Mayim Chaya Bialik (/ˈmaɪɪm biˈɑːlɪk/ MY-im bee-AH-lik; born December 12, 1975) is an American actress, author, and former game show host.

From 2010 to 2019, she played neuroscientist Amy Farrah Fowler on the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory, for which she was nominated four times for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series and won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2015 and 2017.

[17] In acknowledgment of her acting commitments, she was granted a deferred acceptance and attended University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

[3][20] Her dissertation was titled "Hypothalamic regulation in relation to maladaptive, obsessive-compulsive, affiliative and satiety behaviors in Prader–Willi syndrome".

Her early roles included the 1988 horror film Pumpkinhead (her first acting job)[25] and guest appearances on The Facts of Life (two final-season episodes) and Beauty and the Beast.

It was for Beauty and the Beast, where she played a sewer-dwelling girl named Ellie (with about ten lines of dialogue) that she obtained her Screen Actors Guild (SAG) card.

(2005) and in three episodes of the HBO comedy series Curb Your Enthusiasm as Jodi Funkhouser, the daughter of a friend of Larry David.

[31] Bialik had a recurring role as the high school guidance counselor in ABC Family's The Secret Life of the American Teenager.

Her first appearance was in the season 3 finale as a potential love interest for the character of Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons).

Bialik's performance in The Big Bang Theory earned her Emmy Award nominations in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.

[33] Before she joined the cast, in the episode "The Bat Jar Conjecture", Raj suggests recruiting the real-life Bialik to their Physics Bowl team, saying "You know who's apparently very smart is the girl who played TV's Blossom.

[34] In August 2014, Bialik began hosting a revival of Candid Camera on TV Land along with Peter Funt.

[53] In May 2023, Bialik competed as a contestant on an episode of Celebrity Wheel of Fortune against Vanna White and Ken Jennings.

[55] Bialik wrote and directed her first film, As They Made Us (2022), about a divorced mom juggling her family's needs and her own quest for love.

Dustin Hoffman and Candice Bergen starred as well as Simon Helberg, Bialik's former The Big Bang Theory castmate.

[61] Bialik founded Grok Nation (originally styled "GrokNation") in August 2015 to facilitate conversations among people of different ages and backgrounds about issues.

It aimed to engage readers in online conversations that lead to offline action, mobilizing them to change the world as a community.

[62][63][64] Along with former Sassy writer and editor Christina Kelly, Bialik relaunched Grok Nation as a women's lifestyle site in March 2018.

[69] On November 6, 2023, Bialik and Noa Tishby stated that they were against calls for a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Palestine saying, "No country in the world would be asked to stop protecting itself under attack from all of its borders.

"[70] Bialik is a vegan and a founding member of the Shamayim V'Aretz Institute, a Jewish organization that advocates the ethical treatment of animals.

Bialik's article drew backlash from critics who said she was insinuating that modesty and a conservative wardrobe can guard one against sexual assault.

"[76] In response, Bialik said she regretted that the piece "became what it became" and participated in a Facebook Live event hosted by The New York Times to answer questions about it.

[81][82] Bialik married Michael Stone on August 31, 2003; they had a Victorian-themed ceremony that included traditional Jewish wedding customs.

[12] She has also appeared in several YouTube cameos as Blossom and Amy Farrah Fowler, asking questions about Jewish beliefs.