Keeping aside the discussion of prominent nepo babies in Hollywood, the industry is actually full of people who are related to each other. In short, showbiz is a family business for many involved with the art of cinema and storytelling. Despite this, whenever we stumble upon these fascinating familial ties it tends to surprise us to no end. One such delightful revelation exists with the popular show The Big Bang Theory and its prequel Young Sheldon, where the young and old versions of Sheldon’s moms share a familial bond off-screen.
The connection actually adds an extra layer of charm to the series. It is also bound to be a fascinating piece of trivia for fans of both shows.
Zoe Perry, who portrays the younger version of Sheldon Cooper’s mom, Mary Cooper in Young Sheldon, is the real-life daughter of Jeff Perry (of Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal) and Laurie Metcalf, the actor who brings the older Mary Cooper to life in The Big Bang Theory!
The resemblance between the two is not just physical but extends to their vocal mannerisms as well, which had left crew members on the sets of Young Sheldon quite astonished in the early days of the series, which is about to have a seventh season soon.
However, despite this connection, Perry had to go through a “typical” audition process. She had told EW in an interview, “I went in and auditioned for the casting directors and for [executive producers] Chuck Lorre and Steve Molaro. Then, the rest is my lucky history.”
While Perry has brought her charm to the character, she admitted to taking inspiration from her mum a fair bit in the beginning. “I did run one of the scenes with her because I was curious to hear her accent doing it,” Perry said. “Although I actually didn’t have her read the lines because then that would’ve just stuck in my head. But I made her talk a little bit, and I rewatched some of her stuff.”
Perry and Metcalf bridge two generations of the same character in more fictional verses. Over two decades ago, Perry played the younger version of her mother in some episodes of Roseanne. Annie Potts and Wallace Shawn, who play a couple on the show, previously co-starred together in the iconic animated film Toy Story in 1995. Laurie Metcalf, Zoe Perry’s mother, also shared the screen with Potts and Shawn in the same film
The surprises don’t end there. Zoe Perry and Iain Armitage (who portrays the younger version of Sheldon) are distant cousins in real life. Both Perry and Armitage trace their ancestry back to James Ward and Anne Fawkes, who were born in the late 1500s.
Young Sheldon is slated to arrive on Netflix US on November 24th, even though it is already available to stream in more than 20 countries, including India, Australia, and the UK.
