Mrs. Fowler is the mother of Amy Farrah Fowler.
She appears briefly in "The Desperation Emanation" via webcam, where she speaks to Amy and meets Sheldon. Amy introduces him as her boyfriend and lies to her that they are having sex regularly. Mrs. Fowler is horrified by how bluntly they describe the frequency of their sex.
As a parent, she made a deal with her daughter to get her to do things. For example, in "The Robotic Manipulation", Amy says she agreed to date someone at least once a year in return for the use of her mother's George Foreman grill. Other words of wisdom from Mrs. Fowler include that playing hooky leads to addictions to reefers and jazz ("The Contractual Obligation Implementation") and that doing a puzzle is like having a thousand friends ("The Scavenger Vortex"). She wouldn't let Amy watch the movie "Grease" while growing up because she thought it would encourage her to join a gang ("The Rothman Disintegration").
In "The Bachelor Party Corrosion", Bernadette and Penny get Amy to call her mother to tell her that she broke up with Sheldon. When Amy beats around the bush, Penny grabs the phone and tells her that she just had her ears pierced, baked cookies in the shapes of penises, and broke up with Sheldon. Her mother sends Amy to Penny's closet, the same punishment that she put Amy through as a little girl.
She is the mother-in-law of Sheldon.
She physically appeared again in Season 11 finale "The Bow Tie Asymmetry" for her daughter's wedding. Penny picks the Fowlers up and Mrs. Fowler won't let her husband answer any questions and thinks her daughter is waiting for her to die to get her china. While visiting in Apartment 4A she adds that she wouldn't let Amy be in any school plays because actors only do drugs and have intercourse. Also she tells Amy that she shouldn't perform in videos (Fun with Flags) on the internet because she "knows what men do with them." Once the wedding is delayed, due to Sheldon and Amy off doing science, she wants to take Amy because she thinks Sheldon's stood Amy up. Penny tells her to sit down because Sheldon would never hurt her. Angered at being treated like a child, she demands that Larry defend her, but Larry instead just thanks Penny for finally putting his wife in her place.
In "The Conjugal Configuration", Larry is hiding out in Sheldon and Amy's apartment. Mrs. Fowler comes over demanding that her husband return. He decided to take a break from their marriage. His wife comes over to talk things over with Penny and decides that she is a good person and they should become friends. Penny marches over to 4B and demands that Larry go home.
In "The Consummation Deviation", Sheldon first tries to bond with Larry Fowler who is more interested in Howard's magic tricks. He then stops in on his mother-in-law. At first they find nothing in common until they both bond over being mad at Amy. She had claimed that she and Sheldon couldn't visit because of Sheldon. He found her delightful which probably thrilled Amy. The episode ends with Larry accidentally cutting himself.
Quotes[]
- "Larry, these are the people I'm gonna have to live with after you're dead!" (referring to Amy and Sheldon)
Trivia[]
- Annie O'Donnell also did the offstage voice of the mother of Dr. Oliver Lorvis in "The Misinterpretation Agitation". She also has worked with another guest star on The Big Bang Theory, Brent Spiner. In 1985–1987, she portrayed the wife of farmer Bob Wheeler in several episodes of Night Court before Brent Spiner is now Data on Star Trek: The Next Generation.
- Amy and her mother have an estranged relationship; they don't really get along very well, so they're not very close, using Sheldon as a reason as to why she doesn't visit much.
- Amy also has an aunt in Modesto, California and one on Bakersfield, California and a Flora.
- Every time Amy did something she deemed as a "sin", she put Amy in the "Sin closet".
- She hates putting ketchup on her eggs, although Amy and her husband does it.
- She doesn't really like magic.
- She and Sheldon seem to get along well, having shared some traits while they were bonding.
- She is similar to Beverly Hofstadter in the series.
- Kathy Bates originally portrayed Charlie Harper's ghost on Two and a Half Men.