Characters / Young Sheldon: The Cooper Family

Young Sheldon Main Character Index
The Cooper Family (Sheldon Cooper) | Other Characters

From left to right: George Cooper, Sr., Missy Cooper, Mary Cooper, Sheldon Cooper, George Cooper, Jr. and Connie Tucker.

The Cooper Family from the show Young Sheldon. For tropes specific about these characters in The Big Bang Theory, see The Big Bang Theory: Family Members.

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Sheldon Cooper

See The Big Bang Theory - Sheldon Cooper

Mary Cooper

Mary Cooper (née Tucker)

Played by: Zoe Perry

Sheldon's mother, she's a very devout Evangelical Christian (whom Sheldon invariably describes as a religious fanatic) who, despite their differences, is very close to Sheldon emotionally. She is generally warm and friendly and with a southern charm that draws everyone else to love her immensely.

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• Adaptation Dye-Job: She has blond hair in Young Sheldon instead of brown. It's possible that her hair either darkened over time or (more likely) she dyes it brown in TBBT. Her eyes are also different, as Zoe Perry has blue eyes while her mother, Laurie Metcalf—who plays Mary on The Big Bang Theory—has brown eyes.
• Adaptational Jerkass: In Young Sheldon, Mary is quite mean in several ways, while for the majority of her time on The Big Bang Theory, she was nice to nearly everyone she met, mostly Sheldon's friends, except Beverly Hofstadter or when she was angry with Sheldon. Mary usually feels she has to control everything, is often mean to her husband and bosses him around, does nothing about her mother's disapproval of him, gives Sheldon too much preferential treatment and too much coddling and while she still loves Georgie and Missy, she will yell or punish them. The Season 3 finale shows that she deliberately hid Sheldon's college acceptance letter just so her favorite child wouldn't leave and also because she feels she gets to make all of Sheldon's decisions by herself and without George, thus showing a lack of communication in the marriage. The Season 4 finale "The Wild and Woolly World of Nonlinear Dynamics" shows her instantly punishing Missy for ripping Sheldon's picture and not even bothering to hear Missy's side, notice she's crying or even bothering to ask why she's crying.
• Adaptational Nice Guy: Despite the above, this trope fits in a way too. While Mary was never a mean character, she's no where near as aggressive with her religious beliefs in Young Sheldon as she was in The Big Bang Theory. In this series, she accepts Sheldon's atheism for the most part, whereas in Big Bang, she's a lot more combative and obviously trying to convert him. Though Sheldon in Big Bang more or less confirms that Mary's fundamentalism grew as a result of George's affair and death, with her using Christianity as an emotional crutch to get through the heartbreak. She's also less snarky and brutally honest than she was in TBBT, where she states many times Sheldon is hard to tolerate ("Lord, I want to thank you for the blessing that is my little Shelly. I also want to thank you for the continued strength not to coldcock him with my Bible"), is surprised when a woman is interested in him, and claims that her other two children are "dumb as soup". Also, the casual racism she displayed in TBBT is mostly absent here.
• Almighty Mom: She's the only person who can put Sheldon in his place and deal with him whenever he gets too difficult for the others to handle.
• Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: In one episode, she goes to the comic book store to confront the owner about the "inappropriate content" of the comics that Sheldon is reading.
  Sheldon: Mom, you're embarrassing me.
• Blatant Lies: Mary's attempts to lie to Georgie when he asks if he was conceived out-of-wedlock. The kicker being that he was "a big fat preemie" when Georgie points out that he weighed nine pounds at birth.
  Mary (praying): Lord, forgive me for lying. I'll tell him the truth when he's 30. Amen.
• Brutal Honesty: Not the same as Sheldon, but very blunt all in all, though it's downplayed compared to her character in TBBT. In this show, it's more unintentional.
• Celebrity Paradox: Laurie Metcalf appeared in the first three Toy Story movies (Toy Story has been mentioned many times on The Big Bang Theory). In fact, in all those movies she appeared with Wallace Shawn (who is Dr. John Sturgis on Young Sheldon, and with Annie Potts (Meemaw on Young Sheldon) in two of them.
• Church Lady: Works at the local church and is the only member of the Cooper family who takes faith seriously, making everyone say grace at the dinner table.
• Control Freak: Mary is shown to be an absolute control freak to the point she often thinks she is right simply due to believing in Jesus.
  • In "The Sin Of Greed And A Chimichanga From Chi Chis", she steals everyone's stuff to force her beliefs on the rest of the family.
  • In "A Computer A Plastic Pony And A Case Of Beer", Mary keeps some of her money hidden from George. George is understandably angry at this, but Mary says that she is trying to be independent, which her mother calls her out.
  • In "Family Dynamics and a Red Fiero", she caused her husband to storm out when he is offered a job in Oklahoma.
  • In "A Secret Letter and a Lowly Disc of Processed Meat", she hid Sheldon’s Caltech acceptance letter. When Sheldon and Georgie Sr. found out they angrily confronted her and told her she had no right to make decisions on her own.
  • In "The Grand Chancellor and a Den of Sin", she tries to force her mother and son to quit their gambling scheme but they point out that she has no right to tell people what they can do with their money.
  • In "Half a Wiener Schnitzel and Underwear in a Tree", Mary is determined to return to the States after learning about the tornado and dragging Sheldon back despite the fact that everyone has told her there's no room at all.
• Former Teen Rebel: Stated to be such in The Big Bang Theory and is confirmed once more in Young Sheldon. In "David, Goliath and a Yoo-Hoo from the Back", Connie tells Missy that Mary used to be a rebellious teenager, but when there were complications with Missy's birth, she prayed to God and swore to become more pious and responsible, becoming the deeply religious woman she is now (or as Missy describes her, "a dud"). In "Pasadena", she confesses to Georgie that she used to skip class to drink beer and sleep with other men, and that her marriage to George was a Shotgun Wedding due to her pregnancy.
• Friendless Background: Like Sheldon, Mary doesn't have a lot of friends and this is a big part of the reason why she pushes Sheldon to be more social.
• Full-Name Ultimatum: Mary does this to Missy in S4 E14 "Mitch's Son and the Unconditional Approval of a Government Agency" and S4 E18 "The Wild and Woolly World of Nonlinear Dynamics".
• The Fundamentalist: Is a strict Christian, but of the friendly variety. Her religious assumptions can be Innocently Insensitive, but she seems genuinely kind to almost everyone she meets.
• Good Parents: A loving mother to Sheldon and her other children. Or is she?
• Gosh Darn It to Heck!: Her older self did swear occasionally in The Big Bang Theory, but here, she refuses to even say expletives and changes the name of Pastor Jeff's Biblical-themed haunted house from "Hell House" to "Heck House." In fact, she even gets mad at Missy for saying the words "ass", "hell", and "damn" while reading from the Bible.
• Innocent Bigot: Will often say unintentionally racist comments, is frequently lampshaded. Not nearly as often as in the parent show, however.
• Irony: Mary often uses the Bible as an influence on her morality, however she seems to either deliberate or unintentionally forget/ignore the part about Rebecca's favoritism of Jacob over Esau.
• Like Parent, Like Spouse: Young Sheldon shows she also inherited some of Sheldon's antics, she is very controlling, hates change, always thinks she is right, and also criticizes people. She always thinks she is perfect or superior. Heck Georgie Sr. often calls her out and she is the one who often starts their arguments.
• Mama Bear: She tells off a woman and threatens to smack her for insulting her Sheldon and tells off the principal of Sheldon's high school for wanting to expel him for being a smartass.
• Morality Pet: For Sheldon. He may be a jerk in lots of situations, but he sure loves his mommy.
• My Beloved Smother: While still a loving Doting Parent, she is often strict, overly protective and controlling, and freaks out over the smallest things Sheldon does.
• Off the Wagon: Even though she quit smoking and drinking years ago, she occasionally relapses when in despair. "A Crisis of Faith and Octopus Aliens" and "A Secret Letter and a Lowly Disc of Processed Meat" are two examples.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: In "A Crisis of Faith and Octopus Aliens", Mary starts to lose her belief in God after a sixteen-year-old neighbor girl died in a car accident. She goes out drinking with Connie, doesn't go to church the next morning and eats dinner without saying grace. This change in character worries Sheldon, who is able to help her regain her faith by saying that while he doesn't believe in the Christian God, he's open to the possibility that the Universe had a creator.
  Sheldon: Did you know that if gravity were slightly more powerful, the universe would collapse into a ball?
  Mary: I did not.
  Sheldon: Also, if gravity were slightly less powerful, the universe would fly apart and there would be no stars or planets.
  Mary: Where you going with this, Sheldon?
  Sheldon: It's just that gravity is precisely as strong as it needs to be. And if the ratio of the electromagnetic force to the strong force wasn't one percent, life wouldn't exist. What are the odds that would happen all by itself?
  Mary: Why are you trying to convince me to believe in God? You don't believe in God.
  Sheldon: I don't, but the precision of the universe at least makes it logical to conclude there's a creator.
  Mary [sighs]: Baby, I appreciate what you're trying to do, but logic is here [points to her head]. And my problem is here [places her hand over her heart].
  Sheldon: Well, there are 5 billion people on this planet and you're the perfect mom for me. What are the odds of that?
  Mary [tears up and hugs Sheldon] Thank you, Lord, for this little boy.
• Parental Favoritism: While she claims to not have favorites, it's pretty clear she focuses more on Sheldon than her other two kids, almost to the point of Parental Neglect. The Season 4 finale made this very clear when she instantly took Sheldon's side and didn't care about Missy's feelings.
• Took a Level in Kindness:
  • Come Season 7, Mary has started to show more appreciation towards her family outside of Sheldon.
  • Mary realized she’d taken her husband for granted, and made a more active approach in supporting him, as well as her other children.
  • Another notable example is Missy’s boyfriend broke up with her, Mary immediately comforted Missy and reassured her she had her back, even if Missy initially didn’t want to talk about it.

George Cooper Sr.

George Cooper Sr.

Played by: Lance Barber

Sheldon's father, a football coach who suffered from heart trouble early in Sheldon's childhood. In a moment of weakness, Sr. committed infidelity when Sheldon was young, forever staining Sheldon's view of him.

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• Adaptational Nice Guy: In The Big Bang Theory, George is described as a "redneck Texas Homer Simpson" who would, among other things, drink bourbon from Pepsi cans, use dishes for skeet shooting practice and fight with Mary on a near-constant basis. While he is fond of beer and can be a little boorish at times, George is no where near that bad in Young Sheldon. This may have to do with George's infidelity having shrouded Sheldon's view of his father during his early adult years, as the narrator Sheldon in this show is clearly at a later stage in life than his Big Bang counterpart and thus had time to get over the pain and remember George as he really was.
• Age-Gap Romance: In season 6 he's canonically pushing fifty, while Mary appears to be in her mid-thirties. In one episode he claims they were high school sweethearts, only to be corrected by Missy, that Mary was in high school, and George was "like, twenty-five".
• The Alcoholic: He has a beer in hand in nearly every scene he's in and his drinking is frequently discussed in the show. He's stated to spend over $900 a year on beer according to Sheldon.^note Keep in mind, this spinoff takes place in the late 80s/early 90s; this figure tops $2,000 in today's money.
• Big Eater: He has a voracious appetite and is the fattest (let alone only fat) person in the Cooper household, while ironically Sheldon won't eat enough.
• Dad the Veteran: He once served in the army and fought in the Vietnam War.
• Doomed by Canon: The main show tells us he dies when Sheldon is 14, meaning his character in Young Sheldon is this.
• Dude, Where's My Respect?: In "Family Dynamics and a Red Fiero", Sheldon says that he and the rest of the family never gave him much appreciation for the sacrifices he made for all of them and even for how hard he worked to improve their lives. Also his wife and mother-in-law are both awful and unfair to him with Mary never sticking up for him and Connie often antagonizes him.
• Early Installment Character-Design Difference: In the pilot, George parted his hair on the left and combed it to the right. All subsequent episodes have him parting it on the right and combing it to the left.
• Fat and Proud: Discussed and deconstructed in the third episode where he has a heart attack.
  Mary: Sorry about the "fat", honey.
  George Sr.: You said you liked me this way.
• Former Teen Rebel: George is said to have been a motorcycle-riding bad boy back when he and Mary got together. Even though he's come a long way since then, Connie still thinks he isn't good enough for her daughter.
• Formerly Fit: He's obese now, but he was on the high school football team and he used to be in the army. Now he bemoans how he can no longer do a pushup.
• Henpecked Husband: In one episode he bonds with Herschel Sparks over the fact they are both bossed around by their respective wives. Also he does work hard to provide for the family but his wife still wants him to say that she works the hardest for the kids, much to his consternation.
• Hero with Bad Publicity: In this show, we see him as a decent guy, an average father who occasionally makes mistakes but clearly loves his children, and his relationship with Mary is not that much worse than any other average married couple. He's far from being the violent, idiotic monster Sheldon and Mary describe in The Big Bang Theory.
• The Informant: While the details aren't made clear, it's implied that the school where he previously worked was involved in a recruiting scandal. When he went to the authorities, he ended up being fired and had to move his family to find a new job.
• It's All About Me: He can be selfish at times, emphasized in "A Computer" when he spent close to $1,000 a year on Lone Star beer at the expense of his own family's needs such as the computer Sheldon desired (or needed, according to Mary). Mary then hid her own money from George concerned he'll just spend it on more beer.
• Jerkass Has a Point: While he is a bit selfish at times, he is at his core very wise and caring as in the episode "A Secret Letter And A Lowly Disc Of Processed Meat", George learns from Sheldon, who was kept in the dark as much as George himself, that Mary hid a recruitment letter from Caltech University for him to attend that school. When Mary tries to justify her actions by saying that Sheldon is not going to California, George rightfully calls her out on her actions, that the letter was addressed to both of Sheldon's parents and Mary had no right to hide this from him. Worse is that Mary is forced to reveal that there were other letters from schools trying to recruit Sheldon to attend them. George then further debunks her actions, saying that she never thought about what was best for Sheldon and only thought about how she would feel about this.
• Jock Dad, Nerd Son:
  • As a football coach, he's the Jock Dad to Sheldon's Nerd Son.
  • Downplayed with Georgie. Though Georgie certainly isn't a nerd, he is far more interested in his job as an auto mechanic than in playing football (where he gets very little playing time anyway), much to George's dismay.
• Mistaken for Cheating: It turns out the incident that Sheldon mentioned of his father cheating on his mother was a misunderstanding. George never actually cheated on Mary, Sheldon just accidentally witnessed them having sex while Mary was wearing a wig and German attire and the two were doing a bit of roleplay. And because Sheldon kept silent about it until he told Penny decades later, no one knew he thought that.
• Not So Above It All: He has a bit of a penchant for gossip. A few episodes have him listening to Missy's gossip and loving every bit of it.
• "Not So Different" Remark: In "Pongo Pygmaeus and a Culture that Encourages Spitting" George realizes that he has more in common with his mother-in-law than he does with his own wife.
• Obfuscating Stupidity: In one episode, Sheldon admits that he only realized years later that his father would often pretend to be dumb just to cheer him up and make him feel better ("My brother, on the other hand, didn't have to pretend").
• Older Than They Look: Aside from a few grey hairs on the sides of his head, George looks pretty young for a middle-aged, working-class father in the late '80s/early '90s. Especially since he's an alcoholic, eats poorly and doesn't take very good care of himself. This is a bit jarring since, according to The Big Bang Theory, George died in 1994 at age 50, which is only a few years away in Young Sheldon's timeline, yet he doesn't look anywhere near that old. His hair does have more gray in it in season 3, making George look closer to his actual age.
• Only Sane Man: While he's not a genius and borders on Bumbling Dad at times, he's the most normal member of the family and the one with the least excessive behavior, compared to Mary, Georgie, Missy, Sheldon, and especially Meemaw. In "A Math Emergency", he sees Sheldon, Dr. Sturgis and Meemaw all argue about quantum chromodynamics while Mary leaves dinner to go visit an elderly hermit for religious purposes, George pauses to ask, "The hell is going on today?!" This situation is bombastic enough to make George stop eating.
• Papa Wolf:
  • To Sheldon. When he becomes physically ill over his obsession to prove a NASA scientist wrong after he brushed him aside, George drives him and his family all the way to Houston, barges in his office, and demands that he listen to his son.
  • He also punches out Clint (Veronica's mother's boyfriend) for putting his hands on Georgie.
• Parental Neglect: A downplayed example who only sometimes gets it right as a parent, but shows a lot of indifference or annoyance toward big things and defers to Mary or Meemaw and can be rude and unhelpful at times and just not wanting to be bothered with a lot of BS. Adult Sheldon once remarks, "My sister bought my dad a 'World's Greatest Father' coffee mug, and frankly, he just coasted all the way until the day he died."
• Parents as People: George may show a bit of Parental Neglect at a time, but he ultimately cares for his family as shown by his various Papa Wolf moments. Adult Sheldon even admits later he never figured out everything his dad really did for him until later.
• Pursue the Dream Job:
  • He wants to be a college coach, but is forced to give up the dream to coach at Tulsa, despite how good the offer is, simply because the rest of the family didn't want to move.
  • He's offered another college coaching job at Sheldon's college as part of a packaged deal because they wanted Sheldon to attend full-time. This one is also turned down after he and Mary come to the conclusion that the ten-year-old Sheldon is too young for college (Sheldon ended up going at age 11).
• Reformed Bully: Admits in "Jiu-Jitsu, Bubble Wrap, and Yoo-Hoo" that he was a bully growing up, but he's a reasonably good guy nowadays.
• Sour Outside, Sad Inside: His alcoholism, over-eating, and grumpy demeanor suggest that he is secretly depressed. "An Existential Crisis and a Bear That Makes Bubbles" lends more credence to this, and "The Wild and Woolly World of Nonlinear Dynamics" outright confirms it.
  Mary: Your whole life is doing whatever you want.
  George: Oh, really? Did I want to get stuck coaching high school football? Did I want to live across the street from your mother? Did I want to spend my evening getting yelled at by my daughter and my son and my wife?
  Mary: I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were so unhappy.
  George: Because you never bother to ask.
• Stout Strength: He may be overweight and out-of-shape, but is able to knock out Clint with a single punch.
• Sympathetic Adulterer: His adultery is established by The Big Bang Theory, and the show has spent quite a bit of time showing George's perspective: he's in an unhappy marriage (resulting from a teenage pregnancy), feels unsuccessful and unappreciated both in his job and at home. He actively tries to avoid temptation and rebuild his marriage, but he and his wife seem to drift further apart. If (as is implied) the ultimate affair is with Brenda Sparks, the fact that he gets appreciation and respect in her house and not in his own presumably contributes. None of this is presented as excusing an affair, but may make it more understandable. It later turns out that he never even cheated, he and Mary were just trying out roleplaying and she was wearing a blond wig and a German outfit, which is what Sheldon witnessed.
• Take This Job and Shove It: Throughout Season 5 he is at risk of losing his job as football coach due to the team constantly losing, and having everyone talk down to him about it. By the season finale, he learns that his position has been offered to Wilkins, and learning that he has no chance of keeping his position, he decides to just quit instead of waiting to be fired so he can leave on his own terms.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Calls Mary out for assuming she is right all the time and when she takes things too far.
• Trademark Favorite Food: He loves Lone Star beer and Meemaw's brisket.
• "Well Done, Son" Guy: He admits to Wayne that his father never gave him much love or affection, which explains why he has trouble doing the same with his sons.

George "Georgie" Cooper Jr.

George Marshall "Georgie" Cooper Jr.

Played by: Montana Jordan

Sheldon's not-too-bright older brother.

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• '80s Hair: He has a long, curly mullet and has grown it even longer once the show moves into The '90s. Even as an adult in The Big Bang Theory, he still has a mullet, though it's thinner and straighter.
• Age-Gap Romance: With Mandy. He's seventeen, she's twenty-nine. Both of them initially lied about their ages (Mandy claimed to be twenty-five, Georgie claimed to be twenty-one), but she came clean long before he did. When Georgie finally confesses his true age, Mandy freaks out and immediately dumps him. Unfortunately, she turns out to be pregnant.
• Basement-Dweller: Becomes this after he drops out of high school. His parents won't let him live in the house anymore, so he moves into their garage, with Missy taking his old room.
• Beauty, Brains, and Brawn: Dumb Jock Georgie is the brawn to Sheldon's brains (Insufferable Genius) and Missy's beauty (what she'll grow up to be).
• Big Brother Bully: Downplayed. He's openly dismissive of Sheldon but most of the time he just ignores him. According to Sheldon himself, Georgie is often mean to him.
• Big Brother Instinct: He’s closer with Missy than he is with Sheldon, and it shows with how he helps her with homework, staves off boys who try and get close to her, and spends time with her when no one else wants to.
• Brilliant, but Lazy: The real reason everyone thinks he's dumb. Even while he was still young and apparently not-too-bright, he displayed wisdom beyond his years every now and then, and it says a lot that Missy goes to him for help with homework and, once he decides to focus and properly help her, he manages it. He just had no interest in applying himself and felt comfortable with being a stereotypical jock. He's also a dedicated mechanic and salesman, which would result in him becoming "Dr. Tire" in his adulthood.
• Captain Obvious: Georgie tends to make statements that are fascinating to him but obvious to everyone else, including his realization that E.T.'s human friend Elliott has a name starting with an E and ending with a T.
• Character Development: While he had Hidden Depths ever since the start, he started out as the typical girl-crazy Dumbass Teenage Son who was put down by everyone, including his own parents. Then, he started working various jobs which taught him to be more responsible and since he doesn't need as much financial support from his parents, he's more willing to stand up to them when they talk down to him. And his infatuation with Veronica Duncan went from just pure lust into genuine care and concern, with Georgie even moving on when it becomes apparent that she doesn't like him back that way (at least as far as he knows.)
• Dogged Nice Guy: Has this relationship with his crush, Veronica Duncan, who is clearly not interested in him beyond friendship. He eventually realizes that he's going nowhere with her and moves on right around the time Veronica starts developing feelings for him.
• Dumbass Teenage Son: He's a teenager and clearly considered stupid by all his family members who are often vocal about it.
• Dumb Jock: He is not particularly intelligent (compared to Sheldon, at least) and plays on the football team.
• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The Foolish (along with Missy) to Sheldon's Responsible. Sheldon was always an extremely smart goody two shoes while both his siblings are Book Dumb and careless.
• The Gadfly: Loves saying and doing things to piss off his parents.
• Hidden Depths:
  • He is insecure about not being as smart as Sheldon and is also jealous of the attention his younger brother gets. When his father had a heart attack, he was so overcome with worry, he stole Meemaw's car and drove him and his siblings to the hospital. He also shows a hint of maturity when he called out his father for his racism.
  • He also proves to be an excellent mechanic and salesman, two skills that would serve him well as an adult when he would build his own tire business called Dr. Tire.
  • While he mostly ignores Sheldon, he gets along pretty well with Missy, helping her with homework when Sheldon is busy, and standing up for her when Mary won't allow her to go to a party.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's rude, but he's not without empathy. Notably, he is nothing but courteous towards Pastor Jeff. And when he starts making money at his new jobs, he offers to pay to have the A/C in George's truck fixed. But George's pride wouldn't allow him to take it.
• Love Redeems: Although it starts as a rather blatant act to appeal to Veronica's newfound Christian-friendly tastes, Georgie gradually improves for real.
• Married Too Young: He married his first wife at 19 as revealed in a narration by an older Sheldon.
• My Sister Is Off-Limits: Humorously in "A Boyfriend's Ex-Wife and a Good Luck Head Rub". Georgie spends the episode trying to convince Missy to approach the boy she likes. When she finally does so, and the boy touches her shoulder, Georgie yells at him and tells him not to touch her.
• Odd Friendship: He bonds with Pastor Jeff over their issues with women, offering up his room so that Jeff could spend the night away from his wife.
• Tragic Dropout: Georgie plays with this. He eventually starts cutting class to spend more time working at Dale's and earn more money. Eventually, after finding out Dale didn't finish high school, he decides to drop out himself so he can work full-time. We know from his appearance in The Big Bang Theory that he became a Self-Made Man with a successful chain of tire stores in Texas despite this seemingly poor choice, but everyone else acts like it is the worst decision he could have ever made and starts treating him like a typical Tragic Dropout immediately. His dad kicks him out of the house for dropping out (eventually letting him move into the garage for a rental fee), his girlfriend breaks up with him due to thinking he is going to become a Future Loser now, and Dale refuses to hire him full-time because he doesn't want to make his family any angrier at him, forcing Georgie to look for a second job.
• The Un-Favourite: In one episode Sheldon starts breaking rules because, in his own words, he was trying to be more like Georgie. His parents reply, "We don't want Georgie to be like Georgie".
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: His decision to drop out of high school slowly causes a chain of events over the season that ultimately leaves the entire family in a very bad place by the end of the season and most of the town turning against them because of how he got Mandy pregnant out of wed-lock.
• Vocal Evolution: His voice deepens about midway through the first season thanks to puberty.

Missy Cooper

Melissa "Missy" Cooper

Played by: Raegan Revord

Sheldon's fraternal twin sister and his polar opposite.

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• Adaptational Dye-Job: The present-day adult version has dark brown hair, but the Young Sheldon version has dirty blonde hair. Though her hair is darkening to brown in season three, which is common among blondes as they get older.
• Adaptational Jerkass: In Young Sheldon, Missy is much less of a nice character than in The Big Bang Theory. Little Missy was a near-complete Bratty Half-Pint who started cussing before she hit double digits and loved to antagonize Sheldon and get her way, but could still be nice. It's a backpedaling away from her present-day maturity to show that she used to be a real stinker.
• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: While she is regularly annoyed by Sheldon, she actually starts to miss him when he is sent to live with a couple so he can attend a school for gifted students, and is overjoyed when he comes home. She also slept in Sheldon's bed when he had to spend several nights in the hospital following a surgery. Also, despite her desire to make fun of Sheldon, she will comfort him in times when he is genuinely upset.
• Beauty, Brains, and Brawn: She is the beauty (especially as an adult) to Georgie's brawn (Dumb Jock) and Sheldon's brains (Insufferable Genius).
• Berserk Button: Messing with her Cabbage Patch doll Celeste. In an attempt to use negative reinforcement to influence Missy's behavior, Sheldon cuts a single strand of yarn off the doll's head, and Missy gives him a black eye in return.
• Bratty Half-Pint: She openly insults and messes with her two brothers and is even rude to her own mother. She is aware of her own bad attitude, such as when Mary angrily asks her why she is such a brat and she claims she is "crying for attention."
• Bratty Teenage Daughter: As a teenager, she openly disobeys her parents and does things like steal her father's truck, sneak out at night, and smoke.
• Characterization Marches On: In "Poker, Faith and Eggs", she seemed to reciprocate Billy Sparks' crush. In later episodes, she doesn't seem to see him as anything beyond a friend.
• Cosmetic Catastrophe: Happens twice.
  • First in "David, Goliath, and a Yoo-Hoo from the Back" where she gets into Meemaw's makeup bag before picture day. The results are unsettling and Meemaw shows her how to do it properly.
  • The second time is in The Stinger of "Body Glitter and a Mall Safety Kit" where she applies the body glitter and it just looks like she has glittery slop all over herself.
• Daddy's Girl: She and George weren't very close at first, but over the course of the series, they build quite the bond; with George taking her to Red Lobster, then taking genuine interest in her gossip, and finally showing her how to play baseball.
• Dumb Blonde: Missy has dirty blond hair in this show and is quite ditzy. Academically, at least.
• Dumb Jock: In addition to being Book Dumb, she joins her school's baseball team in season 3, cementing her as this.
• Everyone Has Standards:
  • She loves to tease and insult Sheldon, but she can't bring herself to do so when he's crying and immediately rushes to hug him.
  • She has no qualms about telling Blatant Lies to her family, but she felt so guilty about telling a white lie to Pastor Jeff on the phone, she calls him back almost instantly to confess (mainly because she's afraid of going to Hell for lying to a pastor).
  • Missy misbehaves a lot to get attention, but when Paige suggests she steal body glitter that she can't pay for, Missy objects, fearing punishment from Mary. Paige decides to steal it herself since Mary can't punish her.
• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The Foolish (along with Georgie) to Sheldon's Responsible. Sheldon was always an extremely smart goody two shoes while both his siblings are Book Dumb and careless.
• Freudian Excuse: It is implied that her snarky remarks and bratty attitude are her way of trying to get attention since her mother is almost always focused on Sheldon than her and Georgie.
• Girly Girl with a Tomboy Streak: Despite her love of dolls and dressing up, she asks George to teach her how to play baseball. Initially, she only wanted to learn to impress a boy she likes, but she genuinely becomes interested in the game and even tries out for her school's baseball team successfully earning her spot.
• Girly Bruiser: Likes dressing up and playing with dolls, but is more than willing to resort to violence if you piss her off. As both Sheldon and a boy on the opposing baseball team found out the hard way.
• Jerkass Has a Point: She may act like a brat at times, but when she calls out on how Sheldon is so spoiled by her mother and the fact she favors him over her and Georgie isn't completely unjust. Throughout the series when Sheldon acts like a Spoiled Brat and wants something, he usually gets it and that she and Georgie are treated like they don't matter. Even Meemaw admits in private to her that she agrees that her mother clearly favors Sheldon.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She's very much a rude, sarcastic and foul-mouthed little girl, but she is capable of compassion.
• Kiddy Coveralls: Wore overalls quite often as a child, she previously out-grew them when she entered high school and her character shifted to rebellious Bratty Teenage Daughter territory, but after receiving Character Development following surviving a tornado with her father, she takes more responsibilities around the house and wore shortalls again, evolving this trope to Rough Overalls.
• Little Miss Snarker: She was every bit as snide and sarcastic as a child as the adult Missy in The Big Bang Theory. Being Sheldon's twin, she had to start early.
• Mouthy Kid: She's a ten-year-old girl who's rude, sarcastic and openly swears.
• Never My Fault: Although she isn't entirely wrong about her family's dysfunctionality she often uses it as an excuse to justify her own rude behavior, not just to her family but to everyone else as well. If her parents ignore her she acts out due to feeling unnoticed and forgotten, then when they punish her for it she gets mad at them for doing so, accusing them of favoring Sheldon and always taking his side while treating her like a child. This also extends to Sheldon himself. When he caught her sneaking out, she tried to blackmail him into keeping quiet about it, despite how he Cannot Keep a Secret. When he eventually rats her out due to worrying about her safety and she gets grounded for it, she places all the blame on Sheldon and outright tells him she hates him.
• Not Even Bothering with the Accent: Adult Missy has a Texas drawl. Young Missy, however, does not.
• Odd Friendship: With Paige in the episode "A Stunted Childhood and a Can of Fancy Mixed Nuts" due to their love of the same girly things.
• One of the Boys: The only girl on her school's baseball team.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: Her first name is "Melissa". She demands that George refer to her as "Melissa" during their trip to Red Lobster. But other than that, she is always called Missy. She starts going by "Melissa" again after starting middle school, but that only lasts for one episode.
• Pet the Dog:
  • In "A High-Pitched Buzz and Training Wheels", Sheldon starts crying after George yelled at him for breaking their refrigerator. Missy comforts him with a hug.
  • In "Graduation", Missy helps Sheldon get over his fear of going to college by telling him that she feels the same way about middle school and that they should just "be scared and do it anyway." Sheldon is so touched by this that he personally thanks her in his graduation speech.
• Polar Opposite Twins: With Sheldon. Sheldon is book-smart, naive, only interacts with others when forced to and tends to look down on anyone who isn't as smart as he perceives himself to be. Missy is an outgoing Street Smart underachiever who loves social interaction.
• Sibling Yin-Yang: Missy and Sheldon are literally polar opposites in personality and behavior. Missy is an opinionated and bubbly girl who is a devout Christian while Sheldon is a calmer, science-obsessed atheist who shows traits of Aspergers.
• Skewed Priorities: In one episode, she tried to ignore an emergency tornado warning on TV that was interrupting Looney Tunes.
• The Slacker: Starts off as someone who would rather just eat candy and watch television but eventually discovers her own interests and hobbies when she gets a little older and even joins a baseball team on realizing she has a talent for it.
• The Social Expert: Missy is very socially perceptive, to the point she impresses a team of scientists studying various types of intelligence in twins, Sheldon doing brilliantly with logic problems but crashing and burning with emotional issues, Missy the reverse, even acting as matchmaker between the researchers studying them.
• Spoiled Brat: Comes across this way at times because she's demanding and usually rude to her parents, but she is also often overlooked by them in favor of Georgie as her father is naturally closer to him, and Sheldon, as both her mother and Meemaw dote on him because of his mental issues. Notably, she tones down her brattier traits once she gets some positive attention.
• Stepford Snarker: It's strongly implied that her bad attitude is the result of her feeling ignored by George and Mary for not being as smart as Sheldon. In one episode, she outright says that she's crying out for attention, though it is brushed off by her parents.
• Strong Girl, Smart Guy: Strong Girl to Sheldon's Smart Guy. She's a Book Dumb but athletic Cute Bruiser, while her twin brother is a smart and unathletic nerd.
• Sweet Tooth: Missy loves anything with sugar in it. She's often seen eating candy and ice cream.
• Team Mom: Becomes this for the family when Mary and Sheldon are away in Germany, cooking meals for the family and helping out around the house.
• Took a Level in Kindness: She becomes much less bratty starting in season five, likely as a result of both maturity and her family's struggles humbling her. She still likes to tease Sheldon, however.
• Trademark Favorite Food: After George took her to Red Lobster, she's nuts about lobster.
• Troubling Unchildlike Behaviour: She's often way too aware about things inappropriate for her age (she gave Sheldon the sex talk when they were still in the single digits for instance). And when she hears about an incoming tornado, she complains that doesn't want to die because she's only kissed one boy.
  Missy: [seeing Mary's horrified expression] 'Relax, it was a long time ago!'
  George Sr.: 'Are you relaxed?'
• Ungrateful Bitch:
  • She frequently relies on Sheldon to help her with her math and English homework, but still treats him with contempt and never really thanks or respects him for this. That said, Sheldon is often condescending and demeaning in response. She's much more grateful when Georgie helps her with her homework as he treats her far kindlier.
  • Double Subverted in the episode "An Academic Crime and a More Romantic Taco Bell", Mary is in charge of finding a baseball trophy for Missy, but is unable to find a baseball trophy with a girl on it. She tries to have a trophy custom made, but it was too expensive and she couldn't wait for it. So Mary improvises by cutting the head off of a regular baseball trophy and gluing on a Barbie doll head that she painted gold. Missy is not at all pleased by this, instead just wanting a regular trophy, but after seeing how much it meant to Mary, she decided to take it anyway. Turns out she only wanted to blow it up with a firecracker.
  • In "A Romantic Getaway and a Germanic Meat-Based Diet". Sheldon apologizes to her for ratting her out and says he did it out of concern because he wouldn't be able to live with himself if something terrible happened to her. Instead of a "Thank you" or a hug, she just angrily declares she hates him and slams the door in his face. Though she comes to regret it after he leaves for Germany.
• Vocal Evolution: Her voice deepened quite a bit towards the end of the fourth season.
• You Go, Girl!: Missy tries out for her school's baseball team and despite all the sexism, she ends up making the team and is very good at it.

Connie Tucker

Constance "Connie" Tucker

Played by: Annie Potts

Sheldon's maternal Grandmother, whom he calls "Meemaw"

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• The Alcoholic: Alluded to. Sheldon serves her whiskey as she likes it, "A lot in a glass." She also goes on a drinking binge in "A Parasol and a Hell of an Arm" following her breakup with Dr. Sturgis.
• And Starring: "with Annie Potts".
• Berserk Button: If "An Entrepreneurialist and a Swat on the Bottom" is any indication, do not call her selfish. Sheldon made the mistake of doing so and got a (offscreen) spanking in return.
• Cool Old Lady: In the episode "Poker, Faith and Eggs" she gives Missy a guitar, George Jr. firecrackers, and plays poker with Sheldon while babysitting them.
• Celebrity Paradox: Annie Potts appeared in the first two and fourth Toy Story movies (Toy Story has been mentioned many times on The Big Bang Theory.) In fact, in all those movies she appeared with Wallace Shawn (who is Dr. John Sturgis on Young Sheldon, and with Laurie Metcalf (Mary on Theory). She has also appeared in Ghostbusters, which is likewise mentioned in Theory.
• Commitment Issues: She turns down Dr. Sturgis' marriage proposal and later Coach Ballard's proposal as well, on the grounds that she has no desire to get married again. Though considering that her first husband died a long time ago, it's implied that she doesn't want to deal with that pain all over again.
• Deadpan Snarker: She never misses a chance to snark at the rest of the family, especially George Sr. and George Jr.
• Dirty Old Woman: Has this attitude, sometimes even making sexual jokes in front of the children, much to Mary's embarrassment.
• Doting Grandparent: She dotes on Sheldon and is also close to her other grandchildren.
• Drowning My Sorrows: She does this in "A Parasol and a Hell of an Arm" after her breakup with Dr. Sturgis.
• Formerly Friendly Family: According to Meemaw herself, she isn't on speaking terms with her two children who are not Mary (and we know from The Big Bang Theory that one of them, Carl, died before she did. The other sibling is named Edward. One of them — probably Carl, as per TBBT — may be (or have been) Charlene, according to YS).
• Gamer Chick: She becomes addicted to video games after winning a console at a raffle for her and Sheldon to play.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She's blunt, irresponsible, and sometimes rude, but is also a loving grandmother who always tries to understand Sheldon's needs. And despite being somewhat at odds with Mary, she has the upmost respect for her daughter.
• Love Triangle: Connie Tucker, John Sturgis and Ira Rosenbloom.
• Mama Bear: She's extremely protective of Sheldon, especially when someone says something bad about him.
• Morality Pet: To Sheldon who is genuinely devoted to her. Along with his mother, she's one of the few people Sheldon is nice to.
• Never Mess with Granny:
  • In the episode "A Dog, A Squirrel, and a Fish named Fish", she gets into a fight with the Coopers' neighbor Brenda (and wins) after Brenda calls Sheldon "weird".
  • In the episode "A Parasol and a Hell of an Arm", she confronts the baseball coach after he refused to let Missy try out for the team.
  • And in the season three finale, she and Georgie head to Coach Ballard's store after closing and throw eggs at it as payback for how he treated them.
• "Not So Different" Remark: As much as she and George butt heads, they have more in common with each other than they do with Mary, something George realizes when talking to Coach Ballard.
• Obnoxious In-Laws: To George Sr. She feels he's not good enough for her daughter. Though there are times when they get along quite well, sometimes making jokes together at Mary's expense.
• Parental Neglect: It's been implied several times that she wasn't the best mother to her children. Not abusive, just uncaring and neglectful, hence why Mary is a Former Teen Rebel. In fact, Mary is the only one of her children that she is still on speaking terms with.
• Second Episode Introduction: She doesn't debut until the third episode "Poker, Faith and Eggs", but becomes a regular after that.
• Secret Ingredient: Connie makes a delicious brisket, and refuses to give George the recipe. Too bad she told it to Sheldon when he was two, and Sheldon has an eidetic memory...
• Silver Vixen: She's very attractive for her age, and attracts a decent number of men, including Dr. Sturgis (as well as Dr. Linkletter, a rival colleague of Sturgis), Ira Rosenblum and Dale Ballard. She was even rudely hit on at a bar by a man young enough to be her son. She even mentions to her dead husband's grave that she has to practically swat men away.
• They Really Do Love Each Other: In spite of her cold relationship with George Sr., they often band together to properly parent Sheldon whenever he acts rambunctious.
• Wacky Parent, Serious Child: The foul-mouthed, alcohol-loving, wacky mother to her conservative, religious daughter Mary.

Mandy McAllister

Amanda "Mandy" McAllister

Played by: Emily Osment

Georgie's wife, who he meets in Season 5 and marries in Season 7.

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• Age-Gap Romance: She's twenty-nine and Georgie is seventeen when they start dating. While both lied about their ages (she claimed to be twenty-five, he claimed to be twenty-one), she came clean long before he did. When Georgie finally tells Mandy his true age, she freaks out and immediately dumps him.
• Alliterative Name: Her first and last names both start with the letter "M".
• Basement-Dweller: A split and the loss of her job resulted in her having to move back to Medford and live with her parents. She eventually gets a studio apartment, but ends up evicted and moves into Connie's guest room.
• Clingy Jealous Girl: Implied. In "Pancake Sunday and Textbook Flirting", she tells Georgie to start dating Amber, a girl who flirts with him at the video store. Later, in "A Baby Shower and Testosterone-Rich Banter", when Georgie gives a present to Mandy, she initially really likes it, but not as much after Georgie tells her that it was Amber's idea.
• Doomed by Canon: Georgie mentioned that he might have to marry her, so it could very well happen. But Georgie had several ex-wives, so if they do get married it will likely end in tears. And since their daughter never appears nor is mentioned during Georgie's appearances on The Big Bang Theory, either something happened to her or Mandy gained sole custody of her after splitting with Georgie.
• Given Name Reveal: Her last name is not revealed to be McAllister until she gets to meet Georgie's parents at dinner.
• Like Mother, Like Daughter: As both Georgie and Jim say, she takes after her mother's overbearing behavior.
• Never My Fault: She blames her pregnancy solely on Georgie. Yes, it was wrong of Georgie to lie about his age to her, but she also lied about her age and willingly had sex with a guy she barely knew, which would just as easily have resulted in pregnancy if Georgie had been the age he said he was. Both Missy and Georgie have called her out for this.
• Sleeping with the Boss: Mandy got her job as a local 5:30 a.m. weather girl at a neighboring town because she was the mistress to the station's manager. When he got a new mistress and gave her the 8:30 weather girl job, Mandy was both dumped and fired.
• Surprise Pregnancy: She gets pregnant during the last time she has sex with Georgie before she dumps him. The next time they meet she throws him the G-bomb of her getting pregnant by him.

CeeCee

Constance "CeeCee"

Georgie and Mandy's daughter, born in "A Launch Party and a Whole Human Being".

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• No Full Name Given: In the opening scene of "A Launch Party and a Whole Human Being", Georgie and Mandy are debating whether their daughter's last name should be Cooper or McAllister. The answer is never revealed in season six. If Cooper is her last name she would be Constance Cooper.
• Remember the New Guy?: Georgie's appearance on The Big Bang Theory makes mention of him having several ex-wives, but no mention of a child.
• Three-Month-Old Newborn: To be expected. In "A German Folk Song and an Actual Adult", she is smiling and laughing, despite supposedly being only two weeks old.

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