The ‘do that shook CBS! Kaley Cuoco opened up about her dramatic hair transformation ahead of season 8 of The Big Bang Theory — and the effect it had on her character, Penny.
“I just f–king cut my hair off and didn’t tell anyone,” Cuoco said of her bold pixie cut in an excerpt from The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series. “I did it for an independent film called Burning Bodhi, and basically showed up to our Big Bang wrap party with short hair.”
The California native explained that she wanted to “shake” things up and was “bored and sick” of the shoulder-length hair she was rocking on the hit series. Additionally, Penny had just started a new job as a pharmaceutical sales representative and Cuoco wanted her look to reflect that. However, her plan backfired … sort of.
Cuoco shared: “I thought by cutting my hair, I would spend less time in the hair and makeup chair, even though I loved the hair and makeup team. And then in my attempt to spend less time on my hair, that decision bit me in the ass and it took way longer to do my short hair. I was like, ‘This is the worst decision! What was I thinking?!’ I thought I was cutting off all this time, because I hated going in and getting ready.” She added: “That’s why I was wearing my hair up so much in season six and seven. So, then I cut it and it ended up being more work because it wasn’t easy to style.”
Chuck Lorre, co-creator and executive producer, revealed that Penny’s big chop stirred viewers into a frenzy. “We didn’t have a heads-up on the haircut! When you think back on it, it was startling. I wish we had been in the loop. Had she come to me, I would have told her how the ratings dropped on Dharma & Greg when Jenna Elfman did the same thing,” he said.
He continued: “And they dropped on Felicity [starring Keri Russell] as well. The audience had become infatuated with the character, and not just the character’s behavior and flaws and strengths, but in how the character looked. They became iconic, and to disregard that audience attachment was a mistake. And I witnessed it firsthand. It would have been the same thing if Johnny [Galecki] had come to the wrap party and had shaved his head.”
Despite the shock, Lorre said the series “survived” the makeover. “I love that Kaley recognized it for what it was. She’s very self-aware, and we survived it. As bumps in the road go, that was a small one.”
Cuoco, for her part, has no regrets. “I had fun with it, and I did like it. I’m sure it was being negatively talked about all over the place, but I didn’t pay as much attention to what people were saying on social media then.”
The Big Bang Theory premiered in September 2007 and ran for 12 seasons before ending in May 2019. The show, which also starred Jim Parsons, Galecki, Simon Helberg, Mayim Bialik, Melissa Rauch and Kunal Nayyar followed a group of physicists as they navigate work and relationships.
