extremely well. This was the case when Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg) began dating Bernadette Rostenkowski (Melissa Rauch) on “The Big Bang Theory.” Unlike most other women, Bernadette appreciates his quirks, thinks he’s attractive, and holds her own against his mother. She helps Howard transition from creepy ladies’ man to doting husband and father. They’re the perfect match, and, unlike Tom, Rauch did not get booed on set.
Becoming such an integral part of “The Big Bang Theory” changed Rauch’s life forever. Not only did the gig give her financial stability, but it also opened a lot of doors for her in the entertainment industry, the world of philanthropy, and beyond. Join us as we recount the journey she’s been on since securing the role that she will always be remembered for.
Prior to landing the role of the sweet-but-fiery Bernadette on “The Big Bang Theory,” Melissa Rauch was landing roles on a semi-regular basis, but they were all short-lived. She played a minor part in the 2006 Steve Buscemi film “Delirious,” and she appeared in the short-lived series “12 Miles of Bad Road” and “Kath & Kim.” She told Gold Derby that, at the time of her “The Big Bang Theory” audition, she was making a living by guest-starring on as many shows as possible. Naturally, she figured this latest gig would be the same.
“I was in between some failed pilots and shows that didn’t get picked up, and so I was just excited to have a job for the week,” she said. “And when you’re a guest star, you kind of feel like you’re a foreign exchange student coming into an environment, and everyone was so welcoming from the moment I sat down at the table for the table read.” Rauch assumed that her appearance in Season 3, Episode 5 (“The Creepy Candy Coating Corollary”) would be like her past jobs in that she would portray a one-time character and then move on to the next thing. However, she couldn’t have been more wrong: “The Big Bang Theory” served as a ticket out of her stressful guest-star cycle.
Melissa Rauch knows firsthand how difficult it is to make a stable living as a guest star. In fact, the week of her “The Big Bang Theory” audition, she was at the unemployment office collecting her check. “I had to go to this seminar about how to get a job,” she told The Hollywood Reporter. “It was awful. It was a dark week!” Thankfully, she didn’t have to worry about her finances for much longer. As the relationship between Bernadette and Howard grew, Rauch was promoted from guest star to series regular. She would go on to appear in 209 episodes of “The Big Bang Theory,” which ran for 279 episodes in total.
Rauch became part of the furniture on the show, yet she and fellow Season 3 addition Mayim Bialik weren’t making nearly as much as the original five cast members. While Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg, and Kunal Nayyar were raking in $1 million an episode, Rauch and Bialik were earning $200,000. When it came time to renegotiate contracts for the final two seasons, Parsons and the others agreed to decrease their per-episode pay by $100,000, allowing Rauch and Bialik to get $450,000 an episode. Of course, this still didn’t amount to equal pay, but it was more than enough for Rauch to live comfortably.