American actress Sara Gilbert was born on January 29, 1975 in Santa Monica, California. She was exposed to acting at a young age; her adoptive half-siblings, Melissa and Jonathan Gilbert, starred in Little House on the Prairie. When Melissa got a plaque on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Sara decided to become an actress too; she legally changed her surname to Gilbert in 1984 (she was born Sara Abeles) and pursued an acting career.
After roles in several television movies and commercials, Gilbert got her break when she signed on for the sitcom Roseanne. Throughout the show’s nine-year run, from 1988, she played the role of Darlene Connor, the middle daughter of Roseanne (Roseanne Barr) and Dan Connor (John Goodman). Among the children, she is the most similar to her mother, with a knack for manipulating others and sarcastic one-liners. Her contribution to the series was considered important by the producers, that they did everything to allow her to study art at Yale University while keeping her in the show. In 1997—the same year Roseanne ended—she graduated with honors.
Gilbert appeared as a regular in several other television series afterwards. She was part of the short-lived comedies Welcome to New York and Twins, and also snagged recurring roles in The Class and the medical drama ER. She was also a guest on 24 and Will & Grace. In 2007, she joined the cast of the comedy The Big Bang Theory, which reunited her with Roseanne co-star Johnny Galecki (who played her longtime boyfriend and husband David Healy on the long-running sitcom). She played the role of Leslie Winkle, a physicist who always uses the lab for inappropriate purposes. Leonard (Galecki) always tries to ask her out, and the two’s friendship with benefits has become a focal point of the series.