Sara Gilbert

Sara Gilbert (born Sara Rebecca Abeles; January 29, 1975) is an American actress, best known for her role as Darlene Conner on the ABC sitcoms Roseanne from 1988 to 1997 and The Conners since 2018, as co-host and creator of the daytime talk show The Talk and for her guest role as Leslie Winkle on CBS's The Big Bang Theory.

Early life
Gilbert was born Sara Rebecca Abeles in Santa Monica, California, the daughter of Barbara Crane (née Cowan) and Harold Abeles. Both her parents are Jewish. Her mother is the daughter of The Honeymooners creator Harry Crane. Her two older half-siblings, Melissa Gilbert and Jonathan Gilbert, were stars of Little House on the Prairie. In 1984, Sara took the last name Gilbert for Paul Gilbert, her mother's first husband.

Television career
Gilbert decided at age six that she wanted to be an actress after her older sister, Melissa Gilbert, got a plaque on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Following appearances in television movies and a commercial for Kool Aid, at thirteen she landed the role of Darlene Conner, the sarcastic middle child, in Roseanne. Sara was a cast member in the show's nine-year run (1988–97), for which she wrote a fourth-season episode story (the teleplay was written by the Guild Writers for the show) called "Don't Make Me Over". Her contribution was considered so important to Roseanne that the show's producers juggled storylines and taping schedules to allow her to study at Yale University while remaining in the cast, shooting remote segments of Darlene at a soundstage in New York.

Gilbert has appeared on The Simpsons, 24, Will & Grace, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Private Practice. Starting in 2004, she had a recurring role as smart but sarcastic medical student Jane Figler on the long-running hospital drama ER; her appearances spanned seasons 11-13. Gilbert returned to prime time television in the fall of 2005 in the sitcom Twins on The WB network. The sitcom was canceled after one season, when the WB and UPN networks merged as The CW and dropped a number of shows. She also had a recurring role on the short-lived CBS sitcom The Class as Fern Velch.

From 2007 to 2010, Gilbert has appeared in episodes of the CBS TV series The Big Bang Theory as Leslie Winkle, a scientist friend of Leonard Hofstadter played by Johnny Galecki, who had previously played Gilbert's love interest David Healy on Roseanne. In the second episode of the second season of The Big Bang Theory, Gilbert was elevated to the show's main cast, portraying again a potential love interest of Galecki's character, and at one point a love interest to Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg). By January 2009, it was announced that the writers did not know how to write for her character full-time and her status was reduced from regular to recurring.

Gilbert is a co-host and executive producer of The Talk, a talk show that premiered October 18, 2010. Gilbert appears alongside Julie Chen, Sharon Osbourne, Sheryl Underwood and Aisha Tyler.

She starred as Cindy on an episode of Rugrats.

Film career
Gilbert appeared in two films alongside Drew Barrymore, in Poison Ivy in 1992 and Riding In Cars With Boys in 2001. Gilbert also had a feature role in Light It Up in 1999. She has had several minor roles following Roseanne, including the short film $30 (aka 30 Bucks) as part of the Boys Life 3 feature, and High Fidelity. She directed her short film Persona Non Grata in 1998.

Personal life
As a teenager, Gilbert dated her Roseanne (and later The Big Bang Theory) co-star Johnny Galecki. During their relationship she realized she was lesbian. She remains good friends with Galecki.

Gilbert graduated from Yale University in 1997 with honors, majoring in Art with an emphasis on Photography.

In 2001, Gilbert began a relationship with television producer Allison Adler. They have two children—a son, Levi Hank, born to Adler in October 2004, and a daughter, Sawyer Jane, born to Gilbert in August 2007. For many years, Gilbert remained private about her sexuality, choosing not to publicly discuss her private life. In July 2010, as she prepared to launch her talk show, The Talk, Gilbert confirmed that she was a lesbian. In August 2011, Gilbert announced that she and Adler had separated amicably.

Following the break-up, Gilbert began a relationship with songwriter and former 4 Non Blondes frontwoman Linda Perry. Gilbert announced their engagement in April 2013, and they married on March 30, 2014. Gilbert gave birth to their son, Rhodes Emilio Gilbert Perry, on February 28, 2015. On December 27, 2019, Gilbert and Perry separated.