Kaley Cuoco has emerged as one of Hollywood's most lucrative stars. She's young, attractive and has built a long list of film and television credits that dates back to the early 1990s. Many viewers have become familiar with Cuoco in her role as Penny, the ditsy waiter with dreams of becoming an actor in The Big Bang Theory. I, however, became first aware of Cuoco in her role as Briget in 8 Simple Rules and also remember her in Virtuosity, a 1995 sci-fi/thriller. In addition, I remeber her in an an episode of Northern Exposure back in the mid 1990s and in an appearance in a show I love to hate, 7th Heaven, in the early 2000s. Cuoco is an artist that has been active for many years and it seems as though work isn't slowing down any time soon. Originally from California, Cuoco has shown an unwillingness to leave home: Hollywood is what she knows best.
Her role as Penny has, without doubt, improved her marketability in Hollywood. Since appearing on the show for the first time in 2007, Cuoco has gone on to feature in such films as Killer Movie, The Penthouse and Hop and she is due to appear in The Last Ride and The Drew Peterson Story in the next 12 months. Sure, Killer was a shlocky horror/comedy, Penthouse was a sex comedy that never hit the heights of Porky's or American Pie and Hop was a poorly constructed Easter feel-good comedy that showed James Marsden at his absolute worst. All of that being said, Cuoco has been active and has branched out of the realms of television, which is the right and most logical way to avoid typecasting as a flighty hot blonde. She has also been no stranger to taking up a range of different roles in television. Cuoco has featured in such shows as Bratz, Charmed and Prison Break.
Some might be fooled by the prettiness of Cuoco and the flightiness with which she plays Penny in Big Bang. That being said, we must remember that Cuoco is not Penny: she is a successful, active, intelligent actor with over 20 years of experience in film and television. Whether it's the odd performace in Charmed and Northern Exposure, or long-running roles on successful television shows such as The Big Bang Theory and 8 Simple Rules, Cuoco has proven herself as a force to be reckoned with onscreen in both American film and television.
By Chris Traficante