The Big Bang Theory Star Mayim Bialik's Complete Transformation

When it comes to sitcom household names, Mayim Bialik is definitely among the most well-known. Whether you came to love her as Blossom in the '90s or Amy Farrah Fowler in the 2010s, there is no denying that Bialik has shown her talent when it comes to making us laugh. However, Bialik is so much more than just a television star. 

With a PhD under her belt, she has shown that she is interested in much more than just the glitzy world of Hollywood. "If I had not gone to college, I might have kept acting and been happy like that," she revealed in 2017 (via National Geographic). "But I loved going to UCLA and doing something that was very challenging academically. It was exciting to get my PhD." Now, if you're curious just how a scientist ended up also being a face of television comedy, here's how Mayim Bialik's life changed over the years. And don't worry, we wouldn't be Glam if we didn't sprinkle some fashion and beauty into our analysis, too!

Mayim Bialik entered the spotlight as a child actor in the '80s, but it wasn't until her portrayal of Blossom in the Fox sitcom of the same name in the early '90s that Bialik became a recognized star. "I read the 'Blossom' script and it was the first script I had ever read where I laughed out loud," the actor revealed in 2016 (via Yahoo! Entertainment). "You could tell in that first script, a very unusual sense of humor and it really suited my sense of humor."

At the time, Bialik was a teen exploring everything that '90s fashion had to offer — including neon dresses and feathery accessories. Speaking of her upbringing to The Jerusalem Post in 2012, Bialik said, "My parents were not at all observant; they raised me in a Reform congregation, which actually was a very positive experience. There were some remnants of my mom's Orthodoxy, but for the most part we were a traditional Reform family."

Early on in her career, Bialik fought for what she believes in. In fact, in 1991 she admitted jokes about a flat chest that made the script for an episode of "Blossom" didn't sit well with her — which is why she voiced her opinion to executive producer Don Reo. "I gave him a piece of my feminist mind," she said (via Entertainment Weekly). "Flat-chested jokes are lame-o. It's important for young women to have positive role models. Blossom is someone who is smart and interested in things other than shopping and boys. She represents how girls are and how they should be."

On August 31, 2003, Mayim Bialik married Michael Stone in a ceremony in Pasadena, California. While not much is known about the wedding, Bialik opened up about it to Vulture in 2018. "My wedding in real life was very unusual, because I'm an unusual person, so I'm actually not big on vows," she revealed. "I think if you want to say something intimate to your partner, just do it privately. The whole notion of vows to me was, in real life, I was like, 'Ugh, who wants to say all those things in front of other people?'"

Bialik — who earned her bachelor's degree in neuroscience, Jewish studies, and Hebrew from UCLA in 2000 — gave birth to the couple's first son Miles in 2005. "My husband and I met in college and we had our first son in grad school after we got married. We fell in love with parenting and with being parents, and specifically with me being the primary caregiver," she revealed to The Jerusalem Post in 2012. 

During this period, we got to see Bialik attend a couple of red-carpet events, often accompanied by her husband. For them, she usually stuck to classic black dresses but always ensured there was a bit of quirkiness to them — whether because of the material's texture or a subtle addition of floral print.

In 2007, Mayim Bialik got her PhD in neuroscience from UCLA, not knowing how similar her real life was to the character that would soon bring her international fame. A year later, Bialik and her husband welcomed their second son Frederick. And while she was busy being a mom, Bialik later revealed that it was towards the end of the 2000s that she started auditioning for projects again.

"Being a research professor just wasn't going to be compatible with that," Bialik told The Jerusalem Post in 2012, referring to parenting. "So, the plan was that we would try to take turns teaching and sort of figure it out. And I went back to auditioning. I had never done acting as an adult and I thought, well, maybe I'll work here and there."

Bialik's style during this period became a lot more colorful than what we had previously seen. The actor wasn't one to shy away from brightly colored pieces, and she proved that wearing statement earrings or a bold red lip is always a good idea for adding that extra pizzazz to a look. Bialik was having fun with fashion while staying true to herself, ensuring she always exuded confidence.

2010 was the year that changed Mayim Bialik's daily routine as she was cast as Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler on the sitcom "The Big Bang Theory." This was the role that brought her a steady job, salary, and fame across the globe for almost a decade. In a candid conversation with radio host Ira Flatow, Bialik reflected on her decision to give acting another chance. "When our younger son was almost two, I auditioned for 'Big Bang Theory,' but even still I wasn't made a regular until kind of end of last season, and a sitcom schedule happens to be very friendly," she revealed (via NPR). "But at least in those early months and years of nursing and sleeping and all that stuff, I was absolutely able to be home with them, and I couldn't have done that the same way had I stayed in academia."

Of course, with the success of the sitcom, Bialik was now attending industry events more often, and whenever she would show up to red carpets, her choice of dress was sophisticated yet fun. Bialik wasn't one to shy away from bright colors or fun sequins, and it became clear that while she may be known for her academic degrees and acting, the star loved a good fashion moment, too.

While her career was thriving, Mayim Bialik was going through a rough patch in the early 2010s; the sitcom star announced her divorce from Michael Stone in November 2012. "Divorce is terribly sad, painful and incomprehensible for children. It is not something we have decided lightly," Bialik said in a statement (via Kveller). 

In 2012, Bialik opened up about how she raises their children. "Well, I live in LA, but I don't consider them as being raised in Hollywood," she told The Jerusalem Post. "They don't watch television; they've never seen me on TV. We home school." That same year, Bialik released the book "Beyond the Sling: A Real-Life Guide to Raising Confident, Loving Children the Attachment Parenting Way," a guide on the attachment parenting style she was advocating for. When asked by Time how she grew to appreciate the style, Bialik said, "We saw friends parenting before we had kids and saw some really interesting relationships emerging that weren't governed by fear or force. Their children were expressing themselves appropriately without ruling their parents' lives. I saw it matters that very small people have a voice."

Even though she was going through a difficult time personally, Bialik's style was stronger than ever. To the 2013 SAG Awards, the star wore an eye-catching blue gown that took our breath away, however the actor admitted that she wouldn't usually go for this — but her stylist convinced her. "I was skeptical: too bright, too blue, too tight," she wrote for Kveller. "But I trusted her, mostly because I am so stressed with the divorce and everything relating to that that I can't really fight anyone on anything fashion-related right now."

As someone with a PhD in neuroscience, Mayim Bialik has always been open about the importance of women in science. "I think that there's a need for a very strong emphasis on STEM subjects here. It's kind of an undercapped and underdeveloped resource that we have," she told The Hollywood Reporter in 2015. "The representation of women is historically lower in these fields, so I'm happy to put a positive face on STEM and a female face on [it]," the actor added.

Now a divorced woman, Bialik revealed that she and her ex had become good at co-parenting. "My kids' dad is with them when I'm working and whether you're divorced or married, that's kind of how it has to work," the actor said. In the same interview, Bialik opened up about being religious and a scientist at the same time. "A lot of people just don't feel comfortable talking about [faith]. Part of it is because it's been kind of posed as intellectual versus ignorance, meaning that religious people must be ignorant and so a lot of us don't want to engage in those conversations," the sitcom star explained.

While Bialik was undoubtedly leaving her mark on the world through her career (both in Hollywood and science), her red-carpet style was becoming more and more glamorous. For the 2014 SAG Awards, the actor went with a Victorian-inspired gown by Rachel Livingston. "It's astoundingly delicately made and I won't reveal too much ..." Bialik said of it (via Kveller). The more red-carpet events Bialik was attending, the more surprising her looks became — and while fashion was never really the focal point of her career, we can't help but appreciate a Hollywood star and neuroscientist serving us exquisite fashion moments.

In 2017, Mayim Bialik went viral with a YouTube video titled "'Girl' vs. 'Woman': Why Language Matters," in which the star talked about how language can impact the way we feel toward women. "So when we use words to describe adult women that are typically used to describe children, it changes the way we view women — even unconsciously — so that we don't equate them with adult men," Bialik said, explaining why the usage of the word "girl" when referring to a woman needs to be challenged.

For Forbes, Bialik said that this problem needs to be tackled head-on. "People need to start getting comfortable with being uncomfortable. We are looking for easy fixes and easy solutions," she explained. "Women smiling and shutting up, but that is not going to be productive. If we don't fix a problem, it keeps coming back. We have to properly address things to get through the discomfort."

While Bialik was using her fame to empower women to encourage positive change, her fashion sense also went through changes. Gone were the super-bright and colorful fashion moments, as Bialik was now seen embracing black clothes more often. The color psychology of black clothes states that we love wearing them so much because they're versatile and make the eyes pop; clearly Bialik knew the benefits of the dark hue. However, her style was far from boring — unique silhouettes and edgy cut-outs kept Bialik's red-carpet appearances interesting.

2019 brought the end of "The Big Bang Theory" after 12 successful seasons. Of course, for Mayim Bialik — who had been on it for almost a decade — this change didn't come easy. "I've been saying that I feel all the feelings. It's very bitter-sweet to end an exceptionally long run on a television show, which as an actor, we so rarely get the opportunity to play one character for an extended period of time," she told Jew in the City. "But there's also a tremendous sense of, and I think this is very, very part of my Jewish sensibility, one door closes and another opens. And everything does happen for a reason and this is part of my journey. It's not my entire journey."

Speaking of her hair transformation from long locks to a cropped cut and why a messy, textured bob was right for her, Bialik revealed that she was excited to part ways with her signature length. "When Chuck Lorre approached me about Amy's series finale make-over, I didn't even let him finish his sentence," the actor wrote for Grok Nation, explaining that instead of wearing a wig, she was ready to make the hair change permanent. "It feels so freeing to cut off my hair and have it look healthy," she added. With the new haircut, Bialik also began experimenting with fashion again — and a colorful leopard-print dress suddenly seemed like a fun idea to the star.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Mayim Bialik realized that mental health played a major role in staying safe. "When we were quarantined, I realized how many of my friends were struggling with mental health who had never struggled before," that actor told Moment in 2021. "And for those of us who already had anxiety and fear and were prone to depression, COVID just intensified these things. Add a very tumultuous election, the Black Lives Matter movement becoming part of our national and global consciousness, and the time seemed right to finally do a podcast." And just like that, Bialik — who began dating Jonathan Cohen in January 2021 — ventured into podcasting. "My partner, Jonathan Cohen, and I decided to put our heads together and share what works for us and what doesn't and talk to others on their own mental health journeys," she said. "It's been a wonderful experience, especially for us as a couple."

Apart from shifting her focus to sharing the importance of protecting your mental health when politics seem overwhelming, Bialik also changed her personal style during the early 2020s. Of course, all of us shifted towards more laid-back and comfortable fashion — as that's what made the most sense at the time, and the Hollywood star was no exception. Comfortable pants and tops became a staple for Bialik, who was usually known for choosing dresses for industry events.

In 2023, Mayim Bialik made headlines as she was sharing her view on cancel culture — a practice that has even entered dating life. "What I'd like to teach my children is they don't have to agree with every single thing that someone says," Bialik said on comedian Bill Maher's podcast "Club Random" in 2023. "And that also doesn't mean that that person is bad, wrong, should be canceled, should never be spoken about or to. But it's really hard." While the topic has undeniably been controversial, Bialik has never been one to shy away from speaking up about things she believes in and advocating for healthy discussion.

During this time, the actor also allowed her style to fall in line with her strong personality even more, as Bialik became a huge fan of the power suit. In 2023, she attended the Los Angeles LGBT Center Gala in an oversized white pantsuit set that definitely showed her fashion fearlessness, particularly through the accompanying glittery boots. Then in 2024, she showed up to the premiere of the action comedy "Borderlands" in a similar beige version. While we love Bialik in dresses, we have to admit that she can pull off a power suit better than most men.

Today, Mayim Bialik is known not only as one of the well-known female faces of sitcom history but also as a woman who is used to fighting for what she believes in. Over the years, Bialik has shown that she isn't afraid to speak out on matters she believes deserve more attention, and her background in science certainly gives her a different perspective from what most Hollywood stars have to offer. In fact, nowadays, Bialik is mostly focused on her mental health podcast "Bialik Breakdown." There's nothing wrong with embracing fashion and glamour, but Bialik is an advocate for the fact that women have so much more to give, too. 

Now, if you enjoyed reading about Mayim Bialik's most significant changes over the years, check out The Big Bang Theory star Melissa Rauch's complete transformation next!