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Mayim Bialik

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Mayim Bialik
Bialik at the rehearsal for the 1989 Academy Awards
Born
Mayim Hoya Bialik

(1975-12-12) December 12, 1975 (age 48)
San Diego, California, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1986–present
SpouseMichael Stone (2003-Present) 2 Children

Mayim Hoya Bialik (born December 12, 1975) is an American neuroscientist and actress. She is best known for her lead role as Blossom Russo in the early-1990s NBC sitcom Blossom.

Early life

Bialik was born in San Diego, California, the daughter of Barbara, a nursery school director, and John Bialik, a high school drama teacher.[1] Her grandparents emigrated in the late 1930s from Poland and Czechoslovakia/Hungary. Bialik was raised in Reform Judaism.[2]

Career

Bialik started her career as a child actress in the late 1980s. Her early roles included the horror film Pumpkinhead, her first acting job;[3] and guest appearances on The Facts of Life and Beauty and the Beast. She appeared in three episodes of MacGyver as Lisa Woodman. In 1988, she appeared in Beaches (1988), playing Bette Midler's character as a young girl. She was also featured in the video clip of Liberian Girl by Michael Jackson.

In 1990, Bialik was tied to two television pilots, Fox's Molloy and NBC's Blossom. Molloy at first produced six episodes for a tryout run, followed by the shooting of the pilot special for Blossom. The latter actually aired two weeks before Bialik's Fox series, and ultimately garnered higher ratings than it. When Molloy folded after its six episodes, Blossom was pursued as a regular series. The actress' greatest success to date came in 1991 when Blossom joined NBC's Monday night lineup following The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Both shows enjoyed popularity, especially among younger viewers, for the first couple of years of their respective runs. Blossom aired until 1995.

Between 1995 and 2005, Bialik mostly did voice work for cartoons, such as The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest, and Recess.

She appeared in the feature film Kalamazoo? released in late 2005. She appeared in three episodes of the HBO comedy series Curb Your Enthusiasm as Jodi Funkhouser, the lesbian daughter of a friend of Larry David. Bialik also made guest appearances as a fictionalized version of herself in the series Fat Actress. Bialik had a guest appearance as a Hasidic Jew in an episode of Saving Grace.[4][5] She has a recurring role as the high school guidance counselor in ABC Family's The Secret Life of the American Teenager. She also had an appearance on the Fox TV show 'Til Death in which she has a reunion of sorts with two of her Blossom costars- Jenna von Oÿ – who played Blossom’s quirky best-friend Six – and Michael Stoyanov – who played Blossom’s older brother Anthony.[6] She has optioned the Rashi's Daughters books.[7] She more recently guest-starred as a potential girlfriend for the character Sheldon Cooper, played by Jim Parsons, in the 3rd season finale of the hit CBS comedy series The Big Bang Theory as the character Amy Farrah Fowler,[8] and is currently guest starring in many episodes of the 4th season as Sheldon's now "friend that's a girl, but not a girlfriend".

It was announced on July 14, 2010 that Mayim will be writing her first book, to be called Intuitive Parenting.

Personal life

At the end of Blossom, she chose to attend UCLA, despite having been accepted at both Harvard and Yale.[9][10] She stated that she wanted to stay close to her parents and did not want to move to the East Coast. She earned a bachelor's degree in 2000 in neuroscience, Hebrew, and Jewish studies, and went on to the PhD. program in neuroscience. A 2002 interview stated that Bialik is now involved in Conservadox Judaism.[2] She continues to study Judaism with the help of her Partners in Torah partner, Allison Josephs.[11]

She took a break from studies in 2005 to return to acting.[12] Bialik completed her PhD in 2008, but is not pursuing an academic career in the near future;[13] her dissertation was an investigation of Prader-Willi syndrome.[14][15]

She married Michael Stone on August 31, 2003, in a Victorian-themed ceremony with traditional Jewish customs.[16] They have two sons together; Miles Roosevelt Bialik Stone was born on October 10, 2005, and Frederick Heschel Bialik Stone was born on August 15, 2008.[17] She is a celebrity spokesperson for the Holistic Moms Network.[18]

Hayim Nahman Bialik, Israel's national poet, was Mayim Bialik's great-great-grandfather's uncle.[7]

She was featured in TLC's What Not to Wear in the Season 7 opening episode which aired May 29, 2009; she was "nominated" by Clinton Kelly himself. The actress Rachael Harris also appears in the episode, as one of Mayim's friends at the reveal party that show always closes with.

She is vegan.[19]

Filmography

Film
Year Film Role Notes
1988 Beaches young Cecilia 'CC' Carol Bloom
Pumpkinhead Wallace kid
2005 Kalamazoo? Maggie Goldman
Television - Live Action
Year Film Role Notes
1987 Beauty and the Beast Ellie Episode: "No Way Down"
1988 The Facts of Life Jennifer Cole Episodes: "The Beginning of the Beginning", "The Beginning of the End"
1988–1989 Webster Frieda eight episodes
1989–1990 Empty Nest Laurie Kincaid Episodes: "The R.N. Who Came to Dinner", "Harry Knows Bestro"
MacGyver Lisa Woodman Episodes: "Cease Fire", "Twenty Questions", "Hearts of Steel"
1990 Doogie Howser, M.D. Candace Episode: "Ask Dr. Doogie"
Molloy Molloy Martin Episodes: "Pilot", "Surprise"
Murphy Brown Natalie Episode: "I Want My FYI"
1990–1995 Blossom Blossom Russo 114 episodes
1991 Sea World's Mother Earth Celebration (on Nickelodeon) Herself Played a mall-a-holic who knows little about animals and nature until she hears about friends' experiences. Her neighborhood mysteriously "flies off" to Sea World where she's able to use her new knowledge and learn more facts.
1993 The Hidden Room Jillie Episode: "Jillie"
1994 Don't Drink the Water Susan Hollander Woody Allen's TV remake
1994–1995 The John Larroquette Show Rachel Episodes: "The Book of Rachel", "Rachel and Ton", ""Rachel Reduxy
1998 Welcome to Paradox Rita Episode: "Alien Jane"
2005 Fat Actress Herself Episodes: "The Koi Effect", "Holy Lesbo Batman"
7th Heaven Cathy Episode: "Dick"
2005, 2007 Curb Your Enthusiasm Jodi Funkhauser Episodes: "The Bowtie", "The TiVo Guy", "The Ida Funkhouser Roadside Memorial"
2009 Saving Grace Esther Episode: "Mooooooooo"
What Not To Wear Herself Nominated by former "Blossom" co-star, Jenna von Oy.
Bones Genie Gormon Episode: "The Cinderella in the Cardboard"
2010 The Secret Life of the American Teenager Dr. Wilameena Bink Episodes: "You Don’t Know What You’ve Got...", "Just Say Me", "Let's Try That Again", "The Rhythm of Life"
'Til Death Herself Episodes: "The Break-Up", "Merit Play", "Baby Steps"
The Big Bang Theory Amy Farrah Fowler Episodes: "The Lunar Excitation", "The Robotic Manipulation", "The Zazzy Subsitution", "The Desperation Emanation", "The 21-Second Excitation"
Television - voice
Year Film Role Notes
1992 The Kingdom Chums: Original Top Ten Petey
1995, 1996 The Adventures of Hyperman Brittany Bright Episodes: #1.1 and "Oceans a Leavin'"
1996 The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest Lucy Episode: "The Alchemist"
Julia/French Woman Episode: "Assault on Questworld:
1996, 1999 Hey Arnold! Maria Episodes: "6th Grade Girls/The Baseball", "Dinner for Four/Phoebe Skips"
1997 Johnny Bravo Tour Guide Episode: "Going Batty/Berry the Butler/Red Faced in the White House"
Extreme Ghostbusters Girl in Future Episode: "Ghost Apocalyptic Future"
1997, 1998, 2000 Recess Kirsten Kurst Episodes: "The Break-In", "The Girl Was Trouble", "The Ratings Game"
2003 X2: Wolverine's Revenge Bush Pilot, May Deuce video game
2003, 2004 Kim Possible Justine Flanner Episodes: "The Secret Files", "Partners"
2005 Katbot Paula never aired

References

  1. ^ http://www.filmreference.com/film/39/Mayim-Bialik.html
  2. ^ a b Goldman, Michele (2002-10-11). "Religion Blossoms for Bialik". The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. Retrieved 2006-12-13.
  3. ^ Pierce, Leonard (2009-01-28). "Mayim Bialik: Random Roles". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2009-07-05.
  4. ^ 'Mayim Bialik's Kosher Comeback!',The Chosen Blog, May 26, 2009
  5. ^ 'Mayim Bialik Learns What Not to Wear', Celebrity Baby Blog
  6. ^ Fox News. March 31, 2010 http://entertainment.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/03/31/blossom-reunion-on-fox-whoa/. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. ^ a b 'Mayim Bialik: From 'Blossom' to Brachot', Matthue Roth, May 6, 2009
  8. ^ Kroll, Justin (June 24, 2009). "Mayim Bialik". Variety.
  9. ^ Blossom Flowers: Mayim Bialik Grows into Adult Roles
  10. ^ Mayim Bialik; Playing the Role Of an American in Paris Michael E. Hill; The Washington Post; Sep 19, 1993; Y.07;
  11. ^ 'Mayim Bialik to Guest Star on a Very Special Jew in the City!', Jew in the City, May 20, 2009
  12. ^ Alumni Stories - Notable Alumni
  13. ^ http://celebrity-babies.com/2009/06/04/mayim-bialik-talks-attachment-parenting-with-cbb/
  14. ^ Life After Child Stardom - Not by the Numbers
  15. ^ Bialik, Mayim C. "Hypothalamic regulation in relation to maladaptive, obsessive-compulsive, affiliative, and satiety behaviors in Prader-Willi syndrome" (PhD Diss., UCLA , 2007).
  16. ^ Mayim Bialik's Jewish Wedding, Jewish Wedding Network
  17. ^ Mayim Bialik Welcomes Second Son, Frederick Heschel, CBB, November 11, 2008
  18. ^ Meet Mayim Bialik: Actress and Holistic Mom
  19. ^ Mayim Bialik Gets Her Eco On At The Go Green Expo In Los Angeles', Ecorazzi, January 20, 2010

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