Kaley Cuoco’s character Penny went through an unexpected change in The Big Bang Theory Season 8. Instead of her long blonde hair, the character was introduced with a Pixie cut, a change which initially comes as shocking not only to Sheldon but also to the fans.
The actress later addressed the short haircut, sharing that it was something she had always wanted to do. But none of her friends on the show liked the new look, as depicted in Season 10 of the show.
Kaley Cuoco’s Bold Hair Transformation on The Big Bang Theory
Before returning as Penny in The Big Bang Theory Season 8, Kaley Cuoco underwent a transformation for her role in the 2015 Indie drama Burning Bodhi and decided to chop her long blonde hair.
The new look did not receive a very positive response from the audience, who found it awful. The actress later shared details behind her decision during an appearance on The Ellen Show.
“I have wanted to do this for years,” she said, noting that due to her role in the sitcom, she could not move ahead with it. “My character is all about the long blonde hair, and it’s very specific,” Cuoco said.
However, after wrapping up Season 7, she told producers she was planning to cut her hair. The Emmy-nominated actress said that they probably assumed she would be getting a shoulder-length cut, but it ended up a lot shorter than expected.
I had said I was thinking of cutting my hair. I think they thought I was gonna cut it to here, which I did, and then it kept going to here, and it got shorter and shorter. Eventually, I said I wanted the Ellen cut, and they gave me what I wanted.
While the show’s creator Chuck Lorre was concerned initially, they chose to incorporate it into the storyline, mirroring the characters’ reactions to Penny’s new pixie cut with how most fans responded.
The Big Bang Theory Stars Did Not Like Penny’s Pixie Hair Cut
Chuck Lorre has admitted that he was quite concerned about introducing Kaley Cuoco’s Penny with a new look, especially due to past instances where such changes were poorly received by audiences.
While fans shared their displeasure with the new hairstyle, the show’s creators addressed their criticism in Episode 9 of Season 10, The Geology Elevation.
When Sheldon feels jealous of Bert’s grant for his geology research, Raj tries to comfort him by saying that jealousy is a common human emotion. And Amy’s (Mayim Bialik) bit for not feeling envious of Penny when she cut her hair off is a clear reference to fans’ criticism.
Even since I met Penny, I’ve been envious of her looks… That’s why I was so happy when you cut your hair off — You know what I mean. You were still hot but more like a, “Why’d that hot girl cut off all her hair?” hot.
When Penny asks everyone at the apartment if any of them liked her pixie haircut, everyone has a similar response with Bernadette, played by Melissa Rauch, saying, “I thought it was brave. Does that count as liking it?”
Despite the mixed reception from fans, the actress has expressed that she embraced the experience as a reflection of the unpredictable nature of the industry.
The Big Bang Theory is available to stream on Max.
