The theoretical talk of Torah U’Madda that is ever present in Yeshiva University is put into practice every day for a frum actress in Hollywood. It’s not too often you hear “frum” and “actress” in the same sentence, but that has only invigorated the dynamic Mayim Bialik, former child star of Blossom and the current Amy Farrah Fowler on the popular CBS comedy, The Big Bang Theory. For Bialik, these two adjectives only brush the surface of who she is, when she navigates both the world of Judaism and the world of Hollywood. Bialik isn’t your typical starlet. She has a PhD in neuroscience from UCLA, published a novel on parenting, and continues doing advocacy work for many organizations. In addition to her career and hobbies, Bialik is the proud mother of two sons.
Clearly, Bialik’s life is jam packed right now. In this featured interview, Bialik explains her many fascinating roles- as a Jew, an actress, and a former Maccabeat star.
Observer: What was your Jewish upbringing like?
MB: My dad was raised assimilated. My mom had a lot of negative associations with Orthodoxy so she and my dad were pretty secular. I was raised traditionally- we had two sets of dishes in the house but my mom never explained why, we lit Shabbat candles, and I was bat mitzvahed.
Observer: At what point did you start becoming more religious?
MB: In college at UCLA I started getting a proper Jewish education- I started going to services regularly, and minored in Hebrew and Jewish studies so I was able to learn Hebrew properly because I actually grew up with Yiddish. There was a great rabbi at Hillel who introduced me to traditional learning and exploring halakha.
Observer: When you started auditioning for the Big Bang Theory and other acting jobs were you nervous about the impact that this would have on your Jewish life?
MB: I was definitely nervous. There were some roles I was particularly nervous to be offered. I had stopped wearing pants outside of the home after grad school, but I also don’t fit all of the traditional distinctions of tzniusness- I’ve kissed Jim Parsons on TV for example. My life doesn’t look like a perfect melding of an Orthodox halakhic lifestyle and a secular one.
Observer: Can you elaborate on the way tznius might be difficult- Do stylists think you’re crazy when you tell them you want to cover your knees or dress modestly?
MB: Its definitely always a challenge to dress tzniusdic and feel confident and comfortable and but to have to do that in a climate where that attribute of beauty to show as much as yourself is so emphasized is a whole additional set of challenges.
Observer: Was the role of Amy Farrah Fowler shaped around you or did you fit well into a role that had already been created?
MB: A lot of it was coincidence- They thought it would be fun to make my character a neurobiologist when I was brought back after my first episode, and in terms of clothing they wanted Amy to not show any curves and to be “muted”, which is not what tznius is about. There’s a lot of complexity to tznius and that’s one thing I think secular or non-Jewish people don’t understand. But with my character it’s been easy enough to dress modestly and insist on skirts, and now it’s assumed that I always wear skirts.
Observer: How do you make time for learning in your day to day life?
MB: My chavruta and I usually learn at night when our kids are sleeping. I have to find time to squeeze it in, and I guess I could use that time for a lot of other things- watching tv, going out but I don’t – I get in my pajamas and I learn.
Observer: You made a guest appearance in the Maccabeats’ Chanukah video- How did that come about?
MB: When “Candlelight” came out I posted about them on my Facebook page- I thought they were really amazing- for all the modern orthodox people I knew about I’d never seen modern orthodoxy presented so appealingly. They emailed my publicist to say they were fans and to thank me for all the publicity I’d given them. I contacted them and from there I became close with some of the guys and I’ve had a nice friendship with them.
Observer: The Big Bang Theory is one of the most popular sitcoms on television now- is this what you imagined when you re-entered the acting world [after starring in Blossom as a young teenager]?
MB: I had no idea- I thought I would have a lot of time to spend with my kids because actors never work! It’s been unexpected but a really great opportunity- it’s a wonderful lifestyle, and it’s a flexible schedule. I’ve been able to teach on the side since I’ve gotten my degree which is something great to be able to do.
Observer: Having been a child actress yourself what would you say if your one of your sons [ages 5 and 7] wanted to go into the industry?
MB: I don’t think my husband or I want to drive them to auditions [laughing]! They’re also super shy and kind of introverted so I think we’re lucky- our younger son wants to be a race car driver and our older one wants to be a fireman so I think we’re okay.
Observer: How do you think the world, and Hollywood, views Orthodox Judaism right now?
MB: I think there’s a lot of lack of knowledge about Orthodoxy. I think there’s a general trend in modern society that it isn’t cool to be religious and I think that that is still the stigma. I think there is also a lot of uncomfortableness from secular Jews because they think we’re looking down on them even though no Orthodox person I know is looking down at secular people!
Observer: If you could have dinner with one person, living or dead, who would it be?
MB: I don’t know if this will sound goon-y but I’d say Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan. I’ve studied his works the most- from his handbook of Jewish thought all the way to his mystical writings so I think he’d be someone I’d love to meet.
Observer: Do you have any advice for Stern Women?
MB: I advocate really strongly for higher learning for the women in our community- everyone has different family minhags about what they can and should learn but I think its really important for the women in our community to be as religious, philosophically, and intellectually educated as our men are.