Kaley Cuoco: who is Ozark star Tom Pelphray’s new girlfriend - was she on The Big Bang Theory?

It appears that The Flight Attendant star Kaley Cuoco has confirmed her relationship with fellow actor Tom Pelphrey (Ozark, Outer Range) after sharing some candid snaps to her Instagram account.

This is what you need to know about Kaley Cuoco.

Who is Kaley Cuoco?

Cuoco is an American actress who is likely best known for her role as Penny on the sitcom The Big Bang Theory and, most recently, as Cassie Bowden in The Flight Attendant.

She was born on 30 November 1985 in Camarillo, California, and kicked off her acting and modelling career at the age of five, appearing in advertisements for Barbies and as a young Ellen DeGeneres on the TV sitcom Ellen.

Cuoco made her first feature film debut in the 1995 action movie Virtuosity, which starred Denzel Washington (Training Day, The Equalizer) and Russell Crowe (Thor: Love and Thunder, Gladiator).

It was in the late 90s that Cuoco bagged her first big role as Bridget Hennesy on the sitcom 8 Simple Rules.

In 2007, Cuoco started appearing on the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory, in which she starred in every episode throughout its 12 season run. The show ended in May 2019.

Cuoco founded her own TV production company in October 2017, called Yes, Norman Productions, which entered into a multi-year production deal with Warner Bros. TV.

Her first project with Yes, Norman Productions was the adaptation of the book The Flight Attendant by Chris Bohjalian, which has since been developed into a TV series of the same name which Cuoco stars in.

It was announced in October 2018 that Cuoco would voice the character of Harley Quinn in the animated Harley Quinn series.

Other projects you may recognise Cuoco from also include Why Him?, Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip, A Million Ways to Die in the West, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Prison Break and Charmed.

Throughout her career, Cuoco has won a number of awards, including Critics’ Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for The Big Bang Theory and Critics’ Choice Super Awards for Best Voice Actress in a Comedy Series for Harley Quinn.

She has also been nominated for a number of awards as well for her role in The Flight Attendant, such as a Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild Award, Primetime Emmy Award and Television Critics Association Award.

Who else has she dated?

Whilst Cuoco was starring on The Big Bang theory, she privately dated co-star Johnny Galecki (The Conners, Roseanne), who played Leonard, for around two years, from 2007 to 2009.

Speaking about their relationship in an interview with CBS! Watch magazine in 2010, Cuoco said: “It was such a huge part of my life and no one knew about it.

“It was a wonderful relationship but we never spoke a word about it and never went anywhere together… We knew how to keep it deep inside and never bring it on that set, ever.”

She said that keeping their relationship a secret “wasn’t as fun as we wanted it to be” and added that hiding their romance eventually “took a little bit of a toll” on them both.

Talking to the same publication in 2013, Galecki said: “We’re dear friends, still. Kaley’s not just an ex, she’s part of my life. I just don’t like to speak about it.”

In 2011, Cuoco got engaged to Josh Resnik, however their engagement ended by March 2012.

In 2013, after three months of dating, she then became engaged to professional tennis player Ryan Sweeting. The two tied the knot on 31 December 2013 in California.

It was in September 2015 that they announced that they had decided to go their separate ways, with their divorce finalised on 9 May 2016.

A representative for Cuoco said in a statement at the time: “Kaley Cuoco and Ryan Sweeting have mutually decided to end their marriage. They ask for privacy at this time. No further statement will be issued regarding this matter.”

In late 2016, she started dating equestrian Karl Cook and the two got engaged on 30 November 2017. They married on 30 June 2018.

The two shared the news of their split via a joint statement in September 2021 which said: “Despite a deep love and respect for one another, we have realised that our current paths have taken us in opposite directions.

“We have both shared so much of our journey publicly so while we would prefer to keep this aspect of our personal life private, we wanted to be forthcoming in our truth together.

“There is no anger or animosity, quite the contrary.”

Earlier this year, Cuoco spoke candidly about her past relationships in an interview with Glamour, where she said: “I will never get married again. You can literally put that on the cover.”

She added: “I would love to have a long-lasting relationship or partnership. I believe in love because I’ve had incredible relationships.

“I know that they’re out there. I like being someone’s partner and having that companionship.”

How long have Kaley Cuoco and Tom Pelphray been dating?

Cuoco appears to have made her relationship with Ozark’s Tom Pelphrey Instagram official after posting a collection of photos to her account on Tuesday (3 May).

Included in the album of pictures posted were some cosy looking polaroids of the couple, as well as a shot of Pelphrey kissing Cuoco on the cheek.

Cuoco captioned the post: “Life lately. ‘The sun breaks through the clouds, rays of gold slipping into my eyes and heart, rays of yellow to break the grey’.”

Pelphrey also shared the Polaroid pictures to his own account, captioning it with the quote: “But nothing can save you. Not your friends, not the best Fred Astaire musical you’ve ever seen - the grace of it, not your mother’s beauty, not a line from a letter you find at the bottom of a drawer, not a magazine or the next day.

“Nothing can save you. And you stand in the moonlight and a sweetness comes off the top of the trees, and the fence around the yard seals you off from the dark and you can’t breathe. It is all so familiar and possible.”

“Then you catch a breeze, so warm and ripe, it makes you hope that someone will come who also cannot save you, but who will think you are worth saving.”

Neither party has officially spoken on their relationship yet, so it’s unclear how long the two have been dating.