Kunal Nayyar

Date of Birth

30 April 1981, London, England, UK

Height

5' 8" (1.73 m)

Mini Biography

Kunal Nayyar (; born April 30, 1981) is an India actor born in London, England, and raised in New Delhi, India. He is known for his role as Rajesh Koothrappali on the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory.

Education

Nayyar was born in London to a Punjabi family and moved to India when he was just four years old. He attended St Columba's School in New Delhi, India where he played badminton for the school team. In 1999 he moved to the US to earn a BS in Business (BSS) from the University of Portland. While he was working on his degree he started taking acting classes, appearing in several school plays. After he participated in the American College Theater Festival and won its Mark Twain Prize for Comic Brilliance, he resolved to become a professional actor. He decided to pursue a Master of Fine Arts in Acting (MFA) from Temple University.

Career

After graduating from Temple University, Nayyar found work doing American television ads and plays on the London stage. He first gained attention in the US for his role in the West Coast production of Rajiv Joseph's 2006 play Huck & Holden where he portrayed an Indian exchange student anxious to experience American culture before returning home. In 2006, Nayyar teamed up with Arun Das to write the play Cotton Candy, which premiered in New Delhi to positive reviews. Nayyar then guest-starred in the CBS drama NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service) in the episode "Suspicion" (Season 4, Episode 12), in which he played Youssef Zidan, an Iraqi terrorist. Nayyar's agent heard about a role for a scientist in an upcoming CBS pilot and encouraged him to audition for the part. This led to his casting in the sitcom The Big Bang Theory. Nayyar plays astrophysicist Rajesh Koothrappali on the TV show which is in its fifth season.

He appeared on The Bonnie Hunt Show on April 22, 2009, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on May 8 and April 9, 2010, Lopez Tonighton November 25, 2010, and Jimmy Kimmel Live! on April 22, 2011.

In 2011 he co-hosted the "Tribute to Nerds" show with co-star Simon Helberg at Just For Laughs comedy festival.

Trivia

Has a B.S. in Business from the University of Portland in Portland, Oregon, USA.

Has a Master's in Fine Arts from Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

Although he was born in England, he grew up in New Delhi, India. His family moved there when he was four years old.

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Simon Helberg

Date of Birth

9 December 1980, Los Angeles, California, USA

Birth Name

Simon Maxwell Helberg

Height

5' 4" (1.63 m)

Mini Biography

Simon Helberg was born and raised in Los Angeles but despite this, and the fact that his father is the actor Sandy Helberg and his mother the casting director Harriet B. Helberg, his main interest as a young boy was karate. In his teens, though, he discovered acting and went on to study at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts where he trained at the Atlantic Theater Company. He started acting in 1999, taking guest roles and small parts, establishing himself as a character performer and able sketch comedian. Solid TV work followed throughout the 2000s until he was cast as Howard Wolowitz in the hit TV comedy "The Big Bang Theory" (2007) for which he remains best known.

Spouse

Jocelyn Towne

(July 2007 - present) 1 child

Trade Mark

Short stature

Trivia

Professional pianist

Son of Sandy Helberg and Harriet B. Helberg.

Attended NYU's Tisch School of the Arts where he trained at The Atlantic Theater Company.

In two years, he appeared in three different productions about the behind-the-scenes details of the television industry. Those productions areGood Night, and Good Luck. (2005), The TV Set (2006), and "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" (2006).

Born and raised in Los Angeles, where he resides.

According to the Chinese Calendar, he was born in the Year of the Monkey.

Obtained his black belt in karate when he was 9-years-old.

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Kaley Cuoco

Date of Birth

30 November 1985, Camarillo, California, USA

Birth Name

Kaley Christine Cuoco

Height

5' 7" (1.70 m)

Mini Biography

A model and commercial actress from the age of 6, Kaley Cuoco's first major role was in the TV movie Quicksand: No Escape (1992) (TV) with Donald Sutherland and Tim Matheson. Her other television credits include guest-starring on the series "Ellen" (1994) (where she played "little Ellen" to the Ellen DeGeneres character), "Northern Exposure"(1990), "Don't Forget Your Toothbrush" (1995) and "My So-Called Life" (1994). In addition, she played a leading role in the miniseries, Mr. Murder (1998) (TV). Cuoco has appeared in the feature films Lucky 13 (2005), Picture Perfect (1997) and Virtuosity (1995). On stage, she has performed in Los Angeles-area productions of "Annie" and "Fiddler on the Roof". When she's not acting, Cuoco is an avid tennis player, who consistently ranks well in Southern California Tennis Association standings as a member of a regional amateur division team. In addition, she enjoys spending time with friends, going to the mall and hip-hop dancing. Cuoco is home-schooled and lives in Ventura County, California with her family.

Trade Mark

Her lopsided grin

Curvy figure

Blonde hair and green eyes.

Trivia

Has a younger sister named Briana Cuoco.

Last name, Cuoco, translates to "cook" in Italian.

She loves to bowl.

She did 6 Barbie ads when she was younger.

She won the Teen Choice Award for Breakthrough Actress of 2003.

Her parents names are Gary Carmine Cuoco and Layne Ann Wingate.

Was home schooled on the set and earned her High School Diploma at the age of 16.

Was a nationally ranked amateur tennis player until she switched to acting full time in 2002.

She has a Chihuahua-dachshund mix dog named Petey, a German Shepherd named Duke and a Jack Russell Terrier named Raquel.

Her dad Gary is an Oxnard, California, Realtor and her mom Layne is a homemaker.

Ranked as #78 in FHM's "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2005" special supplement (2005).

Best friends with Amy Davidson.

Resides in San Fernando Valley, California.

Big fan of Britney Spears and Taylor Swift.

Is six years younger than co-star Amy Davidson "8 Simple Rules" (2002), but she plays the older sister in the series.

Friends with actress Cameron Richardson, "Charmed" (1998) co-star Alyssa Milano, Ashley Tisdale and Brittany Snow.

She is a vegetarian.

She loves listening to Josh Groban and Kelly Clarkson.

Enjoy horseback riding, kick boxing and playing the drums.

Broke her leg after falling off her horse on September 13, 2010.

Voted #13 on the 2011 Maxim list of "Hot 100" women.

Ranked #57 in the 2011 FHM Australia list of "100 Sexiest Women in the World".

Engaged to addiction specialist Josh Resnik [October 25, 2011].

In 2010, Kaley was in a horse riding accident and suffered a bad break in her leg. She was written out of two episodes of "The Big Bang Theory" and for the rest of the season was only seen sitting down or behind furniture in the writer's attempt to hide the injury from the viewing audience.

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Jim Parsons

Date of Birth

24 March 1973, Houston, Texas, USA

Birth Name

James Joseph Parsons

Nickname

Jimmy Pea

Height

6' 2" (1.88 m)

Mini Biography

Having grown up in Houston, Texas and making his first stage appearance in a school play at the age of 6, Parsons went on to study theater at the University of Houston. From there he won a place on a two-year Masters course in classical theater at the University of San Diego/The Old Globe Theater, graduating in 2001.

He moved to New York, working in Off-Broadway productions, appearing in TV commercials and in one episode of "Ed" (2000) before landing a recurring role in "Judging Amy" (1999) in 2004.

He was propelled to international fame and acclaim three years later when he starred as Sheldon in the award-winning sitcom, "The Big Bang Theory" (2007).

Trivia

Was a member of Infernal Bridegroom Productions, a Houston-based theater company.

Worked for Microsoft Sidewalk in Houston as an assistant for Megan Halverson.

1991 graduate of Klein Oak High School in Spring, Texas.

Played a bird in his first school play in elementary school.

Favorite show growing up was "Three's Company" (1976).

Is prone to motion sickness. Riding in a car will make him nauseated so he prefers to drive.

He is good friends with "The Big Bang Theory" (2007) co-stars Simon Helberg and Kaley Cuoco.

Jim's favorite character on "The Big Bang Theory" (2007) is Penny.

Jim's theatrical credits include Endgame, Guys and Dolls, What Happened Was and The Balcony.

He enjoys watching "Lost" (2004), "American Idol" (2002), and "Grey's Anatomy" (2005).

His mother, Judy Parsons, is a first grade teacher, his father, who passed away in a car accident, in 2001, was the president of a plumbing company. His younger sister, Julie Parsons, is also a teacher. Judy and Julie work at the same school, and have shared a classroom.

Voted friendliest in his high school graduating class.

Alumnus of the University of San Diego.

Received his MFA in Acting from The Old Globe/University of San Diego's Professional Actor Training Program.

In 1996, he earned an undergraduate degree in theatre from the School of Theatre and Dance at the University of Houston.

Received his 2010-2011 Golden Globe from Matt Bomer, a fellow graduate of the Klein Independent School District. Parsons graduated from Klein Oak, Bomer from Klein High School.

An early influence was Johnny Carson.

Made his Broadway debut in 2011 as Tommy Boatwright in "The Normal Heart".

Took piano classes for 14 years.

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Johnny Galecki

Date of Birth

30 April 1975, Bree, Belgium

Birth Name

John Mark Galecki

Height

5' 5" (1.65 m)

Mini Biography

John Mark Galecki was born in Belgium where his dad was stationed while serving in the U.S. Air Force. When he was 3 years old, his family moved to Chicago, Illinois, where he grew up along with his sister Allison (1980) and brother Nick (1982). His father then became a teacher for blind veterans in a VA hospital outside of Chicago. When Galecki was 16, his father died in an accident.

His mom, Mary Lou, recalled in an interview with People magazine that Galecki was a very artistic kid; at only 4 years old, he told her: "Mom, I'm gonna be on T.V., and I don't mean when I grow up." Two years later, when their attempts to distract him with sports failed, Galecki's parents took him to open auditions at local theaters in Chicago. He landed his first role in "Fiddler on the Roof," and more parts in other productions followed. By age 11, he was already known as an excellent actor in Chicago's theater scene evidenced by him receiving a Joseph Jefferson Citation nomination for portraying John Henry in "The Member of the Wedding."

In 1989 he was cast in his first movie, a holiday film called Prancer (1989), but his big break was in another Christmas movie as Chevy Chase's son Rusty Griswold, in Christmas Vacation (1989). On the set, Chase took a liking to him, and Galecki recalled in a later interview that Chevy Chase showed him some tricks for comedic timing.

By that time, his whole family had moved from Chicago to L.A. to support his career. But within 10 months they realized they missed Chicago too much, and moved back home. Galecki, still just 14, was under contract on a show with Robert Urich called ""American Dreamer" (1990)", so he stayed in L.A. Although he was living alone in a studio apartment, he never got into trouble and admitted himself that he was a good kid. He recalled living alone in L.A. without adult supervision as "not fun" and "quite intimidating and lonely, to be honest. But I've always been happiest when I'm working, so..." He bought a motorcycle with a mirrored helmet so he could get to work and back, at Paramount studios.

In 1991 Galecki was picked by Roseanne to play her son in the made for T.V. movie Backfield in Motion (1991) (TV). She liked him so much she asked him to come on her sitcom for what started as a one-off appearance, but soon turned into the important recurring role of David Healy. His family was religious viewers of the show and he was somewhat intimidated at first to be working with his television heroes. However, before long, it was his heroes that praised him: Roseanne said he showed "great vulnerability." John Goodman said: "If he was one of those little stuffed bears at a carny, he'd have a Wuv me t-shirt on. People just want to take care of him." Galecki also became very close friends with co-star Sara Gilbert and the show's executive producer Eric Gilliland.

After "Roseanne" (1988) he worked on a number of diverse roles, from funny Ira alongside Christopher Walken in the 1997 dark-comedy Suicide Kings (1997) to a drug-addicted student in 2003's Bookies (2003), and he played gay characters in Don Roos's Bounce (2000) and The Opposite of Sex (1998). He never stayed far from the television industry as he made guest appearances such as Laurie Freeman's younger lover in "Norm" (1999) (where he once again worked with Laurie Metcalf, his former Roseanne cast mate), as a golfer in "My Name Is Earl" (2005), as"Hope & Faith" (2003)'s younger brother in the sitcom of the same name, and as hilarious party-boy Trouty on "My Boys" (2006). In 2006 he returned to his theater roots as he took on the role of conflicted but sweet male escort Alex in Douglas Carter Beane's play "The Little Dog Laughed," for which he received a 2007 Theatre World Award for Outstanding Browdway Debut.

In 2007 he was back on the small screens, starring as Leonard Hofstadter in the sitcom "The Big Bang Theory" (2007). Not only was Chuck Lorre, a former producer for Roseanne, a producer of the new show, but Sara Gilbert and Laurie Metcalf both made guest appearances.

Galecki is a self-admitted motorcycle "nerd," and drives a Harley Davidson Softail Deluxe. Although he never went to college, he has said: "I'm not dead! We should never stop learning. We should never stop absorbing," and so he learned how to play the cello in his early twenties. He likes traveling around the world, painting, music (he also plays bass), and hiking with his dog Vera.

He always has been very private about his personal life and little is known about past relationships. It has only been confirmed that he dated actresses Laura Harris and Kaley Cuoco. He isn't on twitter, and Galecki once said, "I don't understand the current frame of mind in our society that seems to say that any action is not of value until it's broadcast somehow."

He still lives in Los Angeles but is often spotted in Chicago, where his siblings still live.

Trivia

Born in Belgium where his father was stationed while serving in the US Air Force. He moved to Chicago when he was 3 years old.

In 1991, he starred in the made-for-TV movie Backfield in Motion (1991) (TV), which co-starred the production team of Roseanne and Tom Arnold. The next year, Galecki joined the cast of "Roseanne" (1988) as Darlene's sensitive and put-upon boyfriend, David.

At the age of 11, he received a Joseph Jefferson citation nomination for his critically-acclaimed performance as John Henry in The Member of the Wedding.

By age 7, he began performing in such prestigious theater productions as "Fiddler on the Roof", "Pippin" and "Galileo", opposite Brian Dennehyat The Goodman Theater in Chicago.

Star/producer/writer Roseanne of "Roseanne" (1988) praises Galecki's "great vulnerability".

Older brother of Nick Galecki and Allison Galecki.

Close friend of Sara Gilbert.

He is a vegetarian.

Was considered for the role of John "Doc" Bradley in Flags of Our Fathers (2006).

He is of Polish, Irish and Italian descent.

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