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Mary Cooper (née Tucker[1]) is the mother of Sheldon Cooper, George Cooper Jr., and Missy Cooper and widow of George Cooper Sr.. She is a devout born-again Christian from East Texas. She was married for 20 years prior to her husband's passing in 1994, at least near 13 years before The Big Bang Theory began in September 2007. She is also the grandmother of Constance Cooper, Missy Cooper's son, and Leonard Cooper, in addition to being the sister of Carl and Edward. As of "The Bow Tie Asymmetry", she is the mother-in-law of Amy Farrah Fowler.

Biography[]

Early years[]

Mary was born on January 13, 1956 to Constance and Charlie Tucker. She has two brothers Carl Tucker and Edward Tucker.

Mary spent much of her youth as a typical smoking, drinking, promiscuous wild child. She had met George Cooper Sr. in 1974, while he was at the army and had gone to a bar. Later that night, they ended up sleeping together and she got pregnant with their first child George Jr.

When she was in labor with Sheldon and Missy, Missy's birth had some complications. Fearing that her only daughter would die on arrival, Mary vowed to end her previous promiscuous ways and turn to fundamentalist Christianity, as Meemaw explained to her granddaughter. (David, Goliath, and a Yoo-hoo from the Back)

Young Sheldon[]

Season 1[]

The first episode of the series starts with the family enjoying supper. Sheldon, Missy, and Mary attended church. She tells another participant to mind her own business since her children are making a nuisance of themselves. When Mary confides in George about her worries about Sheldon attending high school, George quickly calms her down. She takes Sheldon for a short walk outside. Sheldon wants his bowtie the next day, so she looks for it. George admits he had it, and she is dissatisfied with his revelation. She drives him to Medford High School and follows him for a bit. Mary, George, Ms. McElroy, Ms. Ingram, and Mr. Givens were summoned to Principal Petersen's office. They want his parents to send him to a private school, but they can't since they don't make enough money. She and her family pray and have dinner later that night. (Pilot (Young Sheldon))

Mary was at Medford High School keeping an eye on Sheldon because she was concerned about him. He doesn't have a friend, after all. A few days later, she invites Tam, Sheldon's new friend, for dinner. Another day, While Tam is over in their garage working on Rockets, She answers the door to 2 FBI agents asking to see Sheldon. She is confused and calls George over. (Rockets, Communists, and the Dewey Decimal System)

When Mary and George arrive home, Meemaw is babysitting. The next day, Mary goes to church and takes Sheldon with her. He later asks Pastor Jeff some questions about God. Later, she drives George to the hospital because he is experiencing chest pains. Mary waited at the waiting room. Meemaw comes in and the kids come in to hug her. A doctor comes out and say that George will be ok. (Poker, Faith, and Eggs)

Mary was rushing Sheldon through breakfast because they were going to be late. Sheldon choked on a sausage. A few weeks later, they took Sheldon to a psychiatrist Jeff Goetsch to see if he can help. (A Therapist, a Comic Book, and a Breakfast Sausage)

Mary, George, Georgie, Missy, Sheldon, and Meemaw were watching football at home. Tomorrow, she was watching the Wolves playing against another team. Later, Georgie was playing music too loud so she turned it off. Georgie defies his mother when he is told to clean his room, led to his grounding. At night, she tells him to go to bed. Then Tam came to the door to ask if Sheldon wanted to go to a party with him. She says he is in bed. Tomorrow, he got a B+ on a math test. So he tattled to her. (A Solar Calculator, a Game Ball, and a Cheerleader's Bosom)

Mary is at dinner with the family. Tomorrow, Sheldon is talking to Dorothy Fitzpatrick, the loan officer at The First National Bank of Medford, because he is interested in taking out a second mortgage. She hangs up the phone. Later, when she was picking Sheldon and Missy up from school, Sheldon asks her to take him to Radio Shack, but she says no. He keeps asking her, but she sticks to her guns. At night, Sheldon doesn't feel well and he thinks he has an ulcer. Tomorrow, they take him to a doctor. When Sheldon is done with his research, they send his papers to NASA, but the people from NASA don't reply so the whole family took a trip to Houston. (A Patch, a Modem, and a Zantac)

Mary is seated at the dinner table when Meemaw serves her smoked brisket. George requests the brisket recipe, but Meemaw writes, "Keep Dreaming Tubby  ❤️." He hands the piece of paper to Mary, who describes Meemaw as a horrible person. She then asks everyone to the church picnic. Later, Mary and George conflict. Missy was eavesdropping in, but she tricked them into thinking Georgie was eavesdropping. Mary is seen driving Sheldon, Missy, and Meemaw to the church picnic tomorrow. She returns home later that day and begins bickering with George once more. Mary and Meemaw were having coffee from Café Du Monde when George stormed in. Mary, George, and Meemaw were in the bible study room when Sheldon made Meemaw's brisket recipe public. (A Brisket, Voodoo, and Cannonball Run)

Mary is intrigued and happy that her husband, and two sons for deciding to go on a trip to Florida. AT night, she helps George pack, and asks if he fully knows his bathroom schedule, particular food liking, and finally a trick question about spaghetti. The next morning, she helps George put the items in the trunk in the car for their trip to Cape Canaveral. After the departure, she suggests going to a hair salon to get their hair done. She had talked to her mother at the hair salon, and they go home afterwards. (Cape Canaveral, Schrödinger's Cat, and Cyndi Lauper's Hair)

Mary made food for the family and asked about the test, and wanted to pray to God for a good grade. One night, she hears Sheldon thank Georgie for advice and is gratified that both brothers are getting along. Later on, she found out that Sheldon wrote excuse notes to get out of Physical education and confronted him about it. (Spock, Kirk, and Testicular Hernia)

Mary is summoned with her husband George to Principal Tom Petersen's office; There she is told that Sheldon is not challenged by the curriculum, bored in class, and is openly rude to his teachers. The principal suggests a private school at Wilmot Academy in Dallas. She is concerned because he is too young at nine years old. At night, Mary is saddened because Houston is 200 miles away, and knows it is a great opportunity. She accompanies him to Houston to meet the principal Flora Douglas, who makes an impression on Sheldon. At home, she packs things and takes them there. They drop Him off at her house where she also meets their husband; he is staying there because they are hosting him at the academy. In her view, the couple are stereotypical evil and thought the underground lab is a place of evil, but is reassured by her husband about the place at the dinner table. The resultant tension is broken by Miss, Georgie and Meemaw who talk about other early day. Later on, she is glad he came home. (An Eagle Feather, a String Bean, and an Eskimo)

At RadioShack, Mary tells Sheldon that they are unable to afford to purchase a new computer and they go home, even though the store clerk Matt makes a pitch. She tells George that she wants one for Sheldon to use for school, but is rebuffed that they cannot afford it. He was surprised when Mary had put money aside to use from various sources. In a fit of patch between her and George over their marriage, she moves the twins to Meemaw's place just to sooth things over with her husband. She denies her marriage is probably ending but acknowledges with Meemaw. She drives Sheldon an Missy home, and reveals she can get Sheldon a new computer. She and George reconcile the day later. (A Computer, a Plastic Pony, and a case of Beer)

Mary is summoned to the principal’s office again and is told Sheldon did something. At home, she thinks it is rather unfair. One night, she finds Sheldon watching news reporter Kimberly saying a flu is spreading after its origins from China, and tells them to sleep. She comforts him, and tells Sheldon to check his face mask, something that Missy had drawn on. Later after he is suspended, he finds Sheldon locked in the garage and wrapped everything in plastic. She fails to convince Sheldon to come, so she has Meemaw do so. (A Sneeze, Detention, and Sissy Spacek)

At a church event, Mary eats some food. She is offered a job and she wants to accept. She also is able to meet Selena, who is maried to Pastor Jeff. At home, she asked Meemaw whether she can watch the kids but is rebuffed. She talks to George about it and she tries at a joke, but fails. At the dinner table, she reveals to everyone that she accepted the job. At pastor Jeff’s office, she has done what it is needed and presents a paper on her thoughts of the church’s finances. She is then told that Selena is spending so much money and sees him as a bank account, and married him for money, and is told that he wants to see a divorce. (Potato Salad, a Broomstick, and Dad's Whiskey)

At the dinner table, she found out from Georgie that Sheldon supposedly has a girlfriend, but it Is just someone he liked. It apparently is Libby, a friend. Later, she talks to Meemaw and George about it, and she is impressed. Later on, she initially denies his request to go with her to the museum because she didn’t like his attitude. After Sheldon cleans the house top to bottom to channel his anger, and she confides in Meemaw, she comes around. She decides, to invite Libby to talk to her, and then allowed Sheldon to go to the museum. When Sheldon suddenly backs out, she talks and comforts him about it. (Dolomite, Apple Slices, and a Mystery Woman)

Mary accompanied Sheldon to the high school fair when he won 2nd place. When he protests against it, she leaves with him, and says sorry. At the dinner table, she asks Georgie and Missy about their day. Sheldon comes into the room and learns that he is quitting science. She gets concerned about it, and talks to her mother about it while cleaning dishes; she wants him to talk to a professional about it. At a bbq that night, she said enough o her mother’s talk about her roles in Oklahoma. She takes Sheldon to Dr Goeher, the therapist, and then waits for him outside; he comes out and notifies them that he plans on going into acting. Three weeks later, she goings to the school to see Sheldon participate in the play; she was puzzled why he was not in the play for the certain role.(Killer Asteroids, Oklahoma, and a Frizzy Hair Machine)

Mary called her family to get breakfast. She notices Sheldon wearing lot of bubble wrap in underneath because he wanted to learn Jiu Jitsu. She walked to Georgie, wakes him up, and asked if hew knew anything; Then she asks him to watch over his younger brother. Later on, she is told about the Sparks girl, and peeks in the fence to her but she was a sweet girl. The next day, Sheldon trips, and Mary patches up the bruise; and confronts George about the situation. She tried talking to Brenda about it at Medford Lanes where Brenda works, but left after not getting any information. (Jiu-Jitsu, Bubble Wrap, and Yoo-hoo)

Mary puts away laundry when she finds Missy reading Cosmopolitan magazine and is not happy with it. She takes it and Sheldon’s comics books. She goes to the owner of the comics store a piece of her mind about it. She finds Sheldon at the store and takes him home, angry at the fact that he reads those types of comics. Sheldon thinks he should be treated as an adult so she does so. She refuses to sign a permission form because he is an adult; refuses to kiss Sheldon at night, and tells him that an application to Harvard costs money. As she makes food, a storm warning forces them to go inside and hide in the bathroom. They use Georgie's mattress as a cover against the bathroom windows (A Mother, a Child, and a Blue Man's Backside).

At dinner, Mary prays for the family as they eat dinner. Mary asks why his son Sheldon does not want to attend high school anymore, and how will he get to East Texas Tech. She is ok with him going there. (Gluons, Guacamole, and the Color Purple)

Mary is in the kitchen when she hears a knock on the door; it is Dr. John Sturgis and Sheldon had invited him for dinner. As Sheldon talks to Sturgis, Mary tells him to give a chance so he can talk to Meemaw. Later, she had to tell Georgie that he was a premature baby, even though she lied to him about it; she in fact was pregnant with him when she married George. She later tells him that he did not have to spend time in the hospital as a premature baby because he had a great set of hair on his head. She prays to the Lord that she will tell him the truth when he is 30 years old. After Sturgis stays the night at Meemaw’s house, Sheldon sees them having stayed over, so he tells his parents. (Summer Sausage, a Pocket Poncho, and Tony Danza)

Mary talks to her mother about Meemaw's “playing the field” with Dr. Sturgis and Ira at the same time although she thinks it is not very Christian. Mary later catches Sheldon watching Meemaw with Ira and stops him from calling Dr. Sturgis about it. She had to explain to him that Meemaw is a single lady and and that they have to stay out of it. (Vanilla Ice Cream, Gentlemen Callers, and a Dinette Set)

Season 2[]

Mary is not happy that Sheldon started to change the refrigerator. They try to call a mechanic, but the mechanic says that the price costs $200. As Sheldon get a job delivering newspaper, she drives along to watch him progress throughout the neighborhood. (A High-Pitched Buzz and Training Wheels)

When Sheldon realizes that there is another prodigy, Mary meets Paige's parents and ask about their experience in raising a prodigy. They invite them over, and they talk. Drinking beer, they connect over how intense their kids are with respect to academics. She learns from Paige's parents she is more sociable and not difficult. (A Rival Prodigy and Sir Isaac Neutron)

Mary is at home when she receives a call telling her that Stephanie Hanson’s daughter died in a car accident. Feeling distraught, she and George attend the funeral. Feeling a crisis of faith, she decides to pay a visit to Pastor Jeff. She talks to Peg the receptionist, before she is let into the office where Pastor Jeff talks about ways to improve her morale. Over the next week, she forms a religious meeting of people, created a faith garden, and hopes things are for the better, prays for Sheldon before he goes to sleep, and is a bit happier. On Saturday, she and Meemaw decide to head over to a bar and have some fun drinking beer and have a good time. She is reminded that she got pregnant when she went on a date with George and had to get married, so she does not get ostracized in society. She reconciles her faith and attends church again on Sunday; there she is horrified that even her mother dares to raise her hand so Sheldon can ask a question for Pastor Jeff. (A Crisis of Faith and Octopus Aliens)

When Halloween arrives, Pastor Jeff asks Mary take over responsibilities of a creation of a Hell House that year; the previous year had generated bad press and did not achieve its goal of showing Christian responsibility. Mary goes to the school theater teacher Gene Lundy, who helps put up a Heck House. She goes to the local real estate agent none other than Fred Murphy and asks them to rent a house for that day; he agrees only if he gets a role in the play. Mary agrees that he gets the role of Lust.

Meanwhile, Mary sets up a heaven section where she is an angel, hoping someone comes to salvation. During the event, she wanted Lundy to actually show salvation from God of their sins but is rebuffed. Later in the evening, her heaven presentation is validated when Veronica Duncan comes in and begs for forgiveness while dedicating the rest of her life as a Christian. (Seven Deadly Sins and a Small Carl Sagan)

One day, she goes to the Church to see Pastor Jeff. She talks a bit with Peg and notices he coughs a lot. She goes in and talks to Jeff, telling him to go home or see a doctor. She is given the responsibility to act as a marriage counselor while he recovers. Mary waits for the Walkers and tells them they are in good hands. At home, Mary excitedly tells George about her new in-charge role and her maiden marriage counseling. Simultaneously, Mary comes back and breaks the news of visiting a shut-in coyly, grabs a bun and rushes back in. At night, Mary visits the shut-in to bring dinner for Mr. Gilford who's a loner and not a big fan of conversations. After he's had his meal, Mary cleans up the wrappers and sits to keep him company. He is surprised she wants to stick around and questions her on the same. Mary starts quoting scriptures which suggest people must look after fellow men and how it's their duty. Mr. Gilford seems irritated as women don't preach in church and doesn't want to hear her recite The Bible. Offended, Mary corrects him that she's not in church as she's rather in his disgusting living room. He looks around the ghetto space, as it is true! At the church office, Mary is searching for binder clips and soon Jeff returns, looking sick and exhausted. Mary asks why's he not resting at home. He blames his unhappy marriage and deviates the dialogue to how she's been holding up. She gives a positive report about the Walkers who'll be multiplying soon and grimaces upon remembering her shut-in visit. Jeff asks her to give Mr. Gilford a pass after all he's been through having been a genuine war hero. Mary feels sorry and takes permission to give him another visit at the shut-in. This time: however, she's alarmed as no one answers her repeated knocks at his door. Walking in with the food, she discovers he is deceased. The police come in and take care of things. Next Sunday. Pastor Jeff invites Mary to come speak at the dais. She speaks about Mr. Gilford- the 45 years of his glorious married life, his family, his service to the country in the army and his unapologetic love for the Dallas Cowboys. She invites the congregation to join her celebrate his life at the American legion and ends her speech asking for volunteers who'd help her sort of Mr. Gilford's house. (A Math Emergency and Perky Palms)

She was told by George about a missing check. She went to her mother's house to ask her about the DWI (Driving While Intoxicated). She goes back home and tells George that he must live at her home for a few days. Later on, Meemaw calls her with the knowledge that George once urinated on the church garden and she had eaten those same vegetables. (A Financial Secret and Fish Sauce)

At church, Jeff shows Mary of a video where the church’s Halloween’s Hell House was show on television, and was criticized. Jeff wants her to be in charge of it this year and create a more “family friendly” version. She accepts and later at home, tells family about the changes she will make; she assures Missy that it still will be scary, while excusing the blood and gore. She managed to convince Gene Lundy, who is a teacher at Medford High School and a realtor, to use an empty house as a "Heck House." On Halloween, she pulls off the Heck House to immense popularity. One person wanted to be saved and turns out it was Veronica Duncan. (Seven Deadly Sins and a Small Carl Sagan) In the kitchen, Mary and Meemaw are preparing dinner. Sheldon comes in and asks if anyone can drive him to a lecture on carbon dating this upcoming Saturday at the Natural Science Museum. She sees Meemaw had set up her yard sale and is surprised at how much of her late father’s stuff is being sold off; it included his first attempted at taxidermy. She had noticed stuff like golf clubs, shoes, and clothes, and pipes, and is told to go back home because it is just stuff to sell. Later at home, she is cuddled by George and is told what Sheldon did; she is surprised that George is proud of what Sheldon has done. (Carbon Dating and a Stuffed Raccoon)

Mary is asked by Georgie if he is ok to have a part time job., and reluctantly agrees to it. Later that night, she collects Sheldon from Meemaw’s house as it is his bed time. Sometime later, Mary takes Georgie to school because she wanted a momentary break from Sheldon.(An 8-Bit Princess and a Flat Tire Genius) At night, as George and Mary climb into bed, Mary is told that he is offered a job in Oklahoma, but argues with it, but he wants he to support him. Their conversation is overheard by Sheldon in his room. In the kitchen, Dr. John Sturgis thanks Mary for inviting him to Thanksgiving dinner. John admits that he spent the previous Thanksgiving alone, eating a turkey sandwich. Back inside, as they set the table for Thanksgiving dinner, Mary asks Meemaw to help her out. Mary wants her mother to express during dinner how bad she would feel if the family moved away and she couldn’t see so much of her grandkids. At dinner, Mary says they should go around the table and say what they’re thankful for. Mary says she’s thankful for being surrounded by her family and goes on to list the benefits of where they live now. When they finally get to George, Mary asks if they’re really going to have this debate now, but gets upset that George wants to twist the kids in his favour. She ends the conversation there and they have a quiet dinner. She is asked if she wants to make the decision for him, but wants to say she is doing it for all of them. Later, Meemaw comforts Mary in her bedroom, who sobs about the situation. She argues with George about getting a Red Fiero, but he drives off. Sheldon asks her where George is, and she tells everyone that he went to the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma for a job interview. When he comes home and tells the news that he declined the job offer, she was incredulous at first but is accepting at the news. (Family Dynamics and a Red Fiero)

Mary with Meemaw take Sheldon to a mall where she and Meemaw shop for shoes. Sheldon is fussy for items. There they encounter Paige and Linda, her mother. She allows Missy to go with Paige to the Hello Kitty store. On their way home, She is ok with Missy having Paige over for a sleepover, and she agrees with it. (A Stunted Childhood and a Can of Fancy Mixed Nuts)

Season 3[]

Mary enters Sheldon's room to see him conducting an experiment similar to what Nikola Tesla speculated. Later, she is talking to her mother at the breakfast table and learns that Dr. Sturgis is in a psychiatric hospital. She later sees Sheldon talking about subatomic particles and tries to talk to him about potential mental illness. She gets some books about it and is embarrassed during the checkout. (Quirky Eggheads and Texas Snow Globes)

Meemaw is talking to Mary at the food table about John Sturgis. She is concerned about him. Later on, George knocks on her door to pitch a snow globe, but does not want one. She encourages him to find others. (Quirky Eggheads and Texas Snow Globes)

Season 4[]

Mary drives home when Missy asks about a school dance, but rebuffs her because they are Baptists. Later on, she is told by Missy of a Bible quote, but then tells her that she cannot do that because it is from the film "Footloose", and it was warned against by Pastor Jeff. As a result, she storms to ask of Georgie showed Missy the film, to which he had said no. Later, after some thought, she went to Missy's door and said she will allow her to do so. She tries to open the door. (Crappy Frozen Ice Cream and an Organ Grinder's Monkey)

Mary is concerned for her mother and son. She wants to drive Sheldon to school, but he panics and goes back home. She tries to talk to him but think he is having a panic attack. She goes to work, and talks briefly to Jeff. Meemaw calls her asking for the Church Shuttle, and is joking told about the Geezer shuttle; she gives the number. Soon enough, she goes home, and sees Lucas from Lindon Telecom working in Sheldon's room. She asks what is going on and is told that Sheldon manipulated Linda into installing a dedicated phone line from their home to the college servers. She is not too thrilled. She later receives a call from Linda Hagemeyer and tells her that she wants to raise her kid her own way. (The Geezer Bus and a New Model for Education).

When Sheldon goes crazy about Paige being recruited to East Texas Tech, Missy taunts Sheldon and says he likes her. She asks several questions and got into his head about his liking Paige. Later, she tells Sheldon that he has a crush on her, despite denials from Sheldon. (A Second Prodigy and the Hottest Tips for Pouty Lips)

John Sturgis comes for dinner and everyone is having a good time. They explore alternate universes where members of the family are different. She imagined herself in a skimpy dress, drinking alcohol and going to the club later on. (A Black Hole)

She is summoned to Jeff's office where she is told about his new child. She offers to help Peg and herself to take on some new responsibilities after Jeff has some time off. When she asks Peg to do something, she is told that she is not “the boss around here” when Jeff is away. Later, she tells Peg that she is correct, and Peg is happy that Mary will do everything. She is told that she thinks she is better than everyone. Later at home, she is confused at Missy's behavior. She goes in and tells her to apologize to Sheldon; as a result, she tells Missy that she is grounded. She goes out and is very unhappy about the situation and frustrated at the fact that “she has to handle everything”. Feeling sad, she tells Georgie to make himself some food; she later receives some soup from Georgie. (The Wild and Woolly World of Nonlinear Dynamics)

Season 5[]

She was in a meeting with Jeff; he tells her to take some time off because they, as church leaders, need to set a good example. (White Trash, Holy Rollers and Punching People)

Season 6[]

Mary hears George talking on the house phone and asks who is it. She is told that her son Georgie and her mother were arrested at the border. She is concerned for Georgie but not so much about her mother, remarking that Meemaw had been in jail before. She wants things to be better. That night, she walks to Meemaw's house and meets Mandy, who was talking to Missy. She was surprised that Missy told Mandy lots of things. At night, she takes out the trash when she also sees Pastor Jeff take out the trash; she refuses to tell Jeff where he is, saying she can do it. Jeff hopes she will be at church there again; Jeff asked about Georgie and Mandy will be ok. She just directly says it's a bastard child. The next morning before church, she is at the breakfast table and Missy joins her for church. At church, she enters with Missy and Sheldon, well aware of the judgmental condescending stares she gets. She tries to hold hands with others, but is rebuffed by a woman. She immediately leaves; she had to tell Sheldon to leave after he tried to talk to the congregation. (Four Hundred Cartons of Undeclared Cigarettes and a Niblingo)

Everyone makes dinner and talks. Mary worked at the bowling Alley when she sees Pastor Rob there. She goes up to him and greets him, and is introduced to his girlfriend Shannon Dixon; Shannon reminds Mary that Mary used to babysit her and would like the liquor cabinet. Mary awkwardly leaves and talks to Brenda. Then she goes to work on administrative duties in the back office. There, Brenda and Mary bond and decide to go to a bar; Mary dances to the music. (Future Worf and the Margarita of the South Pacific)

Mary is given a copy of the book "Passion's Harvest" by Meemaw. She decides to read it and reads it in multiple places such as a park bench, the bathroom to the annoyance of Missy, and at work. She considers the book to be trash quality and decides that she can write better. She dreams of herself in an eye-catching dress at a bar with a man named Dusty and they go out to kiss. and upon doing so ends up arousing herself a bit too much with her writing. She had continued to write at the kitchen table, and George enters, breaking her out of the daze of writing. She ends up taking him to the bedroom and engage in sex with him. She later finishes the story and kisses Dusty. (Passion's Harvest and a Sheldocracy)

Mary one day is at the kitchen table when her daughter comes home. Missy is upset about boy trouble and Mary wants to talk about it; Missy retorts that the only boys she knows are Jesus and George, to Mary's surprise. Later, Georgie volunteers to help make food, and she is impressed. At night, she goes to get the groceries and asks George to help get them. Soon enough, she is shocked by Missy's disaster attempt at getting blonde hair. (Blonde Ambition and the Concept of Zero)

Mary receives a call from Sheldon asking if he can stay overnight in his dorm; she says yes. She later on entices George to have sex, as they are home alone for the moment; Missy comes home and tells them that she is home. The next morning, She kisses George, to Missy's disgust. When she is in the bedroom with George, she drunkenly tells him that she wants a new baby, but is rebuffed by George. (A Resident Advisor and the Word 'Sketchy')

At a dinner, Mary welcomes Mandy for stopping by. She tells Mandy to not answer Sheldon's inappropriate question. Later, she is fine with Wayne Wilkins sleeping on the coach. Sheldon later asks about social protocol because he wanted to watch television. (An Ugly Car, an Affair and Some Kickass Football)

Mary was in a meeting with President Hagemeyer. She and George decide to consult a contract lawyer to deal with it. Later on, she had to in a second meeting talk about it and then had to deal with Sheldon leaving the meeting and wanting to deal with it in his dorm. (Legalese and a Whole Hoo-Ha)

Mary wanted to fill the time on Sundays since she no longer has church. She decided on Pancake Sundays and asked her family if they wanted them; they were not able to do anything with her due to commitments. She later goes to Medford Lanes to talk to Brenda and she meets with Jill and Helen where they banter about certain stuff; one thing they are excited about is Brenda seeing someone. (Pancake Sunday and Textbook Flirting)

Mary is at home when Mandy comes in, wanting to stay a bit, and welcomes her. At night, she received a call from Heather's mother asking if she was there; She was surprised at this call, since Missy said she was at Heather's house. She waited with George until the next morning when Missy came home. She talked to Missy afterwards. (A Frat Party, a Sleepover and the Mother of All Blisters)

She has lunch with Pastor Rob. He was offered a job at First Baptist in Little Rock, Arkansas, and wanted to ask her for any life advice. She advises him to seek what his heart desires, something of which he lacks clarity, hence his seeking of advice. She goes to Medford Community Hospital since Mandy is there. She sees her George and Brenda talking and a little offput. She has an argument with him and Brenda because she is somewhat convinced he is possibly dating Brenda; Brenda says to not throw stones for those who live in glass houses. Mary is a bit unsatisfied, and is surprised Rob came as well, forcing to tell George that Rob and her had lunch. When Audrey and Jim come in, she tells them that Mandy is alone, to their consternation. In the delivery room, Georgie comes in and leaves to give them privacy. When she is told the name, she is overjoyed. (A Launch Party and a Whole Human Being)

At home, Mary holds her granddaughter, saying she is Nana, and that she gets to be that instead of Meemaw. At night, she stays at her mother's place.

One day, she gets called to Medford Middle School to pick up Missy for being disrespectful to Darlene Wilkins. At night, she comforts and gives a hug to Sheldon; Missy walks by and is dissatisfied by this act, causing her to flee. (Teen Angst and a Smart-Boy Walk of Shame)

She got home and asked George why his truck is not there. George looks outside and is not happy. She tries to tell police but realizes it was her daughter Missy. She called Linda, Paige's mother, and is convinced her daughter not Paige is responsible. She and George, and Linda, drive out to Louisiana to pick them up. On the way there, she talks to Linda and is convinced Missy did it, but Linda thinks Paige did it. George admits that he taught her how to drive a car. (A Stolen Truck and Going on the Lam)

Mary makes dinner and eats with the family. (A New Weather Girl and a Stay-at-Home Coddler)

At home, she asks George to get some items from the store, while she gets things ready at home. She talks to George about who should go, and it is determined she should accompany Sheldon. Sheldon reveals that Missy and Tonya went out at night and possibly plotting to rob a store at the mall. As a result, she calls Pastor Jeff, who picks up his niece. (A Romantic Getaway and a Germanic Meat-Based Diet)

Mary is excited for the engagement but tells Mandy and Georgie that se prefers if the wedding was after the summer, so Sheldon can be back to attend it. She went with the family to the airport, and wanted Missy to hug her brother good bye. She gets on the airplane with Sheldon. At the hotel in Germany, she calls home but does not receive an answer. (A Tornado, a 10-Hour Flight and a Darn Fine Ring)

Season 7[]

Mary arrives in Germany, when she gets informed about Meemaw’s house being destroyed, she tries to change her flight plan, Sheldon disagrees with it and lays down on the couch. Later, when she gets drunk at a bar, she goes to Sheldon’s grad school and embarrasses him. (A Wiener Schnitzel and Underwear in a Tree)

Mary finds out that Sheldon has a tutor, she goes to Sheldon’s room to inform him that his tutor’s there, it takes a while since Sheldon was feeling insecure. Later, she chuckles when his tutor hits Sheldon with a pencil and tells him that pain is the best teacher. (A Roulette Wheel and a Piano Playing Dog)

Mary has a fight with Sheldon about him wanting to explore Europe, the fight ends with Sheldon going to his room. Mary exchanges letters with George, with the both of them telling them about their experiences and what's happening. Later, Mary gets a call from Missy, she is shocked to find out that Sheldon lied to her and that he might be in trouble. When Sheldon gets home, Mary tricks Sheldon into thinking that Sheldon got away with him lying. (A Strudel and a Hot American Boy Toy)

Mary falls for a church scam by Reverend Travis Lemon, whom, lures people into his church to "donate" money and when they do it comes back to them ten-fold, Mary donates $50 and ends up getting $800 in tax return money, but, in a turn of events, when Mary is praying in her prayer den, a crow poops on her head and she ends up contracting pink-eye from it, and later, she sees someone (Missy and Billy) throw a party and is angry she wasn't invited she goes in her car which doesn’t start, she kicks the tire and ends up breaking her toe, and while George is comforting her in the living room, he makes a joke about her which makes Mary go into her room, but when she stood up to do so, she gets hit by a firework in her bottom, she then goes to Pastor Jeff's house to inform him that she's going back and to not look at her butt. (A Frankenstein's Monster and a Crazy Church Guy)

Mary comes home from Germany after dealing with Sheldon's complaining, when she goes in bed with George, she reveals she has a surprise for him. In the morning, she goes to George's football practice bringing food to which she has fun riding the sleds, when she asks George if she can become a "team mom", George makes an excuse about turning the players into "monsters" and immediately sprints away bringing Mary's stuff into the car. Later, Mary reveals the surprise, it turns out to be a role play custom for George, Sheldon arrives home and walks in on them in their room. (Ants on a Log and a Cheating Winker)

Mary's rival relationship with Audrey continues, having it affected Mandy's wedding, but, when Mandy says she's okay with being married in any type of church, in the morning, Mary immediately calls Pastor Jeff and baptizes CeeCee. Later, after having dinner with the McAllister's, Mary and Audrey reveals that they had just baptized CeeCee, Mandy gets mad at the both of them and goes to Dale's house to talk to Meemaw about it. (Baptists, Catholics and an Attempted Drowning)

The Big Bang Theory[]

Season 1[]

When Sheldon is fired for being rude to his new boss, Dr. Eric Gablehauser, Mary comes to help after being called by Leonard when he resorts to odd activities to pass the time. At first, she tries to coax him into apologizing, but then she tells him off about his superior attitude and makes him apologize. She goes with him and Dr. Gablehauser admittedly develops an attraction to her (she quickly points out her husband is dead). Sheldon ends up getting his job back without really apologizing.

Season 2[]

Mary is absent in Season 2 but was mentioned in a few episodes.

When Sheldon banishes Penny from the apartment. Leonard, who witnessed the whole incident, decides to put an end to this war by giving Penny what he describes as Sheldon's Kryptonite: his mother's phone number. She suddenly calls him and forces him to apologize to Penny. (The Panty Piñata Polarization)

When Leonard's mother Beverly visits and goes to the toilet, Leonard and Sheldon discuss their mothers. After Sheldon expresses admiration for Leonard's mother, he reveals that Mary once hit him with a Bible because he wouldn't eat his Brussels sprouts. Leonard says that Sheldon doesn't give his mother enough credit and that she's warm, loving, and doesn't glue electrodes to people's heads to measure their brain waves while potty-training. (The Maternal Capacitance)

Season 3[]

Sheldon goes to his hometown in Texas when his friends damage his career. She welcomes him back, though she starts to irritate him with her religious quirks. He irritates her by being arrogant. The guys show up to take him back, and he agrees only when his mother starts up again with her religious beliefs on evolution. She admits to being happy he is leaving, commenting, "Don't tell me prayer never works!"

Season 4[]

Sheldon meets a new friend named Amy, who is the female version of him. They have a falling out when they disagree on whose career is better and Sheldon lapses into an odd depression where he buys multiple cats. Mary comes and tricks the two into making up by using reverse psychology. She makes it seem she is happy the two split up and they rebel by mending their friendship.

Season 5[]

Mary comes to visit her son but ends up spending more time with his friends. She chooses to accompany his friends on a sightseeing trip of Hollywood rather than go with Sheldon to a lecture where he wants to embarrass Saul Perlmutter and to have her cook the meals that Sheldon wants her to prepare. Annoyed, he goes with Amy, but catches a cold when it rains. Becoming sick, Mary finally gives him attention and nurses him back to health.

Season 6[]

Mary was absent in all episodes in Season 6 but was mentioned a few times.

In "The Santa Simulation," it is revealed that her father died when Sheldon was 5 years old. At the Babybrook Mall in Galveston, Texas, that same year, Mary dragged Sheldon to the mall and plopped Sheldon on Santa's lap, and Sheldon said he wanted his grandfather back when asked what he wanted for Christmas, but this was denied, and this became the reason that Sheldon hates Christmas.

She is mentioned again in "The Bakersfield Expedition" where a policeman asks Leonard, Sheldon, Howard, and Raj if they need him to call someone and he guesses their moms, referring to Mary, Beverly, Mrs. Wolowitz, and Mrs. Koothrappali and Leonard responds "Thanks. But we got it covered."

Season 7[]

She was mentioned in "The Raiders Minimization." Sheldon said that she used to put hamster poop in his father's tobacco when he used to drink.

Sheldon visits Texas when his sister is having a baby in "The Cooper Extraction". Sheldon talks with his mother on his webcam broadcast. Mary is not seen on screen, only her voice is heard.

In "The Mommy Observation", Sheldon surprises his mother with a visit and catches her having sexual relations with her boyfriend. First, Sheldon condemns her for having coitus despite her Christian beliefs, so she sends him to his room. Howard, who was in Houston lecturing, tells him how he drove away his mother's boyfriend and how she has been lonely ever since. Sheldon decides to not stand in his mother's way of happiness, though he still chooses to condemn her internally. Also, he tries to have a talk with her about the birds and the bees.

Season 8[]

In "The Maternal Combustion," Mary Cooper finally meets Dr. Beverly Hofstadter, Leonard's mother. The two very different women start out as civil, but later quickly come to clash as Beverly insults and belittles Mary's strict religious beliefs and Mary in turn derides Beverly's cold attitude and her parenting beliefs. Mary is especially insulted when Beverly is left dumbstruck how a genius intellect like Sheldon could be born to a woman like her. After taking a break from each other, the two come to terms with the argument: Mary decides to forgive Beverly for her off-hand-ish ways and Beverly realizes that there is more than one way to raise a child. The two mothers make up, and Beverly tries unconditional loving by trying an awkward hug with Leonard.

Season 9[]

In "The Matrimonial Momentum," Sheldon is in his apartment calling her after his breakup with Amy. He regretfully informs her that Amy broke up with him and that he would like to send the engagement ring (which is an old family heirloom - it belonged to his great-grandmother) back to Texas. She tells him not to be too hasty - his sister Missy is already married, and she would rather Sheldon gave the ring to Amy than let his older brother George Jr. give it to his "whore of a girlfriend." Sheldon decides to hold on to it.

She reappears in "The Convergence Convergence" when Sheldon invites her to Leonard and Penny's re-wedding and without telling the bride and groom. She is picked up by Amy whom she is fond of and tells her to call her "Mary." Mary is not pleased to meet Beverly again, as they barely speak in the apartment. She also fights again with Beverly over the Bible. Mary becomes quite taken with Leonard's father Alfred and they bond over their dislike of Beverly, his charm, and his tolerance of others' beliefs and their admiration of each other's beliefs. Both of them excuse themselves early from dinner and appear to be hooking up at their hotel to the discomfort of Leonard and Sheldon, and to Penny's delight.

Season 10[]

In Mary's appearance in "The Conjugal Conjecture", it's revealed that she and Alfred merely had a simple conversation while at their hotel. Despite this, they still intend to see each other, much to Beverly, Leonard, and Sheldon's reluctance. Mary consoles Amy when she mistakenly thought that Sheldon would propose when he was giving a speech to Penny and Leonard. Afterwards, on the way to the airport, she teaches Amy how to make Sheldon treat her right. (Just add a little zing to it.)

In "The Holiday Summation," Sheldon and Amy visit her in Texas, where Sheldon is reluctant to tell her that they are living together, due to her religious beliefs. Sheldon is surprised that she couldn't be happier for them and also learns that she thought he would never find anyone. He is even more peeved when Amy had told her of the living arrangements ahead of time. Sheldon goes off and rebels, dressing like an idiot and getting an earring. Mary makes him take it out. Amy also learns that, even though Mary likes her, she does think that Amy is weird.

Season 11[]

Mary reappeared in the season premiere, "The Proposal Proposal", when Sheldon phoned her to tell her that he and Amy were engaged. Mary was happy for the both of them, but she was not surprised, as she had been praying for the two of them. Sheldon informed his mother that they would not be getting married in a church, which was okay with Mary, as she said anywhere Jesus is a church, and he'll be there in her heart. She was also quite surprised to hear that there was more than one woman interested in Sheldon and thought that she might've prayed a little too hard. After hanging up, Mary thanks the Lord for making the engagement happen, and that even though he (the Lord) can do miracles, that one was mighty impressive.

She reappeared in the "The Solo Oscillation," where she called Sheldon, who was annoyed by it, since he was trying to find something to work on.

In her last appearance on "The Bow Tie Asymmetry", Mary and her daughter Missy are picked up from the airport by Raj. She mentions that they had also been driven to the airport by an Indian fellow. Missy objected to her comment, in spite of the fact that it was barely even racist. Mary also is in denial that her daughter is also separated from her husband. Later at the wedding, when Mrs. Fowler wants to take her daughter away because she thinks that Sheldon has left her at the altar, Penny tells her to stop and that Sheldon would never hurt the woman he loves. Mary stands up and applauds Penny, who tells her to sit down too. Mary also tells Sheldon how proud she is of him, how she wishes her father was still here to see him and that her comment that "sometimes it's the imperfections in things that make things perfect" gives Sheldon an epiphany about his string theory work.

Season 12[]

Mary is only mentioned several times in Season 12.

Georgie and Mandy's First Marriage[]

Mary appears in the pilot. She comes to Georgie and Mandy's small home with Meemaw to deliver them some stuff. Upon arrival, she questions why they don’t come live with her and Meemaw thinks it's because they don’t like her which Mary takes as a joke but Meemaw is serious. When she goes to pick up CeeCee, she pushes her mother hand away to keep her from holding CeeCee and refuses to hand the baby over to her mother. She is shocked by the shaking of the house caused by passing trains. (The 6:10 to Lubbock)

Mary wanted Missy to go to a church thing at an event, but it caused a fuss that Georgie and to come home and help.(Some New York Nonsense)

Physical appearance[]

In "TBBT", Mary is an attractive, older woman with brown hair and blue eyes. She often wears dresses and necklaces in her appearances.

In "Young Sheldon", she still maintains the same look from TBBT, but with longer hair.

Personality[]

"I have no illusions about my mother. She is a kind, loving, religiously fanatical right-wing Texan with a slightly out-of-scale head and a mild Dr. Pepper addiction."
Sheldon Cooper, The Precious Fragmentation

Mary is very wise, intelligent, caring, kind, friendly, loving, and sweet-natured: she is very religious and at times, can be unwittingly bigoted - something Leonard occasionally has to point out to her. She appears to be an extremely good mother and is the only one who has ever been able to control Sheldon. Leonard describes her as Sheldon's "kryptonite." Sheldon describes Mary as being a "kind, loving, religiously fanatical, right-wing Texan, with a slightly out of scale head and a mild Dr. Pepper addiction." Sheldon also uses his mother to exact the point that he isn't crazy, as she had had him tested. Mary later confirmed the story, although with the caveat that she wished she'd "followed up with that specialist in Houston." It is shown in "The Rhinitis Revelation" that all of the gang like her very much, as she provides the attention and wisdom they did not receive from their own mothers (especially Leonard's mother).

She is called upon by both Leonard and Penny when Sheldon gets particularly difficult to handle.

She is also the complete opposite of Leonard's unpopular mother Beverly Hofstadter, who is narcissistic, unfriendly, unloving, unaffectionate, uncaring and does completely crazy things, like gluing electrodes to people's heads to measure their brain waves while potty training, and their parenting strategies are very different from each other's (Mary having unconditional love for Sheldon, and Beverly raising Leonard as a science experiment and having him try to achieve and having to make him earn her love and affection until after Beverly talks with Sheldon) that their respective sons prefer to have each other's mother for a mother, and the two women don't see eye-to-eye with anything and truly don't like each other.

She is also extremely wise and has handled situations with Sheldon. During her first meeting with Beverly, she was able to successfully pawn her and make her realize that her parenting skills are crap, which later got Beverly to realize that there is more than one way to raise a child and to make her shower Leonard with unconditional love.

Despite her extremely sweet and compassionate nature compared to most of the cast, Mary can be vicious when pushed - this is seen on several occasions between her and her son. It is seen most prominently when she sends Sheldon to his room, forces him to apologize for his extreme treatment of Penny (in which Leonard refers to Mary as his kryptonite), and memorably butts heads with Beverly Hofstadter. She doesn't suffer strong insults to her religion easily, and when Beverly contemptuously asks her if she could read another book than the Bible, Mary ferociously answers 'When God writes one, I will!' Despite this, it must be noted that, in the latter occasion, Mary was trying to state a petty argument between Beverly and her ex-husband Alfred.

As revealed by her eldest son George Cooper Jr., Mary was never an entirely perfect mother. This happens when George tells Leonard and the audience that, out of all her children, she is the proudest of Sheldon, even when George made all the sacrifices, took care of Mary and his sister Missy and had a successful business career in running a tire store after building it all on his own from scratch and becoming a successful businessman. She even calls him an idiot while calling his girlfriend a whore unworthy of a family ring. Nevertheless, in "The Sibling Realignment", she told Sheldon that she would only be at his wedding if he invited his brother but neither Mary and George said anything to each other at the wedding. She and Missy also seems to have a tense relationship, as she calls her (as well as her brother) "dumb as soup", in "The Luminous Fish Effect." During "The Bow Tie Asymmetry", they were seen arguing about Missy in Raj's car, she was not being good at all. Missy even took satisfaction at Mary being reprimanded when Mary stood up to applaud Penny for telling Mrs. Fowler to sit back down, Penny crossly tells Mary to sit down too. She even expressed surprise by Sheldon revealing in "The Proposal Proposal" that there was more than one woman interested in him, showing she how little confidence that she had in him. All this behavior proved that she actually shared with Beverly two traits: Parental favoritism and wanting the children to go into academic careers.

In Young Sheldon her personality was a lot different than in The Big Bang Theory. She is shown to sometimes be is very controlling and can be mean when provoked. She also inherited some of Sheldon's antics, she is very controlling, hates change, always thinking she is right and also criticizes people. She always thinks she is perfect or superior.

How Mary Cooper personality changed from the Big Bang Theory, possibly with her son Sheldon Cooper. Mostly she was devoted to him for too long, she lost her identity and when he left for graduate school in Caltech. She changed a lot into a nicer person, her hatred for George has also stemmed from his death, as revealed in "Funeral".

Appearances[]

Appearances

The Big Bang Theory Episodes
 1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Tot
Season 1 M M 1
Season 2 M M M M 0
Season 3 M M M M M 1
Season 4 M M M M M 1
Season 5 1
Season 6 M M M M M 0
Season 7 M M V 2
Season 8 1
Season 9 M M 2
Season 10 M M M M M M M 2
Season 11 M M M M M 3
Season 12 M M M M M 0

Appearances

Young Sheldon Episodes
 1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Tot
Season 1 22
Season 2 22
Season 3 21
Season 4 M 17
Season 5 22
Season 6 22
Season 7 14

Appearances

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage Episodes
 1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Tot
Season 1 2
Appeared M = Mentioned Did not appear Not aired/Not available
V = Voiced C = Cameo F = Flashback I = Indirectly mentioned P = Pictured

Quotes[]

"He gets his temper from his daddy. He’s got my eyes. All that science stuff, oh that comes from Jesus."
―Referring to Sheldon, The Luminous Fish Effect "I love the boy to death, but he has been difficult since he fell out of me at the Kmart."
―Referring to Sheldon, The Luminous Fish Effect "I made chicken. I hope that isn't one of the animals that you people think is magic."
―Talking to Raj, The Luminous Fish Effect "Oh, we will, you have to take your time with Sheldon. His father, God rest his soul, used to say to me, Mary, you have to take your time with Sheldon."
―Referring to Sheldon, The Luminous Fish Effect "Oh, [he was] not so wise. He once tried to fight a bobcat for some licorice."
―Talking about Sheldon's deceased father, The Luminous Fish Effect "You know how your daddy used to say that you could only fish for so long before you gotta throw a stick of dynamite in the water? Well I'm done fishin'!"
―Talking to Sheldon, The Luminous Fish Effect "Leonard, the Lord never gives us more than we can handle. Thankfully, He blessed me with two other children who are dumb as soup."
―Talking about Sheldon, The Luminous Fish Effect "He's not crazy, I had him tested as a child. Although I still feel I should have taken him to that expert in Houston."
―Talking about Sheldon, The Rhinitis Revelation "If I hadn't told my brother Stumpy not to clean the wood chipper by hand we'd still be calling him Edward!"
―Talking to Leonard, The Zazzy Substitution "What about you, Raj, is it? Oh, you still having trouble talking to the ladies? Because you know at our church, we have a woman who's an amazing healer. Mostly she does crutch and wheelchair people, but I bet she'd be willing to take a shot at whatever third world demon is running around inside of you."
―To Raj, The Electric Can Opener Fluctuation

"The Lord giveth and the Lord blowth away..."

--- Sheldon, referring to his mother's twin passions for God and Guns. The Rhinitis Revelation

Family[]

Relationships[]

Sheldon Cooper[]

Mary loves her son very much, and Sheldon loves his mother back, although Mary can become agitated by her son's rude behavior; she reprimanded Sheldon for hanging Penny's laundry on the telephone wires, scolded him for sexually condemning her. In "The Luminous Fish Effect", Mary said she loves Sheldon to death, but he had been difficult ever since he had fallen out of her at the K-mart. Her constant doting on him is likely the reason behind his antics, arrogance, selfishness and feeling to get whatever he wants. Mary did inherit some of Sheldon's antics like being controlling and hates change when he was younger. In Young Sheldon, Mary did favor Sheldon sometimes, but she doesn't cut him any slack and does punish him sometimes like the other siblings, In Young Sheldon her personality was a lot different than in The Big Bang Theory. In Young Sheldon, a little bit more about her is known. She is shown to have some of Sheldon's antics: Sometimes she is very controlling, hates change and can be mean. Mary also inherited some of more Sheldon's antics like being critical, thinking she is better than everyone else and sometimes she doesn't understand people's emotions.

George Cooper Sr.[]

Mary and her husband George, Sheldon's father, appeared to have had an imploding relationship and marriage. Sheldon claims that they fought all the time. It's revealed in the Season 10 episode "The Hot Tub Contamination" that George Sr. was cheating on her with another woman. Mary was well aware of this but did not seem to mind. In Young Sheldon, Mary and George are instead happily married, and fights are only brief and minor ones, which contradicts the cases in TBBT. In later seasons they have marital problems, they almost getting divorced but Mary was able to get them to spice things up in the bedroom. It also turns out her husband's supposed affair partner was actually her roleplaying.

Sheldon's Siblings[]

Mary's relationship with her other two children is somehow not very much explained. In "The Luminous Fish Effect," Mary describes the two of them to be "dumb as soup." It's possible that she may be on somewhat good terms with Missy as well as her husband and son. She and Missy seem to have a more tense relationship during "The Bow Tie Asymmetry"; however, she appears to not be on good terms with her other son George Jr. as in "The Matrimonial Momentum" as she calls him an idiot and calls his girlfriend a whore. Nevertheless, in "The Sibling Realignment", she told Sheldon that she would only be at his wedding if he invited his brother. George mentioned that even though he sacrificed for the family after his father died and he took care of the house, Mary is prouder of Sheldon than of him, even when he is also a successful businessman. But she still loves her son George Jr. and why she wants Sheldon to invite him to the wedding.

Leonard Hofstadter[]

Based on her maturity, reasonable behavior, and sweet, kind, caring, and loving nature, she appears to be Leonard's female equivalent. Leonard always likes Mary and looks up to her, as he always finds his own mother to be overbearing. Mary is essentially the mother Leonard wishes he had. In "The Convergence Convergence," Mary says that she has always had a special place in her heart for Leonard, taking care of Sheldon for years.

Penny[]

Penny really likes Mary Cooper, as the latter is very caring and sweet compared to many other characters. Penny also called her to tell her that Sheldon threw her clothes up on the telephone wires. When Mary comes for a visit in "The Maternal Combustion", she doesn't hesitate to give Penny a hug.

Amy Farrah Fowler[]

Mary was first seen with Amy in "The Zazzy Substitution" where she helps Sheldon and Amy get back together after the two had an argument. They weren't seen together again until "The Convergence Convergence," where Amy and Sheldon picked her up from the airport, where it is revealed that Mary is accepting of Amy and is fond of her, although it had already been revealed in "The Matrimonial Momentum" (S9E1) that Amy was in Mary's nightly prayers and in "The Meemaw Materialization" (S9E14) where Meemaw said that Mary is okay with Amy.

The rest of the group[]

Howard and Raj both particularly like Mary because she is such a nice woman. In "The Rhinitis Revelation," Mary comforted Raj when he was upset, and Howard was always getting along great with her. Mary also liked Howard and was amazed by his impending trip to the International Space Station, commenting on it as "a trip to the heavens."

Mary hadn't been seen with Bernadette and Stuart until the episode "The Conjugal Conjecture," but didn't talk to either of them, although she was shocked by Bernadette's shouting after she did it at Sheldon, and Mary hadn't heard Bernadette's squeaky voice, which was why Bernadette was absent from meeting her in "The Zazzy Substitution" and "The Rhinitis Revelation," which were two episodes Bernadette didn't appear in as a main cast member. It's likely that the two women would have a very good relationship, and Mary would be very sympathetic towards Bernadette and perhaps give her advice about raising children, since Bernadette had to take care of her younger siblings while her mother worked full-time. As for Stuart, it's likely she would have a good relationship with him too. Mary still hasn't met Emily and Leslie.

Beverly Hofstadter[]

Mary meets Leonard's mother Beverly Hofstadter and the two very different women started out as being civil, but later quickly came to clash after Beverly insulted Mary's religious beliefs while Mary in return berated Beverly for her cold and distant attitude towards Leonard. The appeared to make up; however, this peace is not maintained. In "The Convergence Convergence", it turns out that the two women have kept a true dislike of each other and when they meet up again, Mary is not happy to see Beverly again and Mary endś up bonding with Beverly's ex-husband Alfred over their mutual dislike of her and their admiration of each other's beliefs. At the restaurant during the rehearsal dinner, the mothers start a small argument about the Bible and reading other books.

Despite the two ladies' different beliefs, personalities and parenting styles, Mary shares with Beverly the habit of having a favorite child (Mary for Sheldon and Beverly for Leonard's brother and sister) and if they're successful. In the Young Sheldon episode "An 8-Bit Princess and a Flat Tire Genius", Mary is not appreciative towards Georgie's new job with tires, instead focusing more on academics, which is what makes her and Beverly similar. In Young Sheldon, Mary is similar to Beverly Hofstadter herself, as she may not have Beverly and Sheldon super intelligence, but she does have some of her personality, like Sheldon: sometimes, she is very controlling, hates change and can be mean. Mary also inherited some of more Sheldon's antics like being critical, thinking she is better than everyone else and sometimes she doesn't understand people's emotions.

Alfred Hofstadter[]

Mary meets Leonard's father Alfred Hofstadter in "The Convergence Convergence", and the two come quickly to get along great by bonding over their mutual dislike of Beverly and over expressing admiration of each other's beliefs. When they leave the restaurant after fighting with Beverly, they find out they are staying at the same hotel, and they decide to share a cab. Later, their respective sons aren't able to contact them, since they have obviously turned their phones off and are probably hooking up at their hotel. In the next episode, they admit to having not slept together, but plan on still seeing each other.

Trivia[]

  • Laurie Metcalf was a regular in the sitcom Roseanne, along with Johnny Galecki and Sara Gilbert. She played Sara's character's aunt.
  • She looks down on Catholicism.
  • She played Andy's mom in the Toy Story series which Leonard and Raj are a huge fans of. This creates a celebrity paradox; one of many to occur in this show.
    • When Leonard and his friends go to Texas to convince Sheldon to come back home with them, Raj wonders why Howard is wearing a ridiculous-looking cowboy hat he bought at the airport souvenir shop. When Howard says he must blend in, Raj's response is "Blend into what, Toy Story?" Laurie Metcalf voiced Mrs. Davis, the mother of the protagonist toys' owner in that film.
  • She also played a love interest for unworldly eccentric physics professor Dick Solomon in Third Rock From The Sun. Sheldon would not have approved: she was an English Literature professor and belonged firmly to the Inhumanities. Even worse than the religion...
  • Zoe Perry, who plays the younger version of Mary Cooper on the prequel series Young Sheldon, is the daughter of Laurie Metcalf. By coincidence, Perry also played a younger version of her mother's character in an episode of Roseanne.
  • Both Sheldon's and Leonard's mothers are fit for the other: Mary for Leonard and Beverly for Sheldon.
    • Due to Sheldon's and Leonard's mothers being fit for the other's child, Sheldon is jealous of Leonard's childhood and Leonard is jealous of Sheldon's childhood.
  • In "The Precious Fragmentation" Sheldon says she has a mild Dr. Pepper addiction. Her addiction to caffeine can be observed in "The Electric Can Opener Fluctuation" when she is seen drinking Pepsi.
  • In “The Bad Fish Paradigm” it is revealed that Mary secretly smokes in the car, she tells Sheldon to not tell his dad or anybody.
  • While not directly involving the character, In "The Cooper/Kripke Inversion", Sheldon is attempting to avoid going to work by faking illness. Leonard eventually convinces Sheldon to get dressed and get in the car by choosing similar words and a tone of voice Mary would have in the same situation. However, Leonard is unaware of why what he did was so effective.
  • It was planned that she would meet Beverly Hofstadter which would have caused mother envy between the two in Season 6, but the idea was dropped when they couldn't get the actresses together at the same time. However, this was then put into action in the penultimate Season 8 episode "The Maternal Combustion".
  • Sheldon wants Penny to take care of him like his mother did in "The Pancake Batter Anomaly", by singing to him and rubbing Vapor Rub on his chest. He does the same thing for Amy in "The Fish Guts Displacement".
  • Mary has met all of her son's friends but hadn't been seen with Bernadette and Stuart until "The Conjugal Conjecture", but didn't talk. She also still hasn't met Emily, Leslie or recurring character Claire.
  • Mary was the first parent of any main character to appear in the series.
  • Sheldon once stated, "Mom smokes in the car, but we can't tell Dad.", implying that Mary does or used to smoke secretly in the car and not tell her husband George about it, and presumably Sheldon must have somehow accidentally found out about it and Mary made him keep it a secret.
  • Mary and her husband George Cooper Sr. were unhappily married for a long time.
    • Young Sheldon proves they were happily married and were just in rut of frustration that improved with their sex life.
  • Mary had George Jr at 24 years old and had Sheldon and Missy at 29 years old. Rumor that she had George out of wedlock, so she had premarital sex.
  • Mary's comment to Sheldon before his wedding inspired his and Amy's Super Asymmetry theory, for which they received the Nobel Prize.
  • Throughout Season 12, Mary is frequently mentioned, but does not appear.
  • In A Docent, A Little Lady and a Bouncer Named Dalton revealed that Mary Cooper's favorite movie is Road House with Patrick Swayze. George Cooper Jr. is the only one who has learned this mother's secret.
    • When her husband saw this film, he said that Swayze was the spitting image of Georgie. This fact shocked Mary and opened her eyes that maybe she really loves men like her eldest son.
  • When Sheldon was a child, Mary Cooper drove a 1986 Mercury Colony Park station wagon, though when necessary, George drove it too.
  • Mary did inherit some of Sheldon antics like she hates change and sometimes controlling in Young Sheldon.
    • In Young Sheldon personality was a lot different that the Big Bang Theory. She is very controlling, critical, arrogant, and she hates change which are some of the traits Sheldon inherited especially as he got older. In the Big Bang Theory, she seemed wise, firm, but very kind.
    • In Young Sheldon she is a minor antagonist and anti-hero of the series. The Big Bang Theory she is nothing like what she was in Young Sheldon.
    • In Young Sheldon, Mary awfully contradicts herself by telling Sheldon that the comic books Sheldon bought were filled with violence and nudity, then proceeds to say comic books are for children (a shockingly false myth whose origins are still unknown), then she said he can have his comic books when he's 18. A further proof of Mary's hypocrisy and incoherence.
    • In Young Sheldon, Mary is shown to be a hypocrite at times as A Wiener Schnitzel and Underwear in a Tree, she lied to Sheldon that the family needs them even though Meemaw said they were doing fine.
    • In Young Sheldon, Mary is similar to Beverly Hofstadter herself despite not having Beverly and Sheldon's super intelligence.
  • Mary and Missy had an estranged relationship and never got along even after Sheldon moved to California for graduate school, George Jr leaving the house to begin his tire empire and George Sr passed away, Mostly their relationship still estranged and Missy rebelliousness was a lot worse when she becomes a teenager.

Gallery[]

References[]

Characters Main Leonard Hofstadter  ‧  Sheldon Cooper  ‧  Penny Hofstadter  ‧  Howard Wolowitz  ‧  Rajesh Koothrappali  ‧  Amy Farrah Fowler  ‧  Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz  ‧  Stuart Bloom  ‧ The Social Group  ‧ Emily Sweeney  ‧  Leslie Winkle
Recurring and Minor Debbie Wolowitz  ‧  Barry Kripke  ‧  Priya Koothrappali  ‧  Dr. V. M. Koothrappali  ‧  Mrs. Koothrappali  ‧  Stephanie Barnett  ‧  Lucy  ‧  Mary Cooper  ‧  Zack Johnson  ‧  Beverly Hofstadter  ‧  Mike Rostenkowski  ‧  Alex Jensen  ‧  Professor Proton  ‧  Missy Cooper  ‧  Ramona Nowitzki  ‧  Dan  ‧  Josh Wolowitz  ‧  Dennis Kim  ‧  Althea Davis  ‧  Jeanie  ‧  Cinnamon  ‧  Mrs. Rostenkowski  ‧  Wyatt  ‧  Claire  ‧  Kurt  ‧  Eric Gablehauser  ‧  Dave Gibbs  ‧  Dimitri  ‧  Alfred Hofstadter   ‧  Meemaw  ‧  Jimmy Speckerman  ‧  Susan  ‧  Randall  ‧  Bert Kibbler  ‧  President Siebert  ‧  Janine Davis  ‧  Richard Williams  ‧  Halley Wolowitz  ‧  Neil Michael Wolowitz  ‧  Denise  ‧  George Cooper Jr.   ‧  Larry Fowler  ‧  Anu  ‧  George Cooper Sr.  ‧  Marissa
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Young Sheldon Characters
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
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