Melissa Rauch

Actress • Comedian

Birth Name: Melissa Ivy Rauch

Birth Date: June 23, 1980

Age: 45 years old

Birth Place: Marlboro, New Jersey

Awards

An immensely gifted comedienne and actress, Melissa Rauch delighted fans in any project in which she appeared. Born June 23, 1980 in Marlboro, NJ, Melissa Ivy Rauch began doing stand-up comedy while studying acting in college, and developed an impressive reputation.

She broke through with a one-woman show, "The Miss Education of Jenna Bush," which put her on the radar of casting directors and led to her making her screen debut in the Steve Buscemi oddity "Delirious" (2006). During this period, she also became a frequent presence on weekly pop culture wrap-up "Best Week Ever" (VH1 2004-09). She filmed a recurring role on the highly anticipated series "12 Miles of Bad Road" (HBO), but despite intense curiosity surrounding the project and a dream cast, it never actually aired.

Rauch made more industry headway with a recurring role as Tina, frenemy to Selma Blair's high-strung Kim, on the American reboot of the Australian smash "Kath & Kim" (NBC, 2008-09). She shot a cameo for the Jason Segel/Paul Rudd comedy hit "I Love You, Man" (2009) before she achieved stardom as Dr. Bernadette Rostenkowski, the squeaky-voiced microbiologist who wins the heart and eventually the hand of engineer Howard (Simon Helberg) on "The Big Bang Theory" (CBS, 2007- ).

With her killer comic timing and acting chops, Rauch proved a wonderful addition to the series, becoming a series regular and sharing a Best Ensemble Screen Actors Guild Award nomination with her cast mates. She also charmed in a recurring role as Summer, a quirky doll collector who nursed an enormous crush on Hoyt (Jim Parrack) on "True Blood" (HBO, 2008-2014).

By Jonathan Riggs