Sara Gilbert was born Sara Rebecca Abeles in Santa Monica, California on January 29, 1975, and is an American actress best known for her role as Darlene Conner on the ABC sitcom Roseanne (1988–1997; 2018), for which she received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations, and its spin-off, The Conners (2018–present).
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She is also the creator and former co-host of the CBS daytime talk show The Talk and had a recurring role as Leslie Winkle on CBS’s The Big Bang Theory.
Gilbert is the daughter of Barbara Cowan and Harold Abeles. Both her parents are Jewish. Her maternal grandfather was The Honeymooners creator Harry Crane.
Gilbert has two older half-siblings and two older adoptive siblings. Her two adoptive siblings on her mother’s side, Melissa Gilbert and Jonathan Gilbert, were stars of Little House on the Prairie.
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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.
Why did Sara Gilbert take the name?
At the age of six, when Sara saw her sister Melissa Gilbert get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, she told her mother that she wanted to be an actress, too.
A string of commercials and, in 1984, an appearance in the CBS TV movie Calamity Jane (1984), led her to adopt the Gilbert family name.
In 1984, Sara decided to professionally use the last name Gilbert in honor of her mother’s first husband as she began her acting career.
Why isn’t Sara Gilbert on The Talk anymore?
She said the decision was difficult to make because “this is a place that I love and a place that I’m extremely happy,” but adds that it’s necessary to pursue other acting and producing opportunities. “I love the hosts, I love the crew, I love our staff.
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