Kaley Cuoco addressed incredible amount of money she was paid for final season of The Big Bang Theory

Kaley Cuoco seemingly earned a bucket load of cash during her time on The Big Bang Theory.

Airing for 12 seasons from 2007 to 2019, it became one of the most successful sitcoms of all time.

When The Flight Attendant actor started off playing Penny in the early days, she was reportedly on the same $60k-an-episode salary as co-stars Johnny Galecki (Leonard) and Jim Parsons (Sheldon).

But after viewers quickly warmed to the group of socially awkward scientists, her salary was renegotiated by season four.

According to Entertainment Weekly, the now 39-year-old started earning $200,000 per episode of The Big Bang Theory, with a bump of $50,000 for each subsequent season.

However, Cuoco renegotiated again heading into season eight.

As reported by Deadline, Cuoco signed a three-year-deal which massively bumped up her wage.

Kaley Cuoco was just 21 when she started out on The Big Bang Theory (Warner Bros.)

It was reported that she earned a whopping $1 million per episode from then on out.

Although by season 12, Cuoco was said to have taken a $100,000 pay cut to help her on-screen colleagues Melissa Rauch (Bernadette) and Mayim Bialik (Amy) secure pay raises.

Looking back on becoming the second-highest-paid actress on the 2018 Forbes list, she told the Los Angeles Times in 2020: “That was so special and will be a part of my heart for the rest of my life.

“Nothing will ever compare to that and I think knowing that helps me separate that from what I’m doing now, which is so different and new.”

Now, her rise to the top didn't exactly start off with a big bang after she was initially rejected for the role of the smiley Cheesecake Factory server.

the Big Bang Theory became one of the most successful sitcoms of all time (Warner Bros.)

It turns out she wasn't even called Penny either, as producers had to change her name to Katie because CBS had another pilot airing around at the time with a character with the same moniker.

In Jessica Radloff's 2022 book The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story, Cuoco said: "I know Chuck really wanted me for the role of Katie.

"And I was definitely bummed when I didn’t get it, but I kind of have a way of moving on because you have to."

Also at the start, the female lead was supposed to be a much moodier and worldly character, according to the cast and crew Radloff interviewed for her book.

Casting director Ken Miller explained: "She’s so sunny and bubbly, and they just loved her, but she just didn’t bring the dark qualities.

"She just wasn’t the essence of Penny in that first incarnation."

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