Mayim Bialik is an American actress and neuroscientist with a net worth of $20 million. Mayim Bialik first gained recognition for her portrayal of a young Bette Midler in the 1989 movie “Beaches.”
Today, she is famous for playing Blossom Russo on NBC’s “Blossom” and Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler on the CBS sitcom “The Big Bang Theory,” which is a role that earned her 4 Primetime Emmy nominations.
Mayim earned a Ph.D. in neuroscience in 2007 and even worked as a research professor before she went back to acting. Mayim Bialik often hosted “Jeopardy!” alongside Ken Jennings, after the death of Alex Trebek. Her salary for hosting Jeopardy was $1 million per season.
Big Bang Salary
For most of the middle seasons of “Big Bang”, Mayim earned $200,000 for each episode, translating to about $4.5 million per season.
In March 2017, the five main stars of the show agreed to each accept $100,000 less in salary to enable Mayim and Melissa Rauch to get a pay raise for the last two seasons. The main five dropped from $1 million per episode to $900,000. With that raise, Mayim and Melissa started earning $450,000 per episode, nearly $10 million for each of the final two seasons.
Mayim Bialik’s Early Life
Born Mayim Chaya Bialik on December 12, 1975, in San Diego, California, she is the sole child of Barry and Beverly. Hailing from a family of Jewish immigrants, Bialik was raised in Reform Judaism. In 2012, she identified herself as an “aspiring Modern Orthodox.”
Attending North Hollywood High School, Bialik graduated in 1993. Despite acting commitments causing a deferred acceptance, she pursued higher education at UCLA. Majoring in neuroscience with minors in Hebrew and Jewish studies, she obtained her B.S. degree in 2000. While initially studying for her doctorate, she took a hiatus in 2005 to focus on acting. In 2007, Bialik earned her Ph.D. in neuroscience from UCLA.
Acting Career
Bialik landed her first acting role in the 1988 horror film “Pumpkinhead,” and she featured in ‘Beaches’ in the same year. Between 1988 and 1990, she got guest roles on many popular television shows, including “Webster,” “Empty Nest,” “The Facts of Life,” “Doogie Howser, M.D.,” “MacGyver,” and “Murphy Brown,” and she featured in Michael Jackson’s “Liberian Girl” music video produced in 1989.
In 1990, Mayim gained widespread recognition through her role as Blossom Russo, a character that would make her a household name. The TV series “Blossom” ran until 1995, with 114 episodes. During her time on “Blossom,” Bialik also featured in Woody Allen’s 1994 TV movie, “Don’t Drink the Water,” and made guest appearances on “The John Larroquette Show” and the Lifetime anthology series “The Hidden Room.”
In the ten years after “Blossom” ended, Mayim lent her voice to many animated projects like “Hey Arnold!,” “The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest,” “Extreme Ghostbusters,” and “Kim Possible.” In 2005, Mayim embarked on a 3-episode arc on “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and made guest appearances on “Fat Actress,” “Bones,” and “The Secret Life of the American Teenager.”
Her breakthrough came in 2010 when she landed the role of neurobiologist Amy Farrah Fowler on “The Big Bang Theory.” Initially a guest star on the season 3 finale, Bialik’s role was elevated to a series regular in season 4. Running until 2019, “The Big Bang Theory” featured Bialik in 203 episodes.
Bialik featured in the films “Kalamazoo?” (2006) and “The Chicago 8” (2011). In 2019, she established Sad Clown Productions. Bialik serves as the star and executive producer of the Fox sitcom “Call Me Kat,” which premiered in the fall of 2020.
Making her directorial debut in 2022 with “As Sick As They Made Us,” Bialik wrote and starred in the film, alongside Dustin Hoffman, Candice Bergen, and “The Big Bang Theory” co-star Simon Helberg.
Writing Career
Mayim published her first book, “Beyond the Sling: A Real-Life Guide to Raising Confident, Loving Children the Attachment Parenting Way,” in 2012, and she then partnered with pediatrician Jay Gordon. Notably, Gordon wrote the introduction to “Beyond the Sling” and was involved in 2014’s “Mayim’s Vegan Table: More Than 100 Great-Tasting and Healthy Recipes from My Family to Yours.”
In 2017, Bialik published “Girling Up: How to be Strong, Smart and Spectacular,” followed by “Boying Up: How to be Brave, Bold and Brilliant” in 2018. “Girling Up” achieved the notable feat of reaching #1 on the “New York Times” Best Seller List. Additionally, Bialik has contributed writings to the Jewish parenting website Kveller. Her latest release, “Flash Facts,” came out in 2021.
Personal Life
Mayim met Michael Stone in a chemistry class at UCLA, and Stone, who was raised Mormon, converted to Judaism before they married on August 31, 2003. The couple got a son Miles on October 10, 2005, and gave him a brother, Frederick, on August 15, 2008. Michael and Mayim divorced in May 2013.
Bialik is a vocal proponent of attachment parenting, and was named a celebrity spokesperson for the Holistic Moms Network in 2009.
Mayim is a Zionist, feminist, and vegan, and she co-founded the Shamayim V’Aretz Institute, a Jewish nonprofit organization that is committed to veganism and animal advocacy. Bialik co-owned Los Angeles vegan restaurant Bodhi Bowl partnering with chef/longtime friend Ali Cruddas. However, the restaurant closed down in 2020 due to the pandemic.
In 2015, she launched the website Grok Nation, a place for people to come together and discuss modern issues.
Bialik, together with Ken Jennings, were confirmed as the replacement hosts for Mike Richards on “Jeopardy!” in July of 2022. Later in May 2023, Mayim stepped down temporarily to support the Writer’s Guild of America strike with Jennings taking over full time for the rest of Season 39.
Awards And Honors
In 1988, Bialik secured a Young Artist Award for Best Young Actress in a Motion Picture Comedy or Fantasy for her role in “Beaches.” Nominations followed in 1990 for guest-starring on “Empty Nest” and in 1992 and 1993 for her performance on “Blossom.”
Her role in “The Big Bang Theory” garnered Online Film Critics Society awards in 2012 and 2013, Critics’ Choice Television Awards in 2016 and 2018, and a Critics Choice Award from the Broadcast Film Critics Association in 2018.
In 2019, she received the Keter Shem Tov Award at the Jew in the City 6th Annual All Star Awards. Recognizing her contributions, Boston University bestowed upon Bialik an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters in 2014.
Real Estate
In 2004, Mayim Bialik paid $529,000 for a home in Studio City, CA. Today, the home is likely worth nearly $2 million.