Kaley Christine Cuoco was born to Gary and Layne Cuoco on November 30, 1985 in Camarillo, California, US. She is one of two children, having a sister Briana Cuoco. Cuoco was a nationally ranked amateur tennis player, a sport she took up when she was three years old. Cuoco played Bridget Hennessy on the ABC sitcom 8 Simple Rules. 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. 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 comedy horror spoof Killer Movie in 2008.

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. She plays Penny, a beautiful, down-to-earth aspiring actress and employee at The Cheesecake Factory who moves in next door to two nerdy scientists, Sheldon (Jim Parsons) and Leonard (Johnny Galecki). 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. She has also been cast alongside Cam Gigandet, Penn Badgley, and Crystal Lowe in Darkness Falls, expected to be released in 2011. She was a nationally ranked amateur tennis player, a sport she took up when she was three years old.