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Leonard Hofstadter - Leonard is arguably the most normal of the four guys on the show. He tries to be more social and less of a geek. He works as a physic professor at Cal Tech and shares an apartment with Sheldon. He dates Penny. Although he tries to hide his geek interests in scifi, comic books, gaming et al. he is just as into those things as his friends.

Sheldon Cooper - Sheldon is the alpha nerd in the group. He is the smartest and always has to be right and have the last word. He doesn't always understand normal human emotions and sometimes lacks empathy for others. He has a hard time understanding some types of humor, particularly sarcasm. Even though he is very smart, he lacks some real understanding about the real world. Like all of the guys on the show, Sheldon is a huge fan of Star Trek and comic books. He is a professor of physics at Cal Tech. He was a child prodigy and graduated early from school. He went to college very young as well. Amy is his girlfriend and Leonard is his best friend.

Penny - Penny is a waitress at the Cheescake Factory. She's originally from Nebraska and moved to California to pursue her dreams of becoming an actress. She is not as educated as the guys is frequently seen as dumb, yet she has more social skills and common sense. She dates Leonard, despite how different they are. She's trying to take classes now so she won't feel so stupid. Leonard has been good for her self-esteem. She pals around with the two other girls, Bernadette and Amy, and she also is friends with all of Leonard's guy friends.

Howard Wolowitz -  Howard likes to think of himself as a ladies' man, but he really comes over as completely creepy and weird when he hits on women. He lived with his mother until recently, and they have a creepy relationship. Howard is the only one of the men without a PhD. He has a Master's degree in Engineering and works in the same physics department as the others. Howard works on projects for NASA and went into space to the International Space Station. He married Bernadette, a microbiologist. Although all four guys are friends, Raj is Howard's best friend.

Raj Koothrappali - Like all of the guys here, Raj is very smart and works at CalTech in the Physics department (as an astrophysicist). He is extremely shy around women and has trouble talking to them unless he's drunk. Raj is from India and often says strange things that don't come out right. Raj and Howard are good friends. However,  since Howard got married, Raj has become close friends with comic book store owner Stuart.

Bernadette Rostenkowski - Bernadette worked with Penny as a waitress while she finished her Microbiology graduate degree. She is married to Howard, although they had a rocky road together before finally tying the knot before he went off into space. She has become friends with Penny and Amy, since they are all with the guys in the group.

Amy Farrah Fowler - Amy is dating Sheldon. She is a neuroscientist and very smart, like Sheldon, with some of the same lack of social skills. However, Amy wants a physical relationship, but Sheldon does not. Amy has had a crush on Penny as well.

Stuart Bloom - Stuart runs a comic book store in Pasadena that the guys visit often. He has become more a part of their group this season and is close to Raj. His background is design, not science, but he is smart and knows everything about comic books. Stuart has better social skills than most of them and dates more, but he often feels like a loser and is very lonely. When Howard went to space, Raj took his place in the group.

Mrs. Wolowitz is Howard's loud, obnoxious and over-bearing mother. We hear her raspy voice from another room, but we have never seen her. She is very needy and still treats Howard like he's a boy. She acts like the quintessential Jewish mother.  Although we've never seen her, she is described as quite large.

Priya Koothrappali - Priya is Raj's sister, a Harvard-trained lawyer.  She and Leonard used to date, and she returned to town in the 4th season. We also saw her some in the 5th season. She was very jealous of Penny and didn't approve of Leonard and Sheldon's co-habitating. She tried to keep her relationship with Leonard secret, since her parents didn't approve.

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Page updated 10/2/15