Melissa Rauch facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Melissa Rauch
Rauch in 2013
Born	Melissa Ivy Rauch (1980-06-23) June 23, 1980 (age 45) Marlboro Township, New Jersey, U.S.
Alma mater	Marymount Manhattan College
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2006–present
Spouse(s)	Winston Beigel ​ (m. 2007)​
Children	2

Melissa Ivy Rauch (born June 23, 1980) is an American actress. She is famous for playing the smart and funny scientist Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz on the popular TV show The Big Bang Theory. She was on the show from 2009 to 2019 and was even nominated for a Critics' Choice Television Award for her role.

Before her big break, Rauch was a regular on the VH1 series Best Week Ever from 2004 to 2008. She also played the main character, Judge Abby Stone, in the recent TV series Night Court from 2023 to 2025.

Besides acting on TV, Rauch has also worked on movies. She co-wrote, co-produced, and starred in the sports comedy movie The Bronze in 2015. She was also the voice of the DC Comics character Harley Quinn in the animated movie Batman and Harley Quinn (2017). You might have also seen her in movies like I Love You, Man (2009) or heard her voice in Ice Age: Collision Course (2016).

Early Life and Education

Melissa Rauch was born in Marlboro Township, New Jersey, to her parents, Susan and David Rauch. She has a younger brother named Ben. She grew up in a Jewish family.

Rauch discovered her love for acting when she was a student at Marlboro High School. She was so passionate about comedy that her Bat Mitzvah had a "Melissa’s Comedy Club" theme. After high school, she went to college in New York City. In 2002, she graduated from Marymount Manhattan College with a degree in acting.

Acting Career

Breakthrough with The Big Bang Theory

In 2009, Melissa Rauch landed the role that would make her famous. She joined the cast of the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory in its third season. She played Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz, a waitress and co-worker of Penny who starts dating Howard Wolowitz.

Her character was so popular that she became a main cast member in the fourth season. Bernadette and Howard eventually got married on the show. For their work on the series, Rauch and the cast were nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series six times.

Other TV and Movie Roles

Besides The Big Bang Theory, Rauch has appeared in many other shows. She had a recurring role as Summer on the HBO series True Blood in 2010. She also made guest appearances on shows like The Office and the American version of Kath & Kim.

Rauch is also a talented stage performer. She was part of a comedy show called The Realest Real Housewives which started in 2011.

In 2015, she starred in the movie The Bronze. She didn't just act in it; she also co-wrote the script with her husband. The movie is about a former bronze-medal-winning gymnast. A famous magazine, Variety, said she gave "the best breakthrough comedic performance by an actress since Melissa McCarthy in Bridesmaids."

Voice Acting and Recent Work

Rauch is also a skilled voice actress. In 2017, she voiced the famous character Harley Quinn in the animated movie Batman and Harley Quinn. She has also lent her voice to characters in shows like Blaze and the Monster Machines and Star vs. the Forces of Evil.

More recently, she starred in the revival of the classic TV show Night Court. She played Judge Abby Stone, the daughter of the original judge from the series. The show ran on NBC from 2023 to 2025. Rauch was also a producer for the show, working alongside her husband.

Personal Life

Rauch is married to writer Winston Rauch. They have worked together on several projects, including the movie The Bronze. They got married in 2007.

The couple has two children, a daughter born in 2017 and a son born in 2020. In 2017, Rauch wrote an article for Glamour magazine where she shared her personal story about the challenges she faced on her journey to becoming a mother.

A fun fact about her role as Bernadette is how she created the character's unique voice. Rauch has said that Bernadette's sweet, high-pitched voice is very different from her own real voice. She was inspired by her own family. She also did a funny imitation of Howard's mother, Mrs. Wolowitz, on the show.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

See also

In Spanish: Melissa Rauch para niños