What Kaley Cuoco's Life Has Been Like Since The Big Bang Theory

Ever since “The Big Bang Theory” ended in 2019, Kaley Cuoco’s transformation has continued to leave her fans speechless. The actor has diversified her portfolio through more than just acting roles; she’s also played the part of executive producer, business owner, and even mother. “Was I able to reinvent myself overnight, and [fans have] totally forgotten about everything else?” she once quipped to Variety. “If they’re willing to see me [in a new way], I’m just laughing in the corner.”

While she may have a bit of a shady side when it comes to her personal relationships, Cuoco has taken time to prioritize both her professional and personal career. She’s even found new love and started a family of her own, something she continues to prioritize in the face of naysayers. “Look, everyone’s got something to say about everything,” she told E! News. “There’s no change before I had kids, to having kids, to where I am in my life.”

One of Kaley Cuoco’s first big gigs after “The Big Bang Theory” showed a different side of the actor — the animated side. In 2019, the actor signed on to voice the legendary DC Comics character Harley Quinn in the series “Harley Quinn” on the DC Universe streaming service. She also served as an executive producer on the show, amplifying her voice in multiple ways. “[The show] is so edgy, it’s obviously a very adult comedy, and with such a world-renowned character, it’s been a blast to record,” she shared with Entertainment Weekly.

Cuoco described this iteration of Quinn as a more empowered one as she navigated the streets of the fictitious Gotham post-breakup from the villainous Joker. The actor found the role not just liberating on screen but also off-screen. “To sit in a booth and scream and cuss and yell at boys for hours at a time, it has been an absolute blast,” she told EW. “Not having to do hair and makeup has made it that much better.”

Among the legendary characters that Quinn meets in the series, one of the most important relationships the character develops is with her partner, fellow villain Poison Ivy. “That’s what I find so endearing about the show,” she explained to EW in a separate interview. “The fights they have, and the insecurities that Harley has sometimes with Ivy, feel like a real relationship. That’s so crazy to say, but it’s very relatable.” The show moved to HBO Max following its third season, and the fifth season premiered in January 2025, with a sixth season reportedly in development.

Among all of the projects that helped us determine what Kaley Cuoco is really worth, her choice to spearhead a comedic thriller series as both an actor and executive producer only added to her overall net worth. In 2020, she headlined “The Flight Attendant” for HBO Max. In the series, she starred as Cassie Bowden, an alcoholic flight attendant who is thrown into the midst of espionage after embarking on an affair with a passenger. The show was based on the novel of the same name by Chris Bohjalian and allowed Cuoco to spread her acting wings in a new realm. “I’ve never played anything like this,” she admitted in an interview with Variety.

But it wasn’t all fun and games on set for Cuoco — especially considering what she was going through off set. By the time season two began production, the actor was in the midst of a divorce from then-husband Karl Cook, and the trauma of her personal situation started to bleed into her performance on screen. “I just didn’t know how to deal with it,” she revealed to Variety. “I was throwing myself into work to deny my depression, and how upset I was. Unfortunately, the character was so depressed that it wasn’t helping me!” Despite being nominated for multiple Primetime Emmy awards, the show did not return for a third season.

By 2021, Kaley Cuoco was poised to increase her responsibilities off-screen through her production company, Yes, Norman. That year, she closed an exclusive three-year deal with Warner Bros. TV group to develop new, original content for both streaming and broadcasting channels. This expansion came upon the heels of Cuoco’s 15 years spent with the studio prior, including her time on “The Big Bang Theory” and the launch of a podcast in 2017 that kick-started her production journey. “Warner Bros. has been my home away from home for as long as I can remember which makes this partnership so special on every level,” Cuoco said in a statement (via Deadline). “I look forward to much continued success with my extended family!!!!!”

Throughout the long-standing partnership, Cuoco and Yes, Norman are able to option, executive produce, and star in both “The Flight Attendant” and “Harley Quinn.” Upon the renewal, Cuoco and her team also secured the rights to Katie Russell Newland’s novel “A Season with Mom” about a cancer survivor who embarks on a mission to visit all 30 Major League Baseball parks in one season. She also collaborated with Berlanti Productions and WBTV to acquire the rights to “Doris Day: Her Own Story,” an official biography about the legendary entertainer, with Cuoco slated to star in a produced version.

Despite the great professional success that Kaley Cuoco was experiencing in 2022, unfortunately, her personal life was simultaneously enduring a rough patch. That year, she and her second husband, Karl Cook, finalized their divorce after four years together. The real reason that Cuoco split from her husband was due to the pair’s drifting priorities. “Despite a deep love and respect for one another, we have realized that our current paths have taken us in opposite directions,” the former couple shared in a statement to People upon their initial separation in 2021. “There is no anger or animosity, quite the contrary.” The split was not contentious, as both parties waived their rights to seeking spousal support from one another — something that was quite the opposite from her prior relationship.

Cuoco slammed her first ex-husband Ryan Sweeting by saying he “ruined” the word marriage for her. “I honestly thought I wouldn’t get married again,” she once told Cosmopolitan. “I married someone the first time who completely changed.” But despite their heartbreaking ending, it seems there is still love between Cuoco and Cook. “I had to go through a lot of things, but it brought me to Karl,” she shared with Cosmopolitan.

It wasn’t long before Kaley Cuoco found love and marriage again after her second divorce. In 2022, she began dating fellow actor and “Ozark” star Tom Pelphrey. The two met through their mutual manager, and upon their first meeting, Cuoco knew that it was love at first sight. “I heard his voice, and I turned around, and it was like my life was over, or just starting,” she gushed to USA Today. “We were immediately connected.” But even though they had just met, and Cuoco had been through several other major relationships prior, their connection seemed to be a lifetime in the making. “I do feel like I’ve known him my whole life, but I wasn’t ready for him,” she shared with the publication. Their instant connection inspired the actor to want to slow life down a bit to take time for a real vacation and also support her new beau in his own work. “I want to come home after [shooting a film] and take the rest of the year off and support Tom and what he’s shooting and actually be there for someone else, not just myself,” she admitted.”

Even though she once made a bold statement about possibly marrying again, the actor changed her tune after Pelphrey proposed in 2024 with a custom-made ring from Shahla Karimi Jewelry. “What a wild, beautiful journey that life can be,” she shared on her Instagram story (via Good Housekeeping). “Grateful for every road that led me straight to you.”

About a year after meeting future fiancé Tom Pelphrey, Kaley Cuoco welcomed her first child, daughter Matilda Carmine Richie Pelphrey, with the actor in March 2023. “[She’s] the new light of our lives!” the new mama gushed on Instagram. “We are overjoyed and grateful for this little miracle!” Sources close to the couple confirm that Cuoco’s bond with her husband-to-be has only amplified their connection. “Kaley is comfortable about Tom as [a] mate and father, comfortable about the big change the baby will have in their lives, and comfortable about her work,” the source revealed to People. “She is in a good place.”

But as every mother comes to find out, parenthood is not all fun and games. Cuoco has spoken out about the adventures of motherhood on more than one occasion, often with a humorous flair. “Taking care of a 19-month-old is like taking care of your drunk best friend every day,” she quipped on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” in November 2024. “They’re out of their minds. You’re making sure they don’t die all day long.”

Prior to their little one’s arrival, the couple enjoyed a lavish, if untraditional, baby shower thrown by Cuoco’s sister Briana, which featured a live band, decadent dinner, and lots of dancing. There were even some celebrities on hand to join in the festivities, including “The Bachelorette” star Ali Manno and Brad Pitt. “Kaley is like a kid in a candy store,” a source shared with People. “She is excited about life, love, her career, and now … a parent. She could not be happier.”

Longtime animal lover Kaley Cuoco expanded her business acumen beyond show business in 2023 with the launch of her own pet care brand, Oh, Norman! The company, named after Cuoco’s beloved rescue dog, features a line of eco-friendly and durable pet products, including dog bowls, placemats, supplements, and even matching clothes for pups and their people. “I was excited to come out with products that were obviously cute, that were affordable, but also eco-friendly, healthy, good for the dogs, good for the owner, easy to clean, easy, easy, easy,” Cuoco explained to People. The plus side? A portion of the profits from the venture are allocated to animal rescue organizations, something that the “8 Simple Rules” actor thinks sets her brand apart from competitors when it comes to customer decision-making. “To me, if you know a portion of this is actually going to animal rescue, you’re going for that one,” she continued.

The company’s canine namesake unfortunately passed away in 2021 at the age of 14. But Cuoco has harnessed that deep, unending love for her old furry friend as something that drives not only the business but the heart behind it. “We call it your heart dog, right? Yeah, Norman changed my life,” she told the publication.

Kaley Cuoco’s acting career hasn’t just revolved around long-running sitcoms. Following the end of “The Big Bang Theory,” the actor pursued a number of roles in limited series and movies. She starred alongside “The Mindy Project” standout Chris Messina in Peacock’s “Based on a True Story,” which showed the pair as a struggling couple who decide to start a true crime podcast — but accidentally team up with an actual serial killer in the process. While the show was canceled after two seasons in 2025, Cuoco claims that the role itself satisfied a part of her that wants to dig deeper into real stories. “The reason why I watch a lot of [true crime like] this is it actually sheds light on these people’s perspectives and these families and they have a voice and they can speak about the person or whoever this has happened to,” she told Decider. “And I think it actually can be a wonderful thing.”

Cuoco has also headlined several feature films, including “Meet Cute” with former “Saturday Night Live” standout Pete Davidson and “Role Play” alongside award-winning actor David Oyelowo. During the latter, Cuoco leaned into her inner action hero and fulfilled a career capstone she had always wanted to achieve. “To have an opportunity to play something that way and do some choreographed fight scenes and play a badass, but at the same time, play a mom … was really enticing,” she explained to Collider.

“The Big Bang Theory” may have signed off the air in 2019, but that doesn’t mean that the iconic series hasn’t brought its cast back for some extended universe cameos since then. This includes Kaley Cuoco, who made a surprise (and uncredited) voiceover appearance during an episode of the prequel spinoff series “Young Sheldon.” Cuoco lent her voice to a swimming pool, talking to the title character during a dream. Cuoco’s character Penny in the original series was a close friend of the adult Sheldon, making this cameo an immediate fan favorite — despite not being advertised. “Sometimes I feel a little weird about things being over-promoted,” series co-creator Molaro told TVLine. “And … [Kaley] wanted to hold it under wraps [as well] … so we were all on the same page about that.”

Cuoco and her TV alter ego are also rumored to make a cameo in the upcoming spinoff series about several side characters from the original series. The actor’s love for her character and the cast and creatives who made the show what it became have her committed to staying open to future involvement in the overall “The Big Bang Theory” universe. “I spent 12 years playing that role, and it really set off my career,” she shared with People. “I owe a lot to that character, to that show … It was some of the best years of my life, and some of the most fun I’ve ever had.”

For Kaley Cuoco, it’s not always on screen when she meets up with her former co-stars from “The Big Bang Theory.” The actor spends time with her colleagues and friends from time to time, even supporting them during their own professional achievements. She reunited with Jim Parsons, who played Sheldon Cooper, backstage on Broadway when he starred in the 2024 revival of “Our Town.” “I surprised him,” Cuoco gushed in an Instagram story that showed her hugging Parsons post-show (via People). “[The show] is beyond!”

Cuoco has even joined forces with her former on screen (and off-screen) love interest Johnny Galecki, who played Leonard Hofstadter, in an ad for the video game “Royal Kingdom.” If we go inside Cuoco and Galecki’s relationship today, it’s clear that they remain friendly because there was even a friendly competition between the two for the number of likes on each of their Instagram posts about the ads. At one point, Galecki’s post boasted almost 20,000 more likes than Cuoco’s, prompting him to share a cheeky but heartfelt plea with his followers to share the love with Cuoco, proving that the playfulness between the two is still there. “If you only do one good deed today, please add to Kaley’s likes on her ad,” Galecki posted on Instagram. “Deep down, she’s a terrific person. If for no other reason, do it for me, who you actually do like.”