The Big Bang Theory Star Melissa Rauch's Complete Transformation

When you think of Melissa Rauch, your primary thought might be of one of her most famous characters, Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz from "The Big Bang Theory." While she's a totally memorable character, Rauch has done so much more over the course of her career. She's had hilarious characters on iconic shows like "True Blood" and done a ton of voice work on movies and shows like "Ice Age" and "The Chicken Squad." She's also the voice of the ultra-iconic Harley Quinn in the animated "Batman and Harley Quinn."

Beyond her career as an actor, she's been through plenty of personal ups and downs, as she met and married the love of her life and writing partner, struggled with fertility issues, and eventually became a mom of two. What's even more amazing is that she has had plenty of stunning style moments all at the same time. From bold blue gowns to lacy mini dresses and adorable pantsuits, Rauch has had a lot of fun with her wardrobe and displayed true elegance and class, too.

By the time Melissa Rauch landed the role of Bernadette on "The Big Bang Theory," she had been working hard to build a career in the entertainment industry for a while. From endless auditions to one-woman shows, Rauch was truly putting the work in. She even landed roles on shows like "Kath & Kim" and "The Office." However, despite appearing on popular shows, Rauch still hadn't found a lasting gig. While speaking with ET, she joked, "I was at the unemployment office the day before I got the audition for ['Big Bang']. I was doing a lot of driving around crying in my car, and you know, in the out-of-work-actor grind."

While talking to Backstage, Rauch opened up about getting the role of Bernadette saying, "I was so grateful when 'Big Bang' happened. It was supposed to be a one-time guest star!" Although it was initially a guest role, Rauch's character became an integral part of the show, especially once she became engaged to one of the main ensemble characters, Howard.

Along with becoming a stand-out new character on "The Big Bang Theory," Rauch proved that her style choices were worth looking at, too. During this period, she rocked lots of bold colors in feminine cuts, like puff-sleeved mini dresses. However, she was also totally capable of toning down and looking polished but professional in blazers, slim pants, and glittery blouses, like the outfit she wore to the "In Time" premiere.

In 2012, Melissa Rauch was attending events like Comic Con, where she met fans and discussed topics like her "Big Bang Theory" character's plot line. She was also truly showing off her style sense, as bright, solid-colored dresses continued to be a style staple for her, like they had been in past years. Some great examples are the strapless, deep-purple dress she wore to a pre-Emmy party and the green gown with an asymmetrical neckline that she wore to the Emmys.

However, this is also when Rauch began to branch out and wear looks with a little more edge. At an Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ceremony, she donned a long-sleeved black lace dress, which she paired with a black clutch and nude pumps. At an Alzheimer's Association event, she wore another black dress, this time strapless and with a feather skirt, proving that she knows all the tips that will help you look your best in a strapless dress. Rauch was once again looking sultry that year in black in a mini dress with a plunging neckline and diamond detailing under the bust at a Warner Bros. event.

By 2013, Melissa Rauch began to take on voice acting roles. Some of her first jobs were on children's shows like "Awesome Magical Tales," and "Captain Jake and the Neverland Pirates." She was also taking a moment to look back at the work she put in to prepare for her career, saying to New Jersey Monthly in 2014, "I was simultaneously pursuing a career in comedy while in college. So I would be doing Ibsen and Chekhov during the day and then doing stand-up all night.

With more projects coming down the pipeline, Rauch was making a colorful splash on red carpets. Then more than ever, she was rocking her go-to bold-colored gowns. Instead of opting for cooler colors like bold blues, purples, and greens, she was donning warm-hued dresses. At the People's Choice Awards in 2013, she rocked a canary-yellow strapless dress, along with a gold belt and clutch. For the People's Choice Awards in 2014, she wore another strapless dress, this time hot pink, a great example of the pink girlcore aesthetic, with an asymmetrical neckline and minimal black accessories.

While "The Big Bang Theory" was still going strong, Melissa Rauch took her career into her own hands by writing a movie, "The Bronze," with her husband. Talking to Vanity Fair, Rauch discussed branching out from TV, saying, "As an actor, it's hard to diversify if you're not necessarily seen as someone who could do other roles. So I'm a big proponent of creating your own work and writing those roles that you want to play."

While talking to Backstage, she opened up about her character, Hope, an ex-gymnast with an unlikable attitude, and how she felt playing a character so different from Bernadette. "I've always been drawn to characters, male or female, that don't apologize for who they are," she explained. "The people that I've always loved are like Bette Davis in 'All About Eve' ... She didn't shy away from that anger and that was always something I wanted to play." In the interview, she also joked about having control of her outfits, saying, "I only want to write scripts for myself where I'm in a loose-fitting uniform the entire time. It was the only job I've had where I didn't have to wear Spanx!"

While Rauch may have been tired of Spanx, she looked completely professional and elegant at a 2015 Alzheimer's Association event, where she wore a silky black blouse along with a black pencil skirt. When she attended co-star Jim Parson's Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony, she wore a navy blue blazer dress with some platform peep-toed pumps, which struck a perfect balance of both sophistication and glam.

In 2016, Melissa Rauch was rocking lots of trendy looks. Rauch was spotted out and about wearing lacy dresses and leather jackets. Along with her increasingly edgy street style, and proof that she knew just how to style her favorite leather jacket, she was also trying new things on the red carpet. At "The Big Bang Theory" 200th episode party, she wore a strapless white mini dress with geometric shapes scattered across the bodice and hem. While attending the People's Choice Awards that year, she wore a black gown with large white stripes running across it diagonally. Both of these looks are bold departures from her usual solid-colored gowns.

Trying something daring or new seems to have been the norm for Rauch, though. While talking to Interview Magazine, she opened up about how she took comedic risks, even as a child. Often watching R-rated routines on HBO, Rauch sometimes found herself in hot water. "I would memorize them and then go and perform them for show-and-tell, and my teachers would call my parents and say that I was doing very inappropriate standup sets," she recalled. "I was a super shy, shy kid, so that was kind of my way of expressing myself — to mimic what I saw on TV. I was a bit of a weird kid, but luckily my parents encouraged it."

Throughout the second half of 2016, Melissa Rauch's style took on a feminine but laid-back vibe. In addition to Season 10 of "The Big Bang Theory" premiering and doing more voice work for the hit children's movie "Ice Age: Collision Course," Rauch was showing a new side of herself in her style choices. At an InStyle celebration for the start of the Golden Globes season, she rocked a lacy, short-sleeved blue dress along with some strappy nude platform sandals. She added some rings to the look and wore her hair in soft waves with a deep side part.

While attending a SAG-AFTRA Foundation event, she wore an even more relaxed and adorable look. Rocking some bold, black-framed glasses, Rauch also wore a long-sleeved floral print blouse with sheer panels, which she paired with a slim black pant and black boots. With this look, she still kept her signature deep side part, but this time she wore her hair straight.

By 2017, Melissa Rauch was experiencing a major life change: becoming a mom. She opened up about her pregnancy and her fertility struggles in a piece she wrote for Glamour, writing, "Here is the only statement regarding my pregnancy that doesn't make me feel like a complete fraud: 'Melissa is expecting her first child. She is extremely overjoyed, but if she's being honest, due to the fact that she had a miscarriage the last time she was pregnant, she's pretty much terrified at the moment that it will happen again. She feels weird even announcing this at all, and would rather wait until her child heads off to college to tell anyone, but she figures she should probably share this news before someone sees her waddling around with her midsection protruding and announces it first.'"

This year, pregnancy wasn't the only change for Rauch, she was also trying new things on the fashion front. At the People's Choice Awards that year she ditched the dresses and wore an ultra-elegant black jumpsuit, (which was styled just right for fall and winter) with a lace panel across the chest and a bow at the collar. At the SAG Awards, she was doing something new once again. Instead of opting for one of her go-to bold colors, she wore a sleek nude gown with a deep V-neck and all-over lace detailing. Not only did she go out of her comfort zone, but she looked completely sophisticated while doing it.

In 2018 Melissa Rauch was supporting causes close to her heart. At a March of Dimes event, she wore a black dress with a lace panel across the chest, black tights, black pumps, and a nude cross-body purse that popped against her black outfit. In an Instagram post about the event, Rauch talked about the work that March of Dimes does, as well as the importance of community for mothers. "I'm in love with the work @marchofdimes does for both babies and moms. They guide mothers through EVERY stage of their journey," she explained. "Whether you're on the roller coaster of trying to conceive, experienced the heartbreak of a loss or losses, have had a difficult pregnancy, a premature baby/NICU baby, going through postpartum depression and/or postpartum anxiety ... please remember that you are not alone. There is tremendous power in the truth of shared struggles, obstacles and journeys."

In another Instagram post, Rauch was not only wearing pansy purple, the royally good color trend, but she was discussing another important cause. In a post where she can be seen in some nude sunglasses and a bright purple shirt, she shared her encouragement for LGBTQ youth, saying, "Got my purple on to stand against bullying and to show support for LGBTQ youth. You are loved & I stand with you not only on #SpiritDay but EVERY day!!!"

Taking a turn away from her more sleek and polished looks, Melissa Rauch was having a lot of fun with her style in 2019. This year, she wore things like black sequin mini dresses with bold shoulder pads, long blue dresses with intriguing square prints, and salmon-colored pantsuits with ruffled blouses underneath. While she was exploring new aspects of her style, she was also taking a look back at her character Bernadette over the years, as this was the year that the long-running sitcom "The Big Bang Theory" came to an end. While talking to Today, Rauch discussed the changes in her character Bernadette, saying, "Over the years, she's sort of found her big-girl voice."

In a conversation with Parade, she went more in-depth about her connection to her character. "What's been nice about Bernadette, in particular, is she's been a few steps ahead of me in life," she related. "She had kids before I did, and she had to juggle being a working mom before I did. She navigated the actual transition into motherhood before me. So, it's been like a little dress rehearsal for my own life. I wore a baby bump before I was actually pregnant and I actually wore my Bernadette maternity pants when I was actually pregnant because I had already been fit for them."

2020 was another big year for Melissa Rauch, as this was the year that she welcomed her second child. In an Instagram post, Rauch announced her news, saying, "I am incredibly thankful and overjoyed to announce the birth of our son, Brooks Rauch, who we just welcomed into the world and directly into our hearts." She also went on to thank the hospital staff and acknowledge others who have had difficulty with pregnancies. "As I've previously shared, I am no stranger to loss on the road to motherhood," she lamented. "So to those dealing with infertility or grieving a loss, please know you are in my heart and I'm sending you so much love."

While there may have not been many award ceremonies to attend in 2020, by 2022, the actor was showing off her style once again. At a gala that year, Rauch hit the red carpet in a green print mini dress with voluminous puff sleeves, rouched sides, and buttons down the front. Not only was the look adorable, but it had a lot of unique vintage charm, too.

As Melissa Rauch was promoting her new show that she starred in, 2023's "Night Court," her fashion choices became both more classic and more bold. Black was a big theme for her, in particular. At an American Society of Cinematographers event she donned a floor-length black dress with a large ruffle around the neckline. For an NBC Universal press tour, she wore a long-sleeved navy blue dress with a subtle black floral print and mesh sleeves, and at an event celebrating comedian Carol Burnett, she wore a black gown with velvet shoulder pads.

Rauch also showed up at picket lines to show her support of SAG-AFTRA and the Writers Guild of America during their strikes and looked back at what inspired her to get into comedy in the first place. "I think so much about family dinners, often around Jewish holidays," she recalled to The Times of Israel. "Those dinners were just filled with laughter. And that's where I really fell in love with the idea of making people laugh because it was doing imitations of my mother. That became such a driving force of, oh, you can create happiness for other people. And there's something addictive about that."

By 2024, Melissa Rauch was having fun with color again. While in New York to appear on "Today," Rauch wore a bright red dress along with red pumps, which she tossed a knee-length winter coat over in the city's cold. One of the most notable, though, was an adorable and fresh-looking short mint suit that she wore on her press tour. Layered with a white top underneath, Rauch proved that she could nail business casual dressing and show off her personality simultaneously.

Along with her exciting outfits, Rauch was also excited about reviving the 1980s sitcom, "Night Court." In a talk with Hollywood Life, she gushed, "We are really really excited about it. I was a fan of the show growing up ... and having John Larroquette coming back to reprise his role is a dream come true." She also opened up about her opinion on reboots in general, saying, "I think there is such a comfort factor to it ... It is like revisiting old friends. They were a part of your life and the fact that you get to be reunited with them again in a fresh capacity feels like a really cool reunion."