It’s always a big deal for the film industry when an artist gets recognized with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, but the event becomes particularly important for the Italian-American community as well when said artist has a strong connection to his heritage. This last October was one of those moments when actress Kaley Cuoco saw her talent and achievements recognized on the worldwide famous sidewalk.
Among a large assembly of photographers, friends and fans Cuoco used the occasion to acknowledge the importance of family values taught by her parents during her upbringing in Oxnard, California. The strong connection to her family is what kept her grounded all those years, “My mom and dad are truly amazing parents. People ask me why I’ve stayed pretty normal and it’s because of them.”
Her parents, Gary Carmine Cuoco and Layne Ann Wingate have always made sure their daughters Kaley and Briana knew that family affection, deep-rooted in Italian traditions, is what matters the most in the crazy world of show business. Kaley’s grandparents on her father side were both Italian (the last names being “Cuoco” and “Marrone”) and were always an inspiration for the young actress.
While Kaley’s father has had regular jobs, a firefighter and later a real estate broker, it was Kaley’s mom Layne who had the first approach with the world of entertainment, having been a print model. Kaley started pretty young, at age 6, doing mostly commercials for Barbie dolls. She was 10 when she got her first role in a feature film, the Denzel Washington thriller Virtuosity.
When Kaley was little Ms Layne set up a general rule that involved having a backup plan for the future and saving her daughter from potential disappointment: if she wanted to pursue acting she needed to choose something else too and work hard to excel in it. So Kaley started practicing tennis and got so good at it to the point of becoming a nationally ranked player. She stopped playing professionally when she switched to acting full time in 2002, but she still enjoys playing for fun. Kaley’s level of commitment in everything she does is extremely high, it becomes a part of her life or, to use her own words, of herself.
During the star induction she expressed her gratitude by explaining just how she sees acting as an extension of herself, “I’ve been doing this my whole life. It’s heartwarming to be recognized for something that I feel is so part of me. It’s like my arm, it’s me, it’s always been me.” The actress rose to fame with not one but two different tv-shows throughout her career, the sitcom 8 Simple Rules, which was John Ritter’s latest role and in which Cuoco played the shallow but funny oldest daughter Bridget Hennessy, and the beloved series The Big Bang Theory.
On the latter she plays Penny, a Cheesecake Factory waitress who lives across the hall from scientists Leonard Hofstadter and Sheldon Cooper. The fact that she is often wearing shorts and sexy dresses on the comedy series, and the constant increasing popularity of the show among the geek community, contributed in making her a household name, that everybody loves. The show is now in its eight season and has won several Emmy Awards and Golden Globes.
Cuoco’s ventures in movies include To Be Fat Like Me, in which she portrays an attractive film student putting a fat suit on to experience the life obstacles overweight students face in high school and Authors Anonymous, which saw her starring alongside Dennis Farina, in one of his last performances before his death in 2013.
Cuoco indicates both the late John Ritter and Chuck Lorre, who’s the creator of The Big Bang Theory, as her mentors and incidentally both already have a star on the walk of fame. So it’s understandable that the star ceremony proved to be incredibly emotional for her. She had felt lucky enough of having been part of two inductions in the past, for two people who she loved and respected. Knowing personally somebody who had gotten a star was already an honor, the thought of getting one herself was far beyond her expectations.
Next she can be seen playing a bride-to-be in the upcoming Kevin Hart comedy The Wedding Ringer, which hits theatres in January. With a massive promotion, trailers have been running for months prior to the release, and thanks to the pairing of Cuoco with Hart, the comedian of the moment, the film is already paving the way for Kaley’s transition to box office gold.
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