Laurie Metcalf

Laurie Metcalf plays Sheldon's mother Mary Cooper in The Big Bang Theory. Her brisk delivery and practical confidence make Mary one of the few people who can interrupt Sheldon's elaborate reasoning without being drawn into it. Metcalf makes that authority feel thoroughly familiar rather than theatrical.

She became widely known as Jackie Harris in Roseanne and continued the role in The Conners. Her career also includes the voice of Andy's mother in the Toy Story films and Marion McPherson in Lady Bird. On stage, she has a long association with Steppenwolf and won Tony Awards for A Doll's House, Part 2 and Three Tall Women.

Within television, her work ranges from Nanny G in Frasier to Sarah in Horace and Pete and Phyllis Gardner in The Dropout. Her guest appearance in Grey's Anatomy is another example of a career that moves comfortably between comedy and drama.