Kaley Cuoco reflects on how Penny was sexualised in The Big Bang Theory: ‘It was all about booty shorts’

‘At 21 I was hot. I wanted to show that stuff off,’ said the actor

Kaley Cuoco has reflected on how her character was sexualised on The Big Bang Theory.

Cuoco starred opposite Jim Parsons and Johnny Galecki as “cute girl next door” Penny on the hugely popular CBS sitcom across its 12 seasons, which ran from 2007 to 2019.

The 35-year-old recently opened up about the role and how Penny became less sexualised as the series went on.

“I started Big Bang at 21 years old,” she told W Magazine as per Digital Spy. “I was the cute girl next door to the nerds. It was all about booty shorts, Juicy Couture zip-ups.”

She continued: “And as the years went on – Penny grows up, Kaley grows up – all of a sudden it’s like, ‘Can I have a long sleeve shirt? How about a slack? How about a loafer? I never wanna see that high heel again!’”

The actor added that she had “every colour of the Uggs” that her character commonly wore.

“I don’t think it was hard to wear that stuff and be funny, I think,” said Cuoco. “I love being funny no matter what. I think even that was kind of self-deprecating.”

The Flight Attendant star continued: “And also that was so long ago. When I think about how many years ago that was... it was a different time.”

(CBS Television Distribution)

“Also, by the way, at 21 I was hot,” she said. “I wanted to show that stuff off. You would not catch me dead in a sexy cat costume now! I just had a litter of kittens – never doing that again.”

Since the conclusion of The Big Bang Theory, Cuoco has gone on to star in HBO’s recent series The Flight Attendant, for which she was nominated for her first Golden Globe award.

She also voices the titular character in DC’s critically acclaimed animated series Harley Quinn.