Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz

Bernadette Maryann Rostenkowski-Wolowitz
Background information
Television programs	The Big Bang Theory Young Sheldon
Portrayed by	Melissa Rauch (The Big Bang Theory) AJ Coogeshall (Young Sheldon)
Character information
Full name	Dr. Bernadette Maryann Rostenkowski-Wolowitz
Other names	"Bernie"
Personality	Smart, sweet, beautiful, friendly, short-tempered, cranky (at times), innocent, devoted, loving
Appearance	Slender, fair skin, blonde hair, blue eyes, red-frame glasses, petite cardigans, knee-length floral skirts, nylons in various colors, and black flats.
Occupation	Cheesecake Factory Waitress (previously) Microbiologist
Alignment	Good
Nationality	American
Birthday	Between 1984 and 1987
Home	Her apartment, Pasadena
Allies	(her husband) Howard Wolowitz, (her ex-boyfriend/college professor) Glenn, Leonard Hofstadter, Sheldon Cooper, Penny Hofstadter, Amy Farrah Fowler, Stuart Bloom
Likes	Howard, Her interests in Microbiology
Dislikes	Howard's lies

Dr. Bernadette Maryann Rostenkowski-Wolowitz (full name before marriage first revealed in "The Herb Garden Germination" (S4E20), full name after marriage confirmed in The Stag Convergence (S5E22)), (née Rostenkowski), Ph.D., is a former waitress at the Cheesecake Factory and has earned her Ph.D in microbiology and has a lucrative job at a pharmaceutical company. She began dating Howard Wolowitz in "The Creepy Candy Coating Corollary" and eventually married him in "The Countdown Reflection", Season 5 finale. She has her own apartment in Pasadena which Howard eventually moved into finally leaving his mother's house. In Season 7, they start thinking about raising a family after Howard's mother has to convalesce. After Mrs. Wolowitz died in "The Comic Book Store Regeneration", Howard and Bernadette eventually moved back into Howard's house. They since have renovated the house and are preparing for parenthood "The Valentino Submergence".

Biography

Character History/Early Life (Before the show)

Bernadette was born at some point in approximately the 1980s to Mike Rostenkowski and his wife. She has 5 siblings, one of them is a brother named Joey. Bernadette, like Howard, is on bad terms with her mother, who's over-protectiveness caused issues for her when she was growing up. Bernadette's height is a sensitive topic for her, similar to Howard and Leonard, as well as she believes her small stature is linked to her mother smoking cigarettes while she was pregnant with her.

Her mother ran an illegal daycare center in the basement and worked full time, and Bernadette had to take care of her siblings, which was hellish for her.

In her teens she entered beauty pageants including one for Miss California Quiznos of 1999. Bernadette went to Catholic school, then to into college to study microbiology and got a job at the Cheesecake Factory to pay her tuition, where she met Penny. She received her Ph.D. in microbiology in "The Roommate Transmogrification" and subsequently accepted a job with a big pharmaceutical company called Zangen in which she earned a lot more money.

Characteristics

Despite her high-pitched tone, which makes her come off as friendly and innocent, Bernadette showed signs of a passive-aggressive personality. She has a short temper but is still friendly and extremely devoted towards her husband, Howard.

Bernadette is the financial provider of her marriage, and in doing so, she constantly, albeit unintentionally, emasculates her husband. She took a commanding tone and was extremely competitive, possibly due to growing up with older siblings. When trying to win Rajesh's scavenger hunt, she spoke to her teammate, Leonard, the way a drill sergeant would, using insults and yelling to motivate him and lying to Leonard about his relationship with Penny.

Bernadette has no interest in children as her younger siblings made her life hellish; this was also shown during Howard's magician act; she spoke towards her audience in an aggressive voice but veiled it within a kind tone, as you would speak to an infant.

Ironically Bernadette, in some way, does have a child as due to her husband's Oedipal Condition, the relationship between Howard and herself their relationship was more of a mother-son relationship than a husband-wife. Bernadette created a chore chart for Howard, and she does most of the housework around their home while Howard plays video games.

Career

Bernadette worked at the Cheesecake Factory with Penny to pay off her debts in graduate school, studying to become a microbiologist. She met Howard at work as Penny introduced the couple.

In the present, Bernadette has received her PhD and was offered a job at a big pharmaceutical company named Zangen. Although her exact income is never specified, it is stated that she makes very good money (a "butt load") and that it greatly exceeds Howard's income.

Physical Appearance

Bernadette is almost 5' (1.52 m), with blonde hair and blue eyes. Her wardrobe mainly consists of red-frame glasses, petite cardigans, knee-length floral skirts, nylons, and black flats. She also wears necklaces, most notably a cross, as she was raised in a Catholic family. Her hairstyle is wavy with bangs and is usually untied, though occasionally is worn in a low side ponytail or with a headband.

Season 3

Bernadette makes her first appearance in "The Creepy Candy Coating Corollary" where she meets Howard via Penny and goes out to dinner with her and Leonard who are dating. Bernadette and Howard were not able to find anything they have in common, but then they started bonding when they found out they both have overbearing mothers.

Bernadette argues over the fact that he hasn't called her, but things are healed when he plays a song for her on a keyboard piano at the Cheesecake Factory ("The Vengeance Formulation").

Bernadette shows an interest in Leonard's physics work and Howard becomes jealous but Bernadette tells him not to worry and affectionately calls him Tushy Face (His mother's affectionate name for him) in front of Leonard ("The Gorilla Experiment").

In "The Psychic Vortex", Bernadette and Howard have dinner with Penny and Leonard.

She is shown to have control over Sheldon (like his mother) when she sends him to bed as she knows about dealing with stubborn children ("The Einstein Approximation").

In "The Plimpton Stimulation", Howard tells Raj that he and Bernadette broke up a few weeks ago.

Season 4

She accepts Howard's marriage proposal in The Herb Garden Germination.

Season 5

She and Howard get married in the season finale, The Countdown Reflection.

Bernadette and Howard marry

Gallery

Bernadette in her bed naked

Penny, Bernadette, and Amy pressure Raj to turn down Emily's invitation

External links

• Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz on The Big Bang Theory Wiki

v - e - d

Media The Big Bang Theory • Young Sheldon • Video Characters Main Characters: Leonard Hofstadter • Sheldon Cooper • Penny Hofstadter • Howard Wolowitz • Rajesh Koothrappali • Amy Farrah Fowler • Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz • Stuart Bloom • Emily Sweeney • Leslie Winkle Recurring Characters: Barry Kripke • Wil Wheaton • Althea • Kurt • Eric Gablehauser • Mary Cooper • Debbie Wolowitz • V.M. Koothrappali • Mrs. Koothrappali • Mike • Stephanie Barnett • Beverley Hofstadter • President Siebert • Zack Johnson • Priya Koothrappali • Wyatt • Mike Rostenkowski • Mrs. Rostenkowski • Alex Jensen • Janine Davis • Lucy • Professor Proton • David Gibbs • Claire • Stephen Hawking • Alfred Hofstadter • Colonel Richard Williams • Denise Minor Characters: Christy Vanderbel • Lalita Gupta • Toby Loobenfeld • Dennis Kim • Dimitri • Missy Cooper • Blain • Tom • Octavia • Maria • Lourdes • Ramona Nowitzki • Kathy O'Brian • David Underhill • Alicia • Mikayla • Captain Sweatpants • Lonely Larry • Dr. Crawley • Bethany • Sarah • Skeeter • Professor Laughlin • Abby • Martha • Officer Hackett • Sandy • Glen • Venkatesh Koothrappali • Sebastian • Louie/Louise • Joyce Kim • Mrs. Gunderson • Joy • Mrs. Fowler • Angela Page • Professor Glenn • Mrs. Latham • Todd Zarnecki • Susan • Randall • Colonel Richard Williams Episodes Season 1: Pilot • The Big Bran Hypothesis • The Fuzzy Boots Corollary • The Luminous Fish Effect • The Hamburger Postulate • The Middle-Earth Paradigm • The Dumpling Paradox • The Grasshopper Experiment • The Cooper-Hofstadter Polarization • The Loobenfeld Decay • The Pancake Batter Anomaly • The Jerusalem Duality • The Bat Jar Conjecture • The Nerdvana Annihilation • The Porkchop Indeterminacy • The Peanut Reaction • The Tangerine Factor Season 2: The Bad Fish Paradigm • The Codpiece Topology • The Barbarian Sublimation • The Griffin Equivalency • The Euclid Alternative • The Cooper-Nowitzki Theorem • The Panty Piñata Polarization • The Lizard-Spock Expansion • The White Asparagus Triangulation • The Vartabedian Conundrum • The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis • The Killer Robot Instability • The Friendship Algorithm • The Financial Permeability • The Maternal Capacitance • The Cushion Saturation • The Terminator Decoupling • The Work Song Nanocluster • The Dead Hooker Juxtaposition • The Hofstadter Isotope • The Vegas Renormalization • The Classified Materials Turbulence • The Monopolar Expedition Season 3: The Electric Can Opener Fluctuation • The Jiminy Conjecture • The Gothowitz Deviation • The Pirate Solution • The Creepy Candy Coating Corollary • The Cornhusker Vortex • The Guitarist Amplification • The Adhesive Duck Deficiency • The Vengeance Formulation • The Gorilla Experiment • The Maternal Congruence • The Psychic Vortex • The Bozeman Reaction • The Einstein Approximation • The Large Hadron Collision • The Excelsior Acquisition • The Precious Fragmentation • The Pants Alternative • The Wheaton Recurrence • The Spaghetti Catalyst • The Plimpton Stimulation • The Staircase Implementation • The Lunar Excitation Season 4: The Robotic Manipulation • The Cruciferous Vegetable Amplification • The Zazzy Substitution • The Hot Troll Deviation • The Desperation Emanation • The Irish Pub Formulation • The Apology Insufficiency • The 21-Second Excitation • The Boyfriend Complexity • The Alien Parasite Hypothesis • The Justice League Recombination • The Bus Pants Utilization • The Love Car Displacement • The Thespian Catalyst • The Benefactor Factor • The Cohabitation Formulation • The Toast Derivation • The Prestidigitation Approximation • The Zarnecki Incursion • The Herb Garden Germination • The Agreement Dissection • The Wildebeest Implementation • The Engagement Reaction • The Roommate Transmogrification Season 5: The Skank Reflex Analysis • The Infestation Hypothesis • The Pulled Groin Extrapolation • The Wiggly Finger Catalyst • The Russian Rocket Reaction • The Rhinitis Revelation • The Good Guy Fluctuation • The Isolation Permutation • The Ornithophobia Diffusion • The Flaming Spittoon Acquisition • The Speckerman Recurrence • The Shiny Trinket Maneuver • The Recombination Hypothesis • The Beta Test Initiation • The Friendship Contraction • The Vacation Solution • The Rothman Disintegration • The Werewolf Transformation • The Weekend Vortex • The Transporter Malfunction • The Hawking Excitation • The Stag Convergence • The Launch Acceleration • The Countdown Reflection Season 6: The Date Night Variable • The Decoupling Fluctuation • The Higgs Boson Observation • The Re-Entry Minimization • The Holographic Excitation • The Extract Obliteration • The Habitation Configuration • The 43 Peculiarity • The Parking Lot Escalation • The Fish Guts Displacement • The Santa Simulation • The Egg Salad Equivalency • The Bakersfield Expedition • The Cooper/Kripke Inversion • The Spoiler Alert Segmentation • The Tangible Affection Proof • The Monster Isolation • The Contractual Obligation Implementation • The Closet Reconfiguration • The Tenure Turbulence • The Closure Alternative • The Proton Resurgence • The Love Spell Potential • The Bon Voyage Reaction Season 7: The Hofstadter Insufficiency • The Deception Verification • The Scavenger Vortex • The Raiders Minimization • The Workplace Proximity • The Romance Resonance • The Proton Displacement • The Itchy Brain Simulation • The Thanksgiving Decoupling • The Discovery Dissipation • The Cooper Extraction • The Hesitation Ramification • The Occupation Recalibration • The Convention Conundrum • The Locomotive Manipulation • The Table Polarization • The Friendship Turbulence • The Mommy Observation • The Indecision Amalgamation • The Relationship Diremption • The Anything Can Happen Recurrence • The Proton Transmogrification • The Gorilla Dissolution • The Status Quo Combustion Season 8: The Locomotion Interruption • The Junior Professor Solution • The First Pitch Insufficiency • The Hook-up Reverberation • The Focus Attenuation • The Expedition Approximation • The Misinterpretation Agitation • The Prom Equivalency • The Septum Deviation • The Champagne Reflection • The Clean Room Infiltration • The Space Probe Disintegration • The Anxiety Optimization • The Troll Manifestation • The Comic Book Store Regeneration • The Intimacy Acceleration • The Colonization Application • The Leftover Thermalization • The Skywalker Incursion • The Fortification Implementation • The Communication Deterioration • The Graduation Transmission • The Maternal Combustion • The Commitment Determination Season 9: The Matrimonial Momentum • The Separation Oscillation • The Bachelor Party Corrosion • The 2003 Approximation • The Perspiration Implementation • The Helium Insufficiency • The Spock Resonance • The Mystery Date Observation • The Platonic Permutation • The Earworm Reverberation • The Opening Night Excitation • The Sales Call Sublimation • The Empathy Optimization • The Meemaw Materialization • The Valentino Submergence • The Positive Negative Reaction • The Celebration Experimentation • The Application Deterioration • The Solder Excursion Diversion • The Big Bear Precipitation • The Viewing Party Combustion • The Fermentation Bifurcation • The Line Substitution Solution • The Convergence-Convergence Season 10: The Conjugal Conjecture • The Military Miniaturization • The Dependence Transcendence • The Cohabitation Experimentation • The Hot Tub Contamination • The Fetal Kick Catalyst • The Veracity Elasticity • The Brain Bowl Incubation • The Geology Elevation • The Property Division Collision • The Birthday Synchronicity • The Holiday Summation • The Romance Recalibration • The Emotion Detection Automation • The Locomotion Reverberation • The Allowance Evaporation • The Comic-Con Conundrum • The Escape Hatch Identification • The Collaboration Fluctuation • The Recollection Dissipation • The Separation Agitation • The Cognition Regeneration • The Gyroscopic Collapse • The Long Distance Dissonance Season 11: The Proposal Proposal • The Retraction Reaction • The Relaxation Integration • The Explosion Implosion • The Collaboration Contamination • The Proton Regeneration • The Geology Methodology • The Tesla Recoil • The Bitcoin Entanglement • The Confidence Erosion • The Celebration Reverberation • The Matrimonial Metric • The Solo Oscillation • The Separation Triangulation • The Novelization Correlation • The Neonatal Nomenclature • The Athenaeum Allocation • The Gates Excitation • The Tenant Disassociation • The Reclusive Potential • The Comet Polarization • The Monetary Insufficiency • The Sibling Realignment • The Bow Tie Asymmetry Season 12: The Conjugal Configuration • The Wedding Gift Wormhole • The Procreation Calculation • The Tam Turbulence • The Planetarium Collision • The Imitation Perturbation • The Grant Allocation Derivation • The Consummation Deviation • The Citation Negation • The VCR Illumination • The Paintball Scattering • The Propagation Proposition • The Confirmation Polarization • The Meteorite Manifestation • The Donation Oscillation • The D & D Vortex • The Conference Valuation • The Laureate Accumulation • The Inspiration Deprivation • The Decision Reverberation • The Plagiarism Schism • The Maternal Conclusion • The Change Constant • The Stockholm Syndrome Locations The Apartment Building • Apartment 4A • Apartment 4B • The Elevator • California Institute of Technology • Wolowitz House • The Comic Center of Pasadena • Pasadena • The Cheesecake Factory • Raj's Apartment • Amy's Apartment • Howard and Bernadette's Apartment • The Stairs • Sheldon's Old Office • Raj's Old Office • Sheldon's New Office • Howard's Lab • The University Cafeteria • Kripke's Plasma Lab • International Space Station • The Kinetics Lab Songs Transportations See Also Unaired Pilot