Penny Hofstadter

"Not knowing is part of the fun."

- Penny to Sheldon

Penny (unknown last name neé Hofstadter) is one of the main characters of the sitcom The Big Bang Theory and is somewhat the deuteragonist and lead female for the first 3 seasons until later seasons in which Bernadette Maryann-Rostenkowski Wolowitz and Amy Farrah-Fowler were introduced in season 4.

Penny lives across the hall to Sheldon and Leonard (who would later became her husband) she also acts as the straight man at times in comparison to the Social Groups lack of foundational understanding and street smarts. Penny is also very sociable and normally goes out with her friends such as Bernadette and until later seasons, Amy.

Penny is also the most sexually experienced of the Social Group which is in contrast with Howard, Raj, Leonard and Sheldon who have limited to none sexually experienced. Sheldon also deduces in a date with Amy that she has had relations with 31 different men. Penny remains a talented, aspiring but ultimately unsuccessful actress. So far the only successful role she has had in a movie Killer Gorilla 2: Serial Ape-ist until she was fired, prompting her to rethink her entire life and ends up getting engaged to her boyfriend, Leonard. But she was re-hired off-screen. The movie was a cult following, she had her five minutes of fame. She switched career and works as a successful pharmaceutical rep.

She was portrayed by Kaley Cuoco.