Sara Gilbert

Early life and education

Gilbert was born Sara Rebecca Abeles in Santa Monica, California, the daughter of Barbara Cowan (née Crane) and Harold Abeles. Both her parents are Jewish. Her maternal grandfather was The Honeymooners co-creator Harry Crane. Gilbert has two older half-siblings and two older adopted siblings. Her adopted siblings on her mother's side, Melissa Gilbert and Jonathan Gilbert, were stars of Little House on the Prairie. In 1984, Sara took the last name Gilbert from Paul Gilbert, her mother's first husband. Gilbert also has two siblings on her father's side, sister Patrice and brother Joseph.

Gilbert graduated from Yale University in 1997, with honors, majoring in art with an emphasis on photography.

Career

Television

Following appearances in television movies and a commercial for Kool-Aid, at 13 she landed the role of Darlene Conner, the sarcastic middle child, in Roseanne. Gilbert 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 and sarcastic medical student Jane Figler on the long-running hospital drama ER; her appearances spanned seasons 11–13.

Gilbert regained a regular spot on prime time television in the fall of 2005 in the sitcom Twins on The WB network. The show was canceled after one season, when the WB and UPN networks merged as The CW and dropped a number of series. She also had a recurring role on the short-lived CBS sitcom The Class as Fern Velch.

From 2007 to 2010, Gilbert appeared in episodes of the CBS TV series The Big Bang Theory as Leslie Winkle, a scientist friend of Leonard Hofstadter. Hofstadter was 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. Winkle was discontinued after Amy Farrah Fowler and Bernadette Rostenkowski became prominent characters.

Gilbert was a co-host and executive producer of The Talk, a talk show that premiered October 18, 2010. Gilbert won a Daytime Emmy in 2016 for Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show as producer and creator of the show. Her final appearance as co-host was August 2, 2019.

An eight-episode revival series of Roseanne was developed, with Gilbert as an executive producer. The eight episodes, picked up by ABC, began airing March 27, 2018. Due to the revival's strong ratings and positive critical reception, a second season was announced. However, on May 29, 2018, in the wake of controversial remarks made by Roseanne Barr on Twitter regarding Valerie Jarrett (an advisor to former president Barack Obama), ABC cancelled the revival after a single season. Gilbert distanced herself and the show from Barr's tweets.

On June 21, 2018, ABC announced that the network had ordered ten episodes of a spin-off of Roseanne. That series, The Conners, featuring all of the regular cast except Barr, premiered in October 2018, with Gilbert starring and serving as an executive producer. Gilbert would continue to reprise her role as Darlene and also serve as an executive producer for The Conners until the series concluded in 2025. In 2019, Gilbert and Tom Werner, both of whom had been involved in the production of The Conners (she through her TV arm, him through Werner Entertainment), formed the production company Sara+Tom. Sara + Tom was involved in the production of the eight-episode streaming sitcom The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh.

Film

Gilbert appeared alongside Drew Barrymore in the films Poison Ivy (1992) and Riding in Cars with Boys (2001). Gilbert also had a feature role in Light It Up in (1999). After the initial run of Roseanne she had several minor roles, 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. In 2000, Gilbert appeared in a production of The Hot L Baltimore as part of the Williamstown (Mass.) theater festival.

Personal life

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

In 2001, Gilbert began a relationship with television producer Ali Adler. They have two children—a son, born to Adler in October 2004, and a daughter, born to Gilbert in August 2007. For many years, Gilbert remained private about her sexuality, choosing not to publicly discuss her personal 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 breakup, Gilbert began a relationship with songwriter, music producer and former 4 Non Blondes frontwoman Linda Perry. Gilbert announced their engagement in April 2013, and the pair married on March 30, 2014. Gilbert gave birth to their son on February 28, 2015. On December 27, 2019, Gilbert filed for legal separation from Perry.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

References

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2. "Sara Gilbert". [[TV Guide.
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4. "Sara Gilbert". [[A&E Networks]].
5. (January 29, 1975). "Sara Gilbert Biography". Fancast.
6. Ausiello, Michael. (January 23, 2009). "'Big Bang Theory' scoop: Sara Gilbert taken off contract".
7. "''Roseanne'' TV show revival in the works with main cast set to reprise roles". [[New York Daily News]].
8. "'Roseanne' revival may be in the works". [[USA Today]].
9. Ausiello, Michael. (April 28, 2017). "Roseanne Revival Eyed at ABC". [[TVLine]].
10. (May 29, 2018). "ABC cancels 'Roseanne' after star's Twitter comments". CNN.
11. (May 29, 2018). "ABC cancels 'Roseanne' after Barr's tweet". [[CBS News]].
12. Duster, Chandelis R.. (May 29, 2018). "ABC cancels "Roseanne" after show's star compared Obama adviser to 'ape'". NBC News.
13. Gilbert, Sara. (May 29, 2018). "Roseanne's recent comments....".
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15. Weaver, Emily. (April 24, 2025). "Meet the Real-Life Loves of The Conners Cast as the Stars Say Goodbye to the Beloved Show". People.
16. Wenger, Stephanie. (April 23, 2025). "The Conners Ends on an Emotional Note: How the Family Honored Roseanne in the Series Finale". People.
17. Low, Elaine. (May 21, 2019). "Sara Gilbert, Tom Werner Launch Production Company Sara + Tom".
18. "Hot L Baltimore, The". [[Williamstown Theatre Festival]].
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20. "Levi Hank Gilbert-Adler". [[MyHeritage.com]].
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22. (August 13, 2007). "Sara Gilbert Gives Birth to Baby Girl". [[Fox News]].
23. (July 30, 2010). "'Roseanne's' Sara Gilbert confirms she's a lesbian". CNN.
24. Jordan, Julie. [http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20522469,00.html "The Talk's Sara Gilbert, Partner Break Up"] {{Webarchive. link. (November 29, 2014 . ''People''. August 24, 2011. Retrieved August 25, 2011.)
25. Grossberg, Josh [http://www.eonline.com/news/sara_gilbert_talks_relationship_with/277646 "Sara Gilbert Talks Relationship With Linda Perry on The Talk"] {{Webarchive. link. (April 11, 2012 . ''E Online''. November 30, 2011. Retrieved December 1, 2011.)
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28. "Sara Gilbert and Linda Perry Welcome Son Rhodes Emilio". [[People (magazine).
29. Oldenburg, Ann. "Sara Gilbert, Linda Perry welcome baby boy". [[USA Today]].
30. D'Zurilla, Christie. (March 2, 2015). "Sara Gilbert, Linda Perry are parents of a new baby boy". [[Los Angeles Times]].
31. Contreras, Cyndey. (December 27, 2019). "Sara Gilbert Separates from Wife Linda Perry After 5 Years of Marriage". [[NBCUniversal]].
32. (May 29, 2018). "ABC Cancels 'Roseanne' Following Star's Racist Tweet". TVWeek.com.
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