Kaley Christine Cuoco ( ; born November 30, 1985) is an American actress. After a series of supporting film and television roles in the late 1990s, she landed her breakthrough role as Bridget Hennessy on the ABC sitcom 8 Simple Rules (2002–2005). Thereafter, Cuoco voiced Brandy Harrington on Brandy & Mr. Whiskers (2004–2006) and appeared as Billie Jenkins on the final season of the television series Charmed (2005–2006). She later starred as Penny on the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory (2007–2019), and received a Satellite Award, a Critics' Choice Award, and two People's Choice Awards for the role. Since 2020, Cuoco has starred in and served as executive producer for the HBO Max comedic thriller The Flight Attendant, which received widespread critical acclaim. For this performance, she has received nominations at the Primetime Emmy Awards, the Golden Globe Awards, the Screen Actors Guild Awards, and the Critics' Choice Awards. Cuoco made her film debut in the thriller television film Quicksand: No Escape (1992). Her film work includes Virtuosity (1995), Toothless (1997), Can't Be Heaven (1999), Alley Cats Strike (2000), Growing Up Brady (2000), Crimes of Fashion (2004), The Hollow (2004), Lucky 13 (2005), To Be Fat like Me (2007), Cougar Club (2007), Killer Movie (2008), The Penthouse (2010), Hop (2011), Authors Anonymous (2014), and The Wedding Ringer (2015). She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2014 and in October 2017 founded Yes, Norman Productions. Early life Cuoco was born in Camarillo, California, the elder daughter of Layne Ann (née Wingate), a homemaker, and Gary Carmine Cuoco, a realtor. Her father is of Italian descent while her mother is of English and German ancestry. Her sister, Briana, is an actress and singer who competed on the fifth season of The Voice and has a recurring role on the HBO Max series, The Flight Attendant and on Harley Quinn as Barbara Gordon/Batgirl. As a child, Cuoco was a ranked amateur (aspiring) tennis player, a sport she took up when she was three years old. She stopped playing at the age of 16 to pursue a career in acting. Career 1995–2006: Early work and 8 Simple Rules Cuoco made her first feature film appearance as the young Karin Carter in the 1995 action thriller Virtuosity. From 2000 to 2001, she appeared on the CBS sitcom Ladies Man and in 2000 she portrayed former The Brady Bunch star Maureen