Brenda Sparks is the mother of Billy Sparks and Bobbi Sparks and ex-wife to Herschel Sparks. She appears in the series spinoff Young Sheldon where she is a neighbor of Sheldon and his family.
Character Overview[]
Young Sheldon[]
Brenda works at the bowling alley that Meemaw frequently goes to.
She constantly yells at and bosses around her husband Herschel. As George is bossed around by his wife Mary, this leads to the two men both bond over how they are often dominated by their wives.
Season 1[]
Brenda was at work when Mary came to talk to her about her daughter Bobbi Sparks. She tells Mary to not do it while she is at work. Later at night, while Herschel is in the chicken shed, she yells for him to come back inside. (Jiu-Jitsu, Bubble Wrap, and Yoo-hoo)
Season 2[]
When Sheldon was collecting payment for paper delivery, Brenda tips him a dime, Sheldon tells her that it doesn't seem like a big tip, Brenda tells her that he was late everyday and laughs at him. (A High-Pitched Buzz and Training Wheels)
Season 5[]
While George was at a dive bar, He saw Brenda and has a conversation, the conversation takes a turn and Brenda asks out George telling him that there’s nobody in her house, Brenda apologizes but George was having a heart attack. While at the hospital, she calls Mary and tells her that George had a heart attack, Mary thanks Brenda but Brenda tells her its no big deal. While George was fixing a radio, Brenda calls George and they talk over the fence, Brenda asks if its weird that she’s coming over for dinner, George tells her that he doesn't remember much as he had a lot to drink. Later, Mary tells George that Brenda can’t make it to dinner and that she’s bringing Brenda a dinner plate, George offers for him to take it and he does, George asks Brenda to talk about what happened, Brenda invites George and they chat. (One Bad Night and Chaos of Selfish Desires)
Season 6[]
Brenda worked at the bowling alley when she was asked if Mary can get a job there. She does get her a job. Afterwards, She was asked by George about working together. Brenda said it was weird meeting in the pig coop and that she did it as a favor to Mary.
At the bowling alley, Brenda talks to Mary about Pastor Rob, as he likes to bowl there after moving to town. She also reveals that Shannon Dixon, Rob's girlfriend, didn't come much but her first time. She later talks to Mary and bond in the back office, suggesting they go to a bar where Brenda encourages Mary to dance and gives her a thumbs up. (Future Worf and the Margarita of the South Pacific)
Brenda yells at Billy to not feed the chickens. George has concerns about their activity so she tells him about Billy. He is failing math and she hopes Sheldon can be his tutor in math so he won't fail the next math test and pass onto 7th grade. George agrees to ask Sheldon. (Blonde Ambition and the Concept of Zero)
Brenda is at Medford lane when Mary comes in. They talk and join Jill and Helen and talk about stuff. Brenda reveals she is seeing someone, but refuses to mention who it is. Later at home, George asks Brenda if it was him to which she denies it was him, but someone else. (Pancake Sunday and Textbook Flirting)
Brenda was at home when Sheldon Cooper asks her for help with Mandy because she is in labor. She drives them to the hospital. The doctor comes and she is forced to sit outside in the hallway where George finds her. Mary comes and she overhears the couple argue a bit and Mary subtly accuses her of having an affair with George. She reminds Mary that people in glass houses don't throw stones and reminds her about her relationship with Pastor Rob. She is later in the delivery room and leaves when Georgie comes in. During this entire time, her son Billy is with Missy at Medford Middle School, waiting for her to pick him up. (A Launch Party and a Whole Human Being)
Billy asked her for advice on asking someone out. She overhears him calling, and is curious at how it turns out. Later on, Missy confirms to her that when the girl replied back one day, it was insincere. (Little Green Men and a Fella's Marriage Proposal)
Season 7[]
Brenda goes away to visit her sister Sylvia, Brenda calls Billy and finds out he and Missy is throwing a party, Brenda says she's okay with it. (A Frankenstein's Monster and a Crazy Church Guy)
Brenda attends the funeral of George Sr. and meets Hubert Givens in line. She says he knew George because they are neighbors. When she asks how he knew George, he replied he taught science, to which he said "I'm sorry". Then, She says she is single. (Funeral)
Personality[]
Brenda is rather shrewish and bad-tempered. She and Mary clash often and she seems to have no redeeming qualities until season 4. Although, she reformed at the end of Season 3 and her and Mary became good friends.
Despite clashing with Mary, there are two moments where they sympathize with each other. In "A Party Invitation, Football Grapes and an Earth Chicken", Brenda and Mary acknowledge that they both have difficulty dealing with children that are considered strange and unpopular, Mary with Sheldon, and Brenda with Billy. The second time is in "A Secret Letter and a Lowly Disc of Processed Meat", where she catches Mary outside sulking and begins to mock her. But when she sees that Mary is genuinely distressed, she apologizes and invites Mary over for drinks where they talk about how they worry about their children's futures. Mary and Brenda did become friends and bonded in the end of season 3.
Appearances[]
Appearances[]
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Season 6 | M | 7 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Season 7 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage Episodes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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V = Voiced | C = Cameo | F = Flashback | I = Indirectly mentioned | P = Pictured |
Family[]
- Ex-Husband: Herschel Sparks
- Son: Billy Sparks
- Daughter: Bobbi Sparks
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- It is mentioned that she drinks a lot. In "An Academic Crime and a More Romantic Taco Bell", she organizes a meeting between all the baseball mothers, but it's really just an excuse to get drunk.
- She and her husband Herschel Sparks got divorced in season 4. Their relationship is similar to Mary and George’s relationship.
- In the Big Bang Theory episode "The Jiminy Conjecture" Sheldon refers to being chased into a tree by "Mrs. Riley's Chicken" as a child. It's possible that Mrs. Riley and her chicken served as the inspiration for Brenda and perhaps the Sparks family.
v · e · d Young Sheldon Characters
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Main Characters | Main | Sheldon Cooper ‧ Mary Cooper ‧ George Cooper Sr. ‧ George Cooper Jr. ‧ Missy Cooper ‧ Meemaw ‧ Jeff Difford ‧ Billy Sparks ‧ Amanda McAllister | |
Recurring and Minor Characters | John Sturgis ‧ Tam Nguyen ‧ Paige Swanson ‧ Veronica Duncan ‧ Brenda Sparks ‧ Herschel Sparks ‧ Victoria McElroy ‧ Evelyn Ingram ‧ Wayne Wilkins ‧ Hubert Givens ‧ Sheryl Hutchins ‧ Gene Lundy ‧ Tom Petersen ‧ Le Nguyen ‧ Trang Nguyen ‧ Mai Nguyen ‧ Kim-Ly Nguyen ‧ Barry Swanson ‧ Linda Swanson ‧ Erica Swanson ‧ Dale Ballard ‧ Selena ‧ Robin Difford ‧ Jana ‧ Marcus Larson ‧ June ‧ Grant Linkletter ‧ Linda Hagemeyer ‧ Pat ‧ Professor Boucher ‧ Jim McAllister ‧ Audrey McAllister ‧ Amber |