Kaley Cuoco still gets emotional when she talks about John Ritter. The late actor, her co-star on 8 Simple Rules, died suddenly when she was just 17. “He’s my guiding light,” she says softly. “If I could emulate anyone in this industry, it would be him.”
That spirit of warmth and equality stayed with her through The Big Bang Theory, the series that would transform her career. For 12 seasons, Cuoco played Penny, the aspiring actress whose friendship with a group of lovable geeks became the heart of the show. At its peak, she was earning $1 million an episode.
“It was an explosion of money and fame,” she says. “And when that happens, of course there’s drama.” Contract negotiations, media scrutiny, and public salary debates became part of the experience. But Cuoco takes it in stride. “If you don’t want people knowing your business, don’t be famous.”
Rather than retreat after the sitcom ended, Cuoco embraced reinvention. The Flight Attendant revealed a darker, more complex side of her talent. Now Vanished sends her sprinting across France in a slick thriller full of twists and conspiracies. “It felt real and scary,” she says. “I had to stay grounded while everything around me went crazy.”
She credits even the harder chapters — like feeling unwelcome during her time on Charmed — with shaping her approach today. “There’s nothing worse than feeling like an outsider,” she says. “I’ll always make sure people feel included.”
Through fame, fortune, and reinvention, Cuoco remains pragmatic. “Someone’s going to like what you do,” she shrugs. “Someone’s not. That’s art.”