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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[]

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Media
The Big Bang TheoryYoung SheldonVideo
Characters
Main Characters: Leonard HofstadterSheldon CooperPenny HofstadterHoward WolowitzRajesh KoothrappaliAmy Farrah FowlerBernadette Rostenkowski-WolowitzStuart BloomEmily SweeneyLeslie Winkle

Recurring Characters: Barry KripkeWil WheatonAltheaKurtEric GablehauserMary CooperDebbie WolowitzV.M. KoothrappaliMrs. KoothrappaliMikeStephanie BarnettBeverley HofstadterPresident SiebertZack JohnsonPriya KoothrappaliWyattMike RostenkowskiMrs. RostenkowskiAlex JensenJanine DavisLucyProfessor ProtonDavid GibbsClaireStephen HawkingAlfred HofstadterColonel Richard WilliamsDenise
Minor Characters: Christy VanderbelLalita GuptaToby LoobenfeldDennis KimDimitriMissy CooperBlainTomOctaviaMariaLourdesRamona NowitzkiKathy O'BrianDavid UnderhillAliciaMikaylaCaptain SweatpantsLonely LarryDr. CrawleyBethanySarahSkeeterProfessor LaughlinAbbyMarthaOfficer HackettSandyGlenVenkatesh KoothrappaliSebastianLouie/LouiseJoyce KimMrs. GundersonJoyMrs. FowlerAngela PageProfessor GlennMrs. LathamTodd ZarneckiSusanRandallColonel Richard Williams

Episodes
Season 1: PilotThe Big Bran HypothesisThe Fuzzy Boots CorollaryThe Luminous Fish EffectThe Hamburger PostulateThe Middle-Earth ParadigmThe Dumpling ParadoxThe Grasshopper ExperimentThe Cooper-Hofstadter PolarizationThe Loobenfeld DecayThe Pancake Batter AnomalyThe Jerusalem DualityThe Bat Jar ConjectureThe Nerdvana AnnihilationThe Porkchop IndeterminacyThe Peanut ReactionThe Tangerine Factor

Season 2: The Bad Fish ParadigmThe Codpiece TopologyThe Barbarian SublimationThe Griffin EquivalencyThe Euclid AlternativeThe Cooper-Nowitzki TheoremThe Panty Piñata PolarizationThe Lizard-Spock ExpansionThe White Asparagus TriangulationThe Vartabedian ConundrumThe Bath Item Gift HypothesisThe Killer Robot InstabilityThe Friendship AlgorithmThe Financial PermeabilityThe Maternal CapacitanceThe Cushion SaturationThe Terminator DecouplingThe Work Song NanoclusterThe Dead Hooker JuxtapositionThe Hofstadter IsotopeThe Vegas RenormalizationThe Classified Materials TurbulenceThe Monopolar Expedition
Season 3: The Electric Can Opener FluctuationThe Jiminy ConjectureThe Gothowitz DeviationThe Pirate SolutionThe Creepy Candy Coating CorollaryThe Cornhusker VortexThe Guitarist AmplificationThe Adhesive Duck DeficiencyThe Vengeance FormulationThe Gorilla ExperimentThe Maternal CongruenceThe Psychic VortexThe Bozeman ReactionThe Einstein ApproximationThe Large Hadron CollisionThe Excelsior AcquisitionThe Precious FragmentationThe Pants AlternativeThe Wheaton RecurrenceThe Spaghetti CatalystThe Plimpton StimulationThe Staircase ImplementationThe Lunar Excitation
Season 4: The Robotic ManipulationThe Cruciferous Vegetable AmplificationThe Zazzy SubstitutionThe Hot Troll DeviationThe Desperation EmanationThe Irish Pub FormulationThe Apology InsufficiencyThe 21-Second ExcitationThe Boyfriend ComplexityThe Alien Parasite HypothesisThe Justice League RecombinationThe Bus Pants UtilizationThe Love Car DisplacementThe Thespian CatalystThe Benefactor FactorThe Cohabitation FormulationThe Toast DerivationThe Prestidigitation ApproximationThe Zarnecki IncursionThe Herb Garden GerminationThe Agreement DissectionThe Wildebeest ImplementationThe Engagement ReactionThe Roommate Transmogrification
Season 5: The Skank Reflex AnalysisThe Infestation HypothesisThe Pulled Groin ExtrapolationThe Wiggly Finger CatalystThe Russian Rocket ReactionThe Rhinitis RevelationThe Good Guy FluctuationThe Isolation PermutationThe Ornithophobia DiffusionThe Flaming Spittoon AcquisitionThe Speckerman RecurrenceThe Shiny Trinket ManeuverThe Recombination HypothesisThe Beta Test InitiationThe Friendship ContractionThe Vacation SolutionThe Rothman DisintegrationThe Werewolf TransformationThe Weekend VortexThe Transporter MalfunctionThe Hawking ExcitationThe Stag ConvergenceThe Launch AccelerationThe Countdown Reflection
Season 6: The Date Night VariableThe Decoupling FluctuationThe Higgs Boson ObservationThe Re-Entry MinimizationThe Holographic ExcitationThe Extract ObliterationThe Habitation ConfigurationThe 43 PeculiarityThe Parking Lot EscalationThe Fish Guts DisplacementThe Santa SimulationThe Egg Salad EquivalencyThe Bakersfield ExpeditionThe Cooper/Kripke InversionThe Spoiler Alert SegmentationThe Tangible Affection ProofThe Monster IsolationThe Contractual Obligation ImplementationThe Closet ReconfigurationThe Tenure TurbulenceThe Closure AlternativeThe Proton ResurgenceThe Love Spell PotentialThe Bon Voyage Reaction
Season 7: The Hofstadter InsufficiencyThe Deception VerificationThe Scavenger VortexThe Raiders MinimizationThe Workplace ProximityThe Romance ResonanceThe Proton DisplacementThe Itchy Brain SimulationThe Thanksgiving DecouplingThe Discovery DissipationThe Cooper ExtractionThe Hesitation RamificationThe Occupation RecalibrationThe Convention ConundrumThe Locomotive ManipulationThe Table PolarizationThe Friendship TurbulenceThe Mommy ObservationThe Indecision AmalgamationThe Relationship DiremptionThe Anything Can Happen RecurrenceThe Proton TransmogrificationThe Gorilla DissolutionThe Status Quo Combustion
Season 8: The Locomotion InterruptionThe Junior Professor SolutionThe First Pitch InsufficiencyThe Hook-up ReverberationThe Focus AttenuationThe Expedition ApproximationThe Misinterpretation AgitationThe Prom EquivalencyThe Septum DeviationThe Champagne ReflectionThe Clean Room InfiltrationThe Space Probe DisintegrationThe Anxiety OptimizationThe Troll ManifestationThe Comic Book Store RegenerationThe Intimacy AccelerationThe Colonization ApplicationThe Leftover ThermalizationThe Skywalker IncursionThe Fortification ImplementationThe Communication DeteriorationThe Graduation TransmissionThe Maternal CombustionThe Commitment Determination
Season 9: The Matrimonial MomentumThe Separation OscillationThe Bachelor Party CorrosionThe 2003 ApproximationThe Perspiration ImplementationThe Helium InsufficiencyThe Spock ResonanceThe Mystery Date ObservationThe Platonic PermutationThe Earworm ReverberationThe Opening Night ExcitationThe Sales Call SublimationThe Empathy OptimizationThe Meemaw MaterializationThe Valentino SubmergenceThe Positive Negative ReactionThe Celebration ExperimentationThe Application DeteriorationThe Solder Excursion DiversionThe Big Bear PrecipitationThe Viewing Party CombustionThe Fermentation BifurcationThe Line Substitution SolutionThe Convergence-Convergence
Season 10: The Conjugal ConjectureThe Military MiniaturizationThe Dependence TranscendenceThe Cohabitation ExperimentationThe Hot Tub ContaminationThe Fetal Kick CatalystThe Veracity ElasticityThe Brain Bowl IncubationThe Geology ElevationThe Property Division CollisionThe Birthday SynchronicityThe Holiday SummationThe Romance RecalibrationThe Emotion Detection AutomationThe Locomotion ReverberationThe Allowance EvaporationThe Comic-Con ConundrumThe Escape Hatch IdentificationThe Collaboration FluctuationThe Recollection DissipationThe Separation AgitationThe Cognition RegenerationThe Gyroscopic CollapseThe Long Distance Dissonance
Season 11: The Proposal ProposalThe Retraction ReactionThe Relaxation IntegrationThe Explosion ImplosionThe Collaboration ContaminationThe Proton RegenerationThe Geology MethodologyThe Tesla RecoilThe Bitcoin EntanglementThe Confidence ErosionThe Celebration ReverberationThe Matrimonial MetricThe Solo OscillationThe Separation TriangulationThe Novelization CorrelationThe Neonatal NomenclatureThe Athenaeum AllocationThe Gates ExcitationThe Tenant DisassociationThe Reclusive PotentialThe Comet PolarizationThe Monetary InsufficiencyThe Sibling RealignmentThe Bow Tie Asymmetry
Season 12: The Conjugal ConfigurationThe Wedding Gift WormholeThe Procreation CalculationThe Tam TurbulenceThe Planetarium CollisionThe Imitation PerturbationThe Grant Allocation DerivationThe Consummation DeviationThe Citation NegationThe VCR IlluminationThe Paintball ScatteringThe Propagation PropositionThe Confirmation PolarizationThe Meteorite ManifestationThe Donation OscillationThe D & D VortexThe Conference ValuationThe Laureate AccumulationThe Inspiration DeprivationThe Decision ReverberationThe Plagiarism SchismThe Maternal ConclusionThe Change ConstantThe Stockholm Syndrome

Locations
The Apartment BuildingApartment 4AApartment 4BThe ElevatorCalifornia Institute of TechnologyWolowitz HouseThe Comic Center of PasadenaPasadenaThe Cheesecake FactoryRaj's ApartmentAmy's ApartmentHoward and Bernadette's ApartmentThe StairsSheldon's Old OfficeRaj's Old OfficeSheldon's New OfficeHoward's LabThe University CafeteriaKripke's Plasma LabInternational Space StationThe Kinetics Lab
Songs
Transportations
See Also
Unaired Pilot
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