Kaley Cuoco

Kaley Christine Cuoco (born November 30, 1985) is an American film and television actress. She is best known for her roles as Bridget Hennessy on the sitcom 8 Simple Rules, Billie Jenkins on the supernatural drama Charmed, and Penny on the sitcom The Big Bang Theory.

Early life
Cuoco was born in Camarillo, California, to Gary Carmine Cuoco, an Oxnard, California, realtor, and Layne Ann Wingate, a homemaker. She has a younger sister, Briana. Kaley was educated on sets and earned her high school diploma at the age of 16.

Career
Cuoco began modeling and acting at age 6. Her first major role was in the 1992 TV movie Quicksand: No Escape. Her role as Maureen McCormick in the 2000 TV movie Growing Up Brady brought her much attention, as well as a role on the CBS sitcom Ladies Man. In 2004, in addition to her role on 8 Simple Rules where she played a teenager, she has had starring roles on the NBC miniseries 10.5, on the ABC Family original movie Crimes of Fashion, and in the independent film Debating Robert Lee. In 2000 she starred in the Disney Channel Original Movie Alley Cats Strike.

Cuoco was named #77 on FHM-Us' 100 Sexiest Women in 2005 and #21 in 2008. She began voicing the character of Brandy Harrington on the Disney Channel's cartoon, Brandy and Mr. Whiskers, later in 2004.

Cuoco played Bridget Hennessy on the ABC sitcom 8 Simple Rules. Bridget was the eldest child, despite Cuoco being six years younger than her on-screen little sister (Amy Davidson), and was portrayed as "the most beautiful girl in the school." She had several boyfriends throughout the series and used her feminine wiles to exert significant control over the boys she encountered.

In the eighth season of the hit cult TV show Charmed Cuoco appeared as Billie Jenkins. Executive producer Brad Kern stated Kaley's character was initially brought in as a possible spin-off. In 2004, Cuoco co-starred in the movie The Hollow with stars Nick Carter and Kevin Zegers.

In September 2007, Cuoco began a starring role in the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory. She plays Penny, a beautiful, down-to-earth aspiring actress and employee at The Cheesecake Factory who moves in next door to two geeks, Sheldon (Jim Parsons) and Leonard (Johnny Galecki). In the show, she moved to California from Omaha, Nebraska to pursue a career in acting. Prior to the 2010-2011 season, she earned $60,000 an episode for the series, the same as Johnny Galecki and Jim Parsons. In 2010, the cast negotiated a raise for each actor to make $200,000 per episode.

Cuoco also starred in the Lifetime film To Be Fat Like Me which premiered on January 8, 2007. She also played a minor role in the Prison Break episodes "The Message" and "Chicago" as well as taking the leading female role in the horror movie Killer Movie in 2008.

Cuoco has landed two movie roles for 2010/2011. She will star in Hop and as Wanda in The Last Ride.

Cuoco has just been cast alongside Cam Gigandet, Penn Badgley and Crystal Lowe in Darkness Falls. The movie in expected to be released in 2011.

Personal life
Cuoco currently lives in San Fernando Valley, California, with her German Shepherd named Duke and her Chihuahua-Dachshund mix named Petey. She enjoys horseback riding, kickboxing, bowling, and playing the drums. One of her favorite hobbies is table tennis. On The Ellen DeGeneres Show, she presented Ellen with a table tennis paddle signed by The Big Bang Theory cast. She was a nationally ranked amateur tennis player, a hobby she took up when she was three years old.

In 2010, she sustained a broken leg during a horse-back riding accident. Her character was subsequently written out of the script for The Big Bang Theory episode shot that week.

Cuoco revealed she was in a two-year relationship with The Big Bang Theory co-star Johnny Galecki. They met on the show and kept their relationship private until they broke up and remain as friends.