Debbie Wolowitz

Mrs Wolowitz is the mother of Howard Wolowitz. She and Howard live together in the same house, but Howard prefers to say that his mother lives with him.

She is frequently featured in several of the show's episodes, but her presence is conspicuous only by her voice, as she is never seen on-screen. Based on verbal descriptions, however, depict her as an overweight woman, as she takes water aerobics classes for overweight people. Moreover, in The Hot Troll Deviation, she yelled at Howard that she was spilling out of her shrunken girdle like the Pillsbury doughboy, further confirming her excessive weight. She also wears a wig and fake eyebrows, and sports facial hair, including a mustache which she bleaches.

Mrs. Wolowitz was abandoned by Howard's dad when her son was 11, before then, they just stayed together in silence without saying a word or being drunk all the time, as mentioned in "The Grasshopper Experiment". In the flashback episode The Staircase Implementation, Mrs. Wolowitz had a younger, even louder and a very masculine voice, possibly on testosterone pills, that makes her get mistaken for Howard's dad. Howard promptly points out that with any more facial hair, she could actually become his dad.

Mrs. Wolowitz shouts at Howard whenever she talks to him, which leads to him shouting back at her. She and Howard usually have conversations from different rooms. Mrs. Wolowitz often talks to her son like he is still a child and isn't aware of his adult accomplishments, filling the cliche of a Jewish mother, referring to his colleagues and friends as "playmates" or "little friends".

Howard often makes references to his mother as being a "crazy old lady", but deep down, he is still attached to his mother, being such a Mama's Boy. The attachment, is primordial, as he relies on her to wash his clothes, as well as alimentary needs. Howard has no problems with this, as he gets to keep eating his old-time favorite childhood foods.

Her cooking skills are mixed. She is able to cook a brisket to the point where it just melts in the mouth. But she takes things beyond edible on Thanksgiving with her "tur-brisk-efil" (which is turkey stuffed with brisket stuffed with gefilte fish). Also, her meatloaf lacks breadcrumbs and has been used over the generations to test diverse plumbing systems, including Howard's famous "space toilet".

Howard's mother is rigorously Jewish. She evaluates Howard's partner choices vociferously (like insisting that the latter be Jewish too), but she does not take kindly to strangers taking control inside her house (as in her argument with Howard's partner, Christy in The Dumpling Paradox). Despite this, she stated in "The Engagement Reaction" that she likes Bernadette. Although, Bernadette is not Jewish, considering she went to Catholic School. Bernadette has developed some of the same personality quirks as Howard's mother including shouting like her when upset and mothering her finance.