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Actress Mayim Chaya Bialik was born on December 12th, 1975, in San Diego, California. Her name, which has Hebrew origins, was her great-grandmother Miriam’s nickname. Mayim has had a very prolific career in television, starting in 1987, when she made her television debut in the fantasy-drama series Beauty and the Beast. Throughout the ‘80s. Mayim had guest roles in several popular TV shows of that decade, amongst them The Facts of Life and Doogie Howser, M.D., including recurring roles in Webster, MacGyver, and the lead in short-lived sitcom Molloy. She also took on her first film role in 1988’s comedy-drama Beaches, followed that same year by horror movie Pumpkinhead.

Bialik’s breakthrough role was as the titular character in NBC’s sitcom Blossom, which lasted for five seasons (1990-1995.) After the success of the show, Mayim appeared in an episode of the popular game show Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego? and of the horror anthology series The Hidden Room. Mayim also had a big role in Woody Allen’s comedy TV film Don’t Drink the Water. Starting from 1995, she did mostly voice over roles in animated shows such as The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest, Hey Arnold!, Johnny Bravo, Disney’s Recess, Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, Extreme Ghostbusters, and Kim Possible. Her only film credit during this decade was in the comedy feature Kalamazoo? in 2005.

After graduating high school in 1993, Mayim went on to study neuroscience at the University of California, Los Angeles, minoring in Hebrew and Jewish studies. She had deferred her attendance due to her acting commitments, but eventually graduated in 2000. Bialik returned to UCLA in 2005, taking a break from acting, to earn a Doctor of Philosophy degree in neuroscience in 2007. She resumed her acting career in 2007, with guest roles in Curb Your Enthusiasm, Saving Grace and Bones, as well as landing a recurring role for two seasons in The Secret Life of the American Teenager.

In 2010, Mayim appeared as herself in the television game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? during its eighth season. That same year, she was cast in CBS’ TV nerdy sitcom The Big Bang Theory, at first as a guest star in its third season and then rising to main cast status for the remainder of the show’s run (from 2011 until 2019.) Although she had been in show business since childhood, her portrayal on the show brought her renewed fame and earned her four Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, as well as being nominated on several occasions as part of the main cast. Bialik has reprised her role in The Big Bang Theory’s spin-off series, Young Sheldon, in two episodes in 2020 and 2022.

Following the success of the CBS sitcom, Mayim has been mainly participating in game show programs as either host or judge, like MasterChef Junior, Drop the Mic, Celebrity Show-Off, Match Game, and most recently, Jeopardy! (starting in 2021 to present) and Celebrity Jeopardy! (in 2022.) Since 2021, she has been playing the lead role and has been acting as executive producer in television sitcom Call Me Kat. In 2022, Bialik made her writing and directorial debut with the drama film As They Made Us.

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