Sara Gilbert is an American actress, best known for her role as Darlene Conner on the
ABC sitcom Roseanne from 1988 to 1997, as co-host and creator of the daytime talk show
The Talk and for her recurring role as Leslie Winkle on CBS's The Big Bang Theory.
Early life Gilbert was born Sara Rebecca Abeles in Santa
Monica, California.
Her parents are Barbara Crane and Harold Abeles.
Her two older half-siblings, Melissa Gilbert and Jonathan Gilbert, were stars of Little
House on the Prairie.
Television career Gilbert decided at age six that she wanted
to be an actress after her older sister, Melissa Gilbert, got a plaque on the Hollywood Walk
of Fame.
Following appearances in television movies and a commercial for Kool Aid, at thirteen
she landed the role of Darlene Conner, the sarcastic middle child, in Roseanne.
Sara was a cast member in the show's nine-year run from 1988 to 1997, for which she wrote
a fourth-season episode story called "Don't Make Me Over".
Her contribution was considered so important to Roseanne that the show's producers juggled
storylines and taping schedules to allow her to study at Yale University while remaining
in the cast, shooting remote segments of Darlene at a soundstage in New York.
At Yale, she majored in art with an emphasis on photography; she graduated with honors
in 1997.
Gilbert has appeared on The Simpsons, 24, Will & Grace, Law and Order: Special Victims
Unit and Private Practice.
Starting in 2004, she had a recurring role as smart but sarcastic medical student Jane
Figler on the long-running hospital drama ER; her appearances spanned seasons 11-13.
She returned to prime time television in the fall of 2005 in the sitcom Twins on The WB
network.
The sitcom was canceled after one season, when the WB and UPN networks merged as The
CW and dropped a number of shows.
She also had a recurring role on the short-lived CBS sitcom The Class as Fern Velch.
From 2007 to 2010 she has appeared in episodes of the CBS TV series The Big Bang Theory as
Leslie Winkle, a scientist friend of Leonard Hofstadter played by Johnny Galecki, who had
previously played Gilbert's love interest David Healy on Roseanne.
In the second episode of the second season of The Big Bang Theory, Gilbert was elevated
to the show's main cast, portraying again a potential love interest of Galecki's character,
and at one point a love interest to Howard Wolowitz.
By January 2009, it was announced that the writers did not know how to write for her
character full-time and her status was reduced from regular to recurring.
Gilbert is a co-host and executive producer of The Talk, a talk show that premiered October
18, 2010.
Gilbert appears alongside Julie Chen, Sharon Osbourne, Sheryl Underwood and Aisha Tyler.
Film career Gilbert appeared in two films alongside Drew
Barrymore, in Poison Ivy in 1992 and Riding In Cars With Boys in 2001.
Gilbert also had a feature role in Light It Up in 1999.
She has had several minor roles following Roseanne, including short film $30 as part
of the Boys Life 3 feature, and High Fidelity.
She directed her short film Persona Non Grata in 1998.
Personal life As a teenager, she dated her Roseanne co-star
Johnny Galecki.
During that relationship she realized she was a lesbian.
She remains good friends with Galecki.
In 2001, Gilbert began a relationship with TV producer Allison Adler.
They have two children—a son, Levi Hank, born to Adler in October 2004, and a daughter,
Sawyer, born to Gilbert on August 2, 2007.
Gilbert publicly came out as a lesbian in 2010.
Gilbert and Adler separated amicably in August 2011.
Following the breakup, Gilbert began a relationship with songwriter and former 4 Non Blondes frontwoman
Linda Perry.
Gilbert announced her engagement to Perry in April 2013.
Gilbert and Perry married on March 30, 2014.
Filmography Film
Television References
External links Sara Gilbert on Twitter
Sara Gilbert at the Internet Movie Database Sara Gilbert at the Internet Off-Broadway
Database Sara Gilbert at Emmys.com