Debbie Wolowitz

Debbie Wolowitz
Background information
Television programs	The Big Bang Theory Young Sheldon
Portrayed by	Carol Ann Susi
Voice	Pamela Adlon (Young Sheldon)
Character information
Full name	Deborah Melvina Wolowitz
Personality	Overbearing, callous, serious, motherly, temperamental, loud, over-protective, caring, lonely
Alignment	Neutral
Home	Wolowitz House
Relatives	Sam Wolowitz (former husband) Howard Wolowitz (son) Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz (daughter-in-law) Halley Wolowitz (granddaughter)
Likes	Being with Howard, spending time with Stuart
Dislikes	Being lonely, her husband's abandonment on the family, Howard's disobedience or ,
Fate	Dies peacefully in her sleep whilst visiting her sister Gladys.

Deborah "Debbie" Melvina Wolowitz (most often known and credited as Mrs. Wolowitz) is the mother of Howard Wolowitz, the mother-in-law of Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz and a minor off-screen character from The Big Bang Theory.

She was portrayed by the late Carol Ann Susi.

Background

Personality

Debbie said she used to be quite a beauty in her younger days. She got big with age and apparently growing a bit of a mustache.

After her husband Sam has abandoned her, she seems to be more insecure about her self-confidence. She seems to be quite lonely with her son, who she affectionately calls Howie, being the center of most of her life. She and Howard don't get along and sometimes Howard wants to leave the house cause she frequently belittles him and treats him like dirt.

While she appears to be loud, overbearing, and lonely, she is not only a nice and well-meaning person but a loving motherly figure to not only her son but also his friends. This was seen when she allowed Stuart into her home after being nearly rendered homeless, and they bonded. All of the others were saddened by her death paid tribute to her. Before her death, she did approve of Howard's fiance and later his wife Bernadette, and they bonded enough that she picked up her mannerisms.

Appearances

The Big Bang Theory

She is mostly off-screen, only her voice is heard. However, there are photographs of her on the wall in Howard's house. There are quick glimpses of her in the few episodes, The Countdown Reflection has her watching Howard and Bernadette's wedding on the rooftop of the apartment and The Spoiler Alert Segmentation where she is seen passing through the open kitchen door, and her arms are shown when she grabs Raj back into the house through a open window as he is trying to escape.

Since The Habitation Configuration, Howard no longer lives in his mother's house, having moved out to live with Bernadette as husband and wife; however, he and Bernadette continue to sleep over there from time to time to give her company and remind her that she is not alone.

In The Thanksgiving Decoupling, the gang is fixing Thanksgiving dinner at the Wolowitz house. Debbie is not feeling well and in the basement. She can be heard every time food is mentioned. Raj does fix her annual tur-briske-fil".

In The Cooper Extraction, the group is considering what their lives would have been like if Sheldon Cooper weren't in them. If Howard had not found Bernadette, he thinks his mother would have ended up as a skeleton in the house and he would have assumed her personality like Norman Bates in Psycho. Amy, confused, asks if either Debbie died of starvation or Howard killed her. Howard shrugs it off and responds that it doesn't matter; "the important thing is she's dead."

Since The Gorilla Dissolution, Mrs. Wolowitz is forced by her doctor to take exercise and Howard, Bernadette and Raj bring up an exercise machine to be set up in Howard's old room. But Howard accidentally lets go of the box, causing it to fall down the stairs and injure Mrs. Wolowitz, fracturing her leg. As a result, Howard and Bernadette had to wait hand and foot to take care of Debbie which tires them out and her nurses ending up quitting due to Debbie's verbal abuse. It isn't until Stuart moved in due to his comic book store being burnt down, and they get along with each other quite well.

In The Comic Book Store Regeneration, Mrs. Wolowitz flies to Florida to visit Gladys and passes away in her sleep whilst over there. The news struck Howard hard as the gang comfort him. Howard and Bernadette fly to Florida for her funeral and when returning home, the airline loses Howard's mother's urn that was packed in their luggage but by the end of the episode it is returned to the airport.

With that, Howard moves back into the house and takes full ownership.

Young Sheldon

Debbie makes an off-screen cameo in the episode A Swedish Science Thing and the Equation for Toast calling out to a young Howard to turn off his game and go to sleep.

Trivia

• Due to her actress Carol Ann Susi passing away from cancer, the writers had the character die in the series.
• In her cameo in the episode "A Swedish Science Thing and the Equation for Toast" from Young Sheldon, archive footage of her late actress screaming "Howard!" was used with Pamela Adlon providing new dialogue.

External links

• Debbie Wolowitz on The Big Bang Theory Wiki

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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