Talk:Penny (The Big Bang Theory)/Archive 1

This is an archive of past discussions about Penny (The Big Bang Theory). Do not edit the contents of this page. If you wish to start a new discussion or revive an old one, please do so on the current talk page.

Archive 1

New TBBT character articles

I'm in the midst of creating the new articles for the main TBBT characters, as was discussed briefly on the "List of TBBT characters" talk page previously. I have a limited time to work with at the moment, and after my edits there are still a lot of cite errors on the new articles due to cites not being complete (as they were simply copied from the original article). I will continue to fix these issues later today into tomorrow, but in the meantime welcome all other users to assist in the transition.

The original article, List of characters in The Big Bang Theory, can either be merged into The Big Bang Theory, or better yet, changed to incorporate the new articles (i.e., the full descriptions are removed in favor of shorter descriptions, and the list of secondary/tertiary characters remains. I recommend the latter, which I will do upon return to editing tomorrow. Thanks. — ^`CRAZY`(lN)`SANE^` 17:36, 14 March 2009 (UTC)

Age

1. Why, is the fact that she was 9 when her nephew was born mentioned? What does it add to the value of the article? 22-13 is 9, big whoop. Robin.lemstra (talk) 06:32, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

I don't know where you come from, but where I come from it is not common to become an aunt/uncle at 9. -- Imladros (talk) 02:32, 3 October 2009 (UTC)

What universe is that, exactly? It's plenty common, it just may not happen a lot in families where you only have two kids. Welcome to the rest of the world.24.12.229.83 (talk) 03:01, 1 December 2009 (UTC)

Hey, welcome to America. If you ain't a redneck, 2 to 3 is the average number of kids in a family. And they usually aren't spread enough to have children when their younger siblings are 9. --Sunao (talk) 21:30, 9 December 2009 (UTC)

And Penny's from Nebraska, where 2,2 kids is the standard. -- Imladros (talk) 08:12, 11 December 2009 (UTC)

That she "was nine years old when her nephew was born" is no longer mentioned in the article. Also, it is not relevant, so please don't add it back. --189.250.141.78 (talk) 05:01, 13 February 2010 (UTC)

It's utterly irrelevant and, while not the norm, not that unusual. My uncle was 18 years younger than his eldest sister and became an uncle aged just five. Smurfmeister (talk) 12:55, 14 December 2015 (UTC)

Restructuring the article: new sections

The articles of the main characters, Leonard Hofstadter, Sheldon Cooper, Penny (The Big Bang Theory), Howard Wolowitz, and Rajesh Koothrappali, are growing in size but without a proper structure. I propose creating standard sections in which to put information: Personality, Family, Work, and Relationships. I believe the show centers mostly around these topics, so the information would fit nicely. I'm not saying these are the only sections that will ever be used, but they are a good start; perhaps they will need to be modified in the future. Also, let's keep the content complete but encyclopedic; there is no need for an indiscriminate collection of information. 189.235.132.118 (talk) 16:18, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

Referencing episodes

I suggest using this format to reference the episodes

<ref name="S01E01">{{Cite episode
|title=Pilot
|episodelink=List of The Big Bang Theory episodes#ep1
|series=The Big Bang Theory
|serieslink=The Big Bang Theory
|airdate=September 24, 2007
|season=1
|number=1}}</ref>

as suggested in Template:Cite episode.

The "episodelink" field includes the link to the appropriate episode in this way List of The Big Bang Theory episodes#ep1. The number in "#ep1" refers to the continuous episode number in the series, not within a season. For example, The Griffin Equivalence is episode 4 of season 2, but it is referenced as List of The Big Bang Theory episodes#ep21.

The citation in the actual article may very well be in "horizontal" format.

<ref name="S01E01">{{Cite episode|title=Pilot|episodelink=... etc.

This has already been implemented in List of characters in The Big Bang Theory. 189.235.132.118 (talk) 17:05, 1 January 2010 (UTC)

Regarding nicknames, we should keep only those that are actually used

In the character's infobox, we should not include as nicknames those that were used in only one episode, or as a derogatory term. For instance:

Sheldon Cooper. He only used "Sheldor" when playing Age of Conan in one episode. No one calls him "Dr. Dumbass", but Leslie Winkle, and that is not a nickname, but an insult. No one calls him "Whackadoodle", but Penny did once, also as an insult. Those are not nicknames.
Penny. Her online nickname was "Queen Penelope", but she only used it once. It was mentioned anecdotally that her father used to call her "Slugger", but no one calls her like that. Those are not nicknames.
Howard Wolowitz. "Wolowizard (YouTube)", "Howie", "Sir Howard of Wolowitz (online)", "Wealthy Big Penis (online)", also one-time uses. Those are not nicknames.

---189.250.141.78 (talk) 04:10, 13 February 2010 (UTC)

Orphaned references in Penny (The Big Bang Theory)

I check pages listed in Category:Pages with incorrect ref formatting to try to fix reference errors. One of the things I do is look for content for orphaned references in wikilinked articles. I have found content for some of Penny (The Big Bang Theory)'s orphans, the problem is that I found more than one version. I can't determine which (if any) is correct for this article, so I am asking for a sentient editor to look it over and copy the correct ref content into this article.

Reference named "S02E04":

From Sheldon Cooper: "The Griffin Equivalency". The Big Bang Theory. Season 2. Episode 7. October 13, 2008. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
From List of The Big Bang Theory characters: "The Griffin Equivalency". The Big Bang Theory. Season 2. Episode 4. October 13, 2008. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
From Rajesh Koothrappali: "The Griffin Equivalency". The Big Bang Theory. Season 2. Episode 4 (21). October 13, 2008. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)

I apologize if any of the above are effectively identical; I am just a simple computer program, so I can't determine whether minor differences are significant or not. AnomieBOT ⚡ 07:14, 23 March 2010 (UTC)

Brother

which would indicate that he most likely ran a narcotics lab or was a drug dealer. Or that he is going to school to be a chemist, of that he is trained as a chemist, and is currently employed in another field. chemists can be convicted of non-drug related charges

Lets limit the original research —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.238.236.19 (talk) 21:27, 22 December 2010 (UTC)

She also mentioned that she was arrested on a warrant for failure to appear in Nebraska.Penny: (tut) I, myself, grew up in Nebraska. Small town, outside of Omaha. Yeah, a nice place, mostly family farms, a few meth labs. Bold text Yes she talks about this, but does not mention her brother, if anywhere this should go in the section about where she grew up. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.238.236.52 (talk) 22:15, 25 March 2011 (UTC)

About Her STAR TREK Knowledge!

I came to this article to see if there were any updated now that we've heard Sheldon give us his middle name, and I saw that it is now listed. So good job. Now I read Penny's article again, to see if it was updated. (By the way, she's my favorite character and I missed her in those 2 recent episodes she was written out of because of her broken leg. Her name didn't even get mentioned! But I digress.) But anyway, I feel an inconsistency here. I read the point being made about Sheldon being impressed with Penny for knowing that Kirk cheated. Uh, he already knew that she knew Kirk cheated, because she saw the movie while he and the guys were away doing research in a cold place and which pole it was, I forget at the moment, because it is beside my point/ Sheldon cried about missing it and missing the convention and at least she was there to comfort him and granted that episode was in a previous season. So, is the point as written supposed to imply that Sheldon somehow forgot that Penny saw STAR TREK before he did?

By the way, I was impressed that Penny would see the movie without being prompted too by the guys. Oh, and why didn't someone point out to her that seeing Indiana Jones on the big screen is better than seeing it on a tiny screen at home? She wants to be an actress so one might think that would have occurred to her. Wouldn't she want her potential fans to to see her movies more than once in a lifetime?

Oh and while I'm at it, it's a shame that the guys don't get to refer to CHARMED, I guess, because Kaley was in it and it would bring up the trope of Celebrity Paradox. I suppose that's why other shows with witches haven't been brought up too, like the Buffyverse and Sabrinaverse, because then people would want to think about Charmed maybe. Hmm.

Oh and in case anyone's interested, by the way, Wil Wheaton plays himself well, and it is nice to think that I have one real person to connect me to a fictional setting like that, in the odd sense that it feels more real to me, immersion wise. "Hey! I've seen Wil in person and chatted with him and seeing him in the show makes it feel more real!" Ditto for Katee. I had a point there to connect to the subject title for a moment but I've forgotten it due to a distraction. But anyway now that I see how many words that I've used up to this point, I may as well end it here. But I'm hoping that I'm not the only one here to notice that but about STAR TREK and Sheldon's memory. Leo Star Dragon 1. (I know, I didn't log in prior to writing this!) 70.129.174.192 (talk) 00:24, 15 November 2010 (UTC)

Er... just in case you didn't notice... this is not a fan forum. -- Imladros (talk) 15:12, 30 December 2010 (UTC)

Your point about Charmed is well taken. On this year's Halloween episode, look for a reference to Blossom among Amy's chooses for Halloween costumes. There is an example of the trope of Celebrity Paradox.

Hardy1956 - 7 October 2012.

/* Name */

It is implied in the episode "The Barbarian Sublimation" that her full first name may be Penelope, as her character name in the computer game Age of Conan is "Queen Penelope."[16] using that logic, the episode also implied that Shedlons full name is Sheldor T Conqueror —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.238.236.19 (talk) 23:23, 9 January 2011 (UTC)

Sister

In the Big Brain Hypothesis

Sister SHOT her husband —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.238.236.52 (talk) 18:18, 29 March 2011 (UTC)

Photo

The photo currently on the page shows Kaley Cuoco, but is she really in character here as Penny? I've never seen Penny with her hair like that, or in a top like that. The file sources the pic to Channel 4 character profiles, but it's not there as far as I can see. GrindtXX (talk) 15:37, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

Birthday

In "pilot" she states she is a Sagitarius, and therefore born between 11.22 and 12.21. In the season 4 episode 18 Howard does a magic trick in which he adds up the digits in the participant's Birthday. Since Penny's birthday is added up to five and lies within the dates stated above she must have been born on 12.2 and I have placed this information at the start of the article. However, I am not sure if this counts as orginal research and whether or not it makes the statement in the second section about her being a Sagitarius irrelevant. Urholygod (talk) 16:03, 28 December 2011 (UTC)

First, it shouldn't be in the intro one way or the other: it's trivial information for a fictional character.

That said, it is original research, and it might not be correct. Other possible valid dates include 11/30, 12/11, and 12/20. A more-conclusive source would be needed for the date. —C.Fred (talk) 16:07, 28 December 2011 (UTC)

On Raj's page it is where I put it. However, you are right about those dates, I should have seen that. Now that I've seen that those dates I realise that if the birthday is ever to be revealed that it will be 11/30 because that is the Cuoco's birthday. I accept that I was wrong. Urholygod (talk) 00:10, 29 December 2011 (UTC)

Penny's real name is suggested to be "Penelope",

Penny's real name is suggested to be "Penelope", as used for part of her screen-name in the episode "The Barbarian Sublimation" in which Sheldon inadvertently gets her addicted to online-gaming.

This would also suggest that her last name is "Queen" something that has been removed from the page several times. Is there some source that can be linked to to how often people use there real names as the names of there Age of Conan characters? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.238.236.52 (talk) 13:22, 25 January 2012 (UTC)

So......would you therefore suggest that my real name is AussieLegend because that's my screen name? And what were your parents thinking when they called you 71.238.236.52? The answer to your question is, in a word, no. There is no source that can definitively link screen names to real names. It's quite possible that Penny decided to call herself Penelope because it's more regal sounding than Penny and along with that she chose a regal title, Queen. You can't assume that Penelope is her real name because she chose to use that as her screen name. Nor can you assume that her last name is Queen. --AussieLegend (talk) 14:11, 25 January 2012 (UTC)

No, I would not suggest that your name is AussieLegend. I am the one that removed that line implying a relation between Penny's real name and her online persona. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.238.236.52 (talk • contribs) 14:48, 26 January 2012‎ (UTC)

Hi, I was one of the early editors of these articles. It was perhaps me who wrote about her real name being Penelope. At that time it seemed obvious, and perhaps I was expecting the show creators to confirm this soon. I agree with the removal of the line. It's better to wait until this is actually confirmed.----137.132.22.254 (talk) 00:52, 31 August 2012 (UTC)

Are women named "Penny" in the U.S. actually named "Penelope"? Like Tom from Thomas, and such? -- Imladros (talk) 16:14, 28 November 2012 (UTC)

(Sry for the edit, btw, I just thought the talking point titles could look a little less retarded. -- Imladros (talk) 10:01, 29 November 2012 (UTC))

Short answer to your question is yes: throughout the English-speaking world, many women with the given name "Penelope" prefer to use the shorter and less formal form "Penny". But "Penny" also exists as a name in its own right, and you can't make assumptions here. GrindtXX (talk) 15:05, 29 November 2012 (UTC)

Penny's marriage

An editor believes it's "disingenuous" to list her three year long accidental marriage to Zack. I once again say, three year long marriage. That counts as being a spouse. It accurately lists a marriage that is allowed to be listed. Rusted AutoParts 05:25, 22 November 2013 (UTC)

I'm not saying you shouldn't mention it in the body of the article. I'm saying listing a "spouse" in the info box is technically incorrect since the marriage was accidental and was implied to be annulled after the episode.--Asher196 (talk) 05:28, 22 November 2013 (UTC)

Then we can put (ex-husband) in the infobox. This is common practice for married people, fictional or non. Rusted AutoParts 13:31, 22 November 2013 (UTC)

Perhaps you are unfamiliar with the concept of "annulment", so here is the Wikipedia Def. "Annulment is a legal procedure for declaring a marriage null and void.[1] Unlike divorce, it is usually retroactive, meaning that an annulled marriage is considered to be invalid from the beginning almost as if it had never taken place". Therefore, he is not an ex-husband, as the marriage legally never took place.--Asher196 (talk) 15:37, 22 November 2013 (UTC)

The form is that it should be in the info box. Renée Zellweger etc. The majority of pages of people with annulments list them. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.4.142.102 (talk) 16:22, 11 April 2014 (UTC)

I refer you to the immediately preceding post. --AussieLegend (✉) 16:35, 11 April 2014 (UTC)

This argument is tendentious. As the IP says, other annulled marriages are listed – Renée Zellweger; or, the most famous of all, Henry VIII of England, who had 3 of his 6 marriages annulled, yet the wives are all listed without comment in his infobox. I suspect the real reason for objections to listing the Penny/Zack marriage is simply that, within the context of TBBT, it was only introduced for comic effect in a single episode, and was then promptly discarded. If they'd been living together as husband and wife over a period of time, but the marriage was then annulled on a technicality, there'd be no hesitation about continuing to list it. GrindtXX (talk) 19:07, 12 April 2014 (UTC)

Henry VIII and Renée Zellweger are worlds apart. The first was a king who had the power to create the Church of England if the pope didn't annull his marriage. His marriages were valid but were annulled because he was king. Annullment by the church is a strange thing anyway. My sister had to have her marriage annulled so she could marry again in the Catholic church and that happened, even though she has two children. Legally though, she's divorced so her marriage is still legally considered to have occurred. On the other hand, Zellweger is a commoner who had her short marriage legally annulled and, as pointed out, annullment is the legal determination that a marriage was not valid and therefore never considered to have taken place. If it never took place then there never was a spouse. Including it in the infobox is therefore inappropriate because legally it's untrue. That said, you are correct that Penny's marriage was introduced for comic effect, and that is another reason for not including it in the infobox. --AussieLegend (✉) 21:58, 12 April 2014 (UTC)

"Geek" traits?

The characters in this show aren't geeks. They're nerds. I request permission to change the subsection title to Nerd traits. 189.82.13.58 (talk) 01:08, 3 December 2013 (UTC)

I don't know what's the difference. However, if you believe so, because it is not a major change, and isn't really much of a big deal, I think there's no problem about changing it. The page is not protected, so you can do it yourself. Thank you, though, for asking us before editing! -- Sim(ã)o(n) * ^{Talk to me!} _{See my} efforts! 19:18, 14 December 2013 (UTC)

Dead reference

I don't know if this is relevant, since the "orphaned references" link is way too technical and over my head, but footnote 23 (citing the fact that Penny's last name will be revealed some day) links to a 404, I had to use the Internet Archive's "Way Back Machine" to find the article. - 24.215.121.200 (talk) 18:07, 8 February 2014 (UTC)

Thanks for finding that. I've fixed it. --AussieLegend (✉) 18:50, 8 February 2014 (UTC)

Zach in Infobox

Zach as her husband should be in the info box as with other people both real and fictional who have annulled marriages. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.4.142.102 (talk) 16:17, 11 April 2014 (UTC)

Anullment means the marriage never happened. --AussieLegend (✉) 16:32, 11 April 2014 (UTC)

I question whether Zach should be listed as a significant other in the infobox.--Asher196 (talk) 15:45, 8 September 2014 (UTC)

Spoilers on the initial paragraph

Does anyone know MIB's phone number? I might have use for their memory eraser.

There are some major plot spoilers on the first paragraph on this article. This sentence: "She is the love interest of Leonard, with whom she maintains a brief romantic relationship during the third season, which is later resumed in the fifth season and culminates in an engagement at the end of the seventh season."

The romantic relationship between Leonard and Penny is a recurring theme and one of the very few developing story lines in the show. That sentence basically reveals the development fully to the reader. I hadn't seen season 7 before reading this and I know that I will not enjoy it as much as I would have. — Preceding unsigned comment added by DiMarzio (talk • contribs) 21:29, 22 June 2015 (UTC)

This is an encyclopaedia, not a fan site, so we don't hide spoilers. Please see WP:SPOILER for more information. In any case, something that was aired over 12 months ago can't be considered to be a spoiler. --AussieLegend (✉) 03:29, 23 June 2015 (UTC)

I'm very sorry that you accidentally read that — I know how it can feel to have something spoiled for you, however long ago the medium in question was released — but as AussieLegend said, we don't hide spoilers. You might also want to look at Wikipedia:Content disclaimer, because there are other types of potentially objectionable content that Wikipedia doesn't censor either. — Bilorv_(talk)^(c)(e) 16:58, 23 June 2015 (UTC)

Last name by marriage

In the episode "The Separation Oscillation" (S09E02) she is called Penny Hofstadter by Leonard. Why doesn't that count as a confirmation of her current last name? –George Esayas (talk) 19:46, 29 September 2015 (UTC)

We generally use the common name as credited and/or used in episodes as articles must represent the entire history of a series. So far, out of the 185 episodes in which she has appeared, there was one mention of "Mrs Hofstadter" and one of "Penny Hofstadter". In all 185 episodes she has been called "Penny" without a last name. While Leonard called her "Penny Hofstadter", that doesn't mean that she has actually taken that name. We had the same problem with Bernadette, who isn't "Bernadette Wolowitz". It's best to note that she has married Leonard but, at this point, we can't really refer to her as Penny Hofstadter until it's confirmed by her or in press releases. Using the common name and the requirement to represent the entire history of a series is also why we refer to Kaley Cuoco, and not Cuoco-Sweeting. --AussieLegend (✉) 20:22, 29 September 2015 (UTC)

Wouldn't CBS referring to her as Penny Hofstadter be the same as a CBS press release? Because CBS has referred to her as Penny Hofstadter in at least one official CBS pictorial: http://www.cbs.com/shows/supergirl/photos/1005957/when-good-girls-go-bad-on-cbs/105640/penny-hofstadter-the-big-bang-theory/ — Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.65.135.140 (talk) 00:55, 11 June 2016 (UTC)

WP:COMMONNAME still applies. She is known on the show as simply "Penny", so that's what we use. It's the same reason why we don't use Raj's full name. --AussieLegend (✉) 06:07, 11 June 2016 (UTC)

She's been referred to, on the show, as Penny Hofstadter and Mrs Hofstadter by her husband (without her correcting him that she has another name), Mrs Hofstadter by Sheldon (and if she did have another name, Sheldon would have used it, his being Sheldon and all, and again, she didn't correct him), and CBS has referred to her as Penny Hofstadter. Leonard is referred to on the show, most of the time, as Leonard (for that matter, the rest of the characters are referred to by their first names most of the time), why not just use their first names? As a matter of fact, the CBS press release only uses the characters first names. I can understand you not having a maiden name for her, after all, no one every referred to her with it and CBS never mentioned it. But with her own husband referring to her as Penny (and Mrs) Hofstadter, another character referring to her as Mrs Hofstadter and an official CBS article referring to her as Penny Hofstadter. There are at least four times she has been referred to as Penny (or Mrs) Hofstadter, three times on the show, so she is known by Penny (or Mrs) Hofstadter on the show. She has not been referred to by any other name since her marriage to Leonard. As for your claim that you don't use Raj's full name, you do use his full name in the first sentence of the article. I can see you using Penny as the title, but why not her full name, as used on the show, by her husband no less, in the first line, like Raj? You're insistence she still doesn't have a last name, and your inconsistency in naming conventions is puzzling. BTW, I'm also user 173.65.135.140. Tensor1155 (talk) 04:07, 13 June 2016 (UTC)

Please read what I've already written. We refer to fictional characters by the name commonly used. In TBBT, in the roughly 80 hours of the 207 episodes aired to date she has been consistently called "Penny", but only referred to as "Hofstadter" a handful of times and only in the last 9 hours of programming. "Penny Hofstadter" is clearly not the common name, so we do not refer to her as that. As I said, it's the same as Raj. We refer to him as Raj Koothrappali, not "Rajesh Ramayan Koothrappali". Note that we don't even use the full first name, just "Raj", because that is what is commonly used. This is a discussion that has been had numerous times before if reference to a multitude of characters and the outcome is always the same. --AussieLegend (✉) 12:47, 13 June 2016 (UTC)

Yes, you use Raj in the title of the article, but, here is the first line from his entry in Wikipedia:Rajesh Ramayan "Raj" Koothrappali,[1] Ph.D. is a fictional character on the CBS television series The Big Bang Theory, portrayed by British Indian actor Kunal Nayyar. Raj is based on a computer programmer that the show's co-creator, Bill Prady, knew back when he himself was a programmer.

Note his full name is used there, then shifts to "Raj" This is consistent throughout the other characters. Give their full known name, then shift to common name for the rest of the article. Why is Penny Hofstadter singled out with this inconsistency. Having "Penny" on the title, Penny Hofstadter" in the first line of the article, and referring to her as "Penny" for the rest of the article would bring this article in line with the rest of the characters. The common name argument, for the first line in the "Penny" article, makes no sense, when you violate that argument with the rest of the characters. Just because the discussion has been had before, doesn't make it correct. It simply makes this use of it inconsistent with the rest of the characters for this particular show. Tensor1155 (talk) 17:48, 13 June 2016 (UTC)

Can you please explain how WP:COMMONNAME still applies? WP:COMMONNAME applies to the title of the article. I am not arguing the title should change, but the first line of the article should read Penny Hofstadter (neé has not been revealed). Your comment, "She is known on the show as simply "Penny", so that's what we use." doesn't explain why you have Raj's full name in the first line of his article. This is an inconsistency in the articles for each of the characters here? You invoke common name for Raj, yet you give his full name in the first line of the article. Why is the Penny article different? It was stated you needed a official press release to change it, yet CBS has referred to her by her last name. Common name, and representing the entire series won't change if CBS refers to her in a press release as Penny Hofstadter, so why is an official CBS article that refers to her as Penny Hofstadter not good enough?Tensor1155 (talk) 05:44, 14 June 2016 (UTC)

"Née has not been revealed"? You have got to be kidding: this is gibberish. The article is perfectly correct and satisfactory as it is anyway. The reason there is an inconsistency in the articles is there is an inconsistency on the show: Penny is the only character whose family name is not known. It's fine for not all articles to look quite the same. Mezigue (talk) 07:40, 14 June 2016 (UTC)

What exactly is gibberish about Penny Hofstadter, Neé:has not been revealed. That describes the situation exactly. Her name is Penny Hofstadter and her maiden name has not been revealed. I was told the article was fine because of WP:COMMONNAME. I pointed out WPCOMMONNAME applies to the title of the article, not the actual article. As a matter of fact, in the example of WP:FULLNAME, say the following about names in biographies:While the article title should generally be the name by which the subject is most commonly known, the subject's full name, if known, should be given in the lead sentence (including middle names, if known, or middle initials). This is precisely my point. Penny is the name by which she is most commonly known, which I agree should be the title of the article. However, under Wikipedia's own guidelines at WP:FULLNAME it specifies her full name should be given in the first line of the article. It's done for all the other characters, her name is known, by both the writing within the series and by usage by CBS, so it should be in the first line of her article. If you want to leave off her maiden name as it's not known, I wouldn't argue that point. I was given the example of Raj's actual name not being used. While his full name isn't in the title, his full name is given in the first line of the article on Raj, as it should be by Wikipedia's own guidelines. As she has been referred to as Penny (or Mrs) Hofstadter by other characters within the show, and In an article on the official CBS site, her name is listed as Penny Hofstadter. What is wrong with using Penny Hofstadter in the first line of the article, as Wikipedia's own guidelines say should be done? Tensor1155 (talk) 04:06, 15 June 2016 (UTC)

Soft Kitty

I don't see any mention of the song "Soft Kitty" which Penny sings to Sheldon when he is sick and needs to hear it in order to go to sleep.Terry Thorgaard (talk) 18:56, 23 May 2016 (UTC)

The song is more relevant to Sheldon. Penny is just a person who has to sing it. Sheldon's mother has sung it in an episode too, so it's not specific to Penny. However, it's really trivial information and shouldn't be in either article. A completely separate article, Warm Kitty was written to specifically address the song itself. --AussieLegend (✉) 02:39, 24 May 2016 (UTC)

The whole subject of BBT is :trivial information"; so what? :) Terry Thorgaard (talk) 15:21, 7 June 2016 (UTC)

Requested move 18 May 2019

The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review after discussing it on the closer's talk page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

The result of the move request was: not moved. (non-admin closure) Calidum 06:01, 25 May 2019 (UTC)

Penny (The Big Bang Theory) → Penny Hofstadter – Per WP:NATURALDIS; the character's married last name has been confirmed as of the finale (see In Praise Of The 'Big Bang Theory' Leaving One Mystery Unsolved), so use of a parenthetical disambiguator is no longer necessary. bd2412 T 00:30, 18 May 2019 (UTC)

Oppose - Her married last name has been known from brief mentions before, I think you're referring to her (still) unknown maiden name. It too soon to know if the married name will become common enough to justify natural disambiguation. I have my doubts. Same reason we have Columbo (character) or Mr. Big (Sex and the City) even though their names can be gleaned from brief mentions on their shows. Her lack of a maiden name seems to have been a running superstition on the show, and could probably be discussed in its own section, much like Columbo (character)#First name. -- ~~02:24~~ Netoholic @ 02:32, 18 May 2019 (UTC) (updated)
- I agree but given that the series is now ended, I think the characters' names will be used less and less (except for Sheldon). We've known her married name for ages but it's not something that has ever become common use so I think your doubts are well founded. --AussieLegend (✉) 02:30, 18 May 2019 (UTC)
Oppose - This has been discussed previously. We create character articles based on the character's common name, i.e. the name that they are referred to and credited as, as demonstrated by the examples presented by Netoholic. Penny has never been credited as Penny Hofstadter, she's always just been credited as Penny. Almost every reference to her in the 279 episode run of the series has been simply as Penny, even after she was married. On the episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert that aired after the series finale, the cast even pointed out the lack of a last name. The argument that character's married last name has been confirmed as of the finale is not something new. The married last name was confirmed a long time ago but she was still only ever referred to as Penny. It would simply make no sense to rename this article to a name that was virtually never used. There's a redirect from the married name to this article and that's all we need. --AussieLegend (✉) 02:27, 18 May 2019 (UTC)
Oppose In ictu oculi (talk) 06:36, 18 May 2019 (UTC)
Oppose Bazinga. Lugnuts ^{Fire Walk with Me} 07:14, 18 May 2019 (UTC)

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page or in a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

Incorrect statement in Relationships.

In the relationship section, three or four lines from the bottom of that particular section, there is the following statement:

"Although CBS now refers to the character with the married name Penny Hofstadter, it has not been explicitly indicated in series whether she took Leonard's surname."

In episode 12x17, it is explicitly indicated that her name is Penny Hofstadter. Her conference badge plainly shows that particular name. As a result of this, the above statement is no longer correct. There are several instances, within the episode, where the name Penny Hofstadter is visible. Her last name has been indicated, within the series. Not to mention, in the final, Sheldon specifically stated her name as Penny Hofstadter, when he addressed everyone else by their names. I'm not asking for the title to change, just removing what is obviously a now, incorrect statement. Tensor1155 (talk) 04:32, 15 February 2020 (UTC)

That something is written on a prop (the badge) really doesn't mean much. Props are mislabelled all the time, or contain easter eggs. The classic example of this is on Star Trek, where pipes were labelled with "DNGN", which means does nothing, goes nowhere. It needs to be stated clearly in an episode. If Sheldon did state her name to be Hofstadter, you'd need to include an appropriate citation to remove the cited content. --AussieLegend (✉) 12:44, 16 February 2020 (UTC)

Last Name

Please add her last name to the article.Mdriver1981 (talk) 00:05, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

What is it? Pic Editor960 86.168.6.67 (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 20:45, 13 May 2009 (UTC).

It is never used, and is possibly being built up as an intentional mystery. Or it might be reflecting the way she doesn't do anything requiring a full name.[1] Billwilson5060 (talk) 11:33, 30 May 2009 (UTC)

I thought I remember her mentioning it at some point… hmm… maybe not. — Hucz ^{(talk · contribs)} 04:22, 7 October 2010 (UTC)

The IMDb page for Kaley Cuoco has it listed as Queen. Full name is Penelope Queen. brandeks

Is it mentioned anywhere other than IMDB? Because IMDB is user-editable, it's generally not considered reliable. —C.Fred (talk) 16:27, 17 December 2010 (UTC)

I don't know if that's true (that is, if she's named Penelope Queen), but at one point she uses "Queen Penelope" as an on-line game Age of Conan character name. I can't remember if she used "Queen" as a surname anywhere in the show. Azrael 83.11.226.239 (talk) 16:33, 29 March 2011 (UTC)

It's about as likely as Queen Elizabeth's name being Elizabeth Queen. "Queen Penelope" is just the alias she used in the game. --AussieLegend (talk) 17:33, 29 March 2011 (UTC)

Age of Conan information moved to 'geek traits' — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.238.236.52 (talk) 18:38, 23 August 2011 (UTC)

Since she does not have a name maybe this line needs to be removed "she has developed it into a fully fleshed-out woman". Cause that is clearly bullshit. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Stubborn Myth (talk • contribs) 02:49, 20 November 2013 (UTC)

it would be funny if it was Hennessy making a loose reference to 8 simple rules seeing how except for her father the family size is the same a sister and brother and a cousin? 65.100.204.74 (talk) 20:43, 16 January 2014 (UTC)

We should be allowed to refer to her as "Penny Hofstadter" now that she and Leonard have officially married. Leonard refers to her as "Mrs. Hofstadter" in episode 9.1 and "Penny Hofstadter" in 9.2. In both cases she responds as if this is now her proper name. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.3.183.127 (talk) 18:15, 29 September 2015 (UTC)

Penny's last name is "Teller" according to a shipping label in season two. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.241.240.42 (talk) 21:46, 20 February 2021 (UTC)

But, the thing is, even if a shipping label on a package she received indicates her last name as "Teller", the show's creators/producers have said they will never revealed what her last name was before she married Leonard. 2600:1700:C960:2270:A12C:B2A7:9C56:7E55 (talk) 09:42, 22 February 2021 (UTC)

"Teller" is probably a joke: Teller (magician) who is also known by a single name. And now you get "Penny Teller", as in "Penn & Teller". OR, but good fun nevertheless. Chaheel Riens (talk) 10:13, 22 February 2021 (UTC)

State of article

A lot of work has gone into this article but it doesn't really read like an encyclopedia article to me. I suspect that there just isn't that much in reliable secondary sources about the character (judging from the reference list, with 90% of the citations to the episodes themselves), and this has led to assembling snippets from the episodes in order to make certain points obvious to the reader while trying to avoid original research. However, this had led to other problems. I feel that it goes into too much detail and might be considered a derivative work (and in violation of copyright). It's basically a rehash of the plot of the series, focusing on the character. Plot summaries should only be there to provide context for analysis and commentary from reliable sources.

I'd suggest comparing to featured articles like Naruto Uzumaki, Homer Simpson, Jack Sparrow, and Todd Manning. Those articles have plot information but it's balanced with the many other sections. Articles like Rick Grimes and Walter White (Breaking Bad) are plot-heavy, but they do have substantial content in other sections.

I feel that this article could be improved in three areas. First is to find and use reliable secondary sources which examine the character in detail and demonstrate the notability for this article. Use those sources to develop substantial non-plot sections, and then reduce or condense the rehashed plot section. In other words, it needs a lot of content work before worrying about things like verb tenses. – Reidgreg (talk) 16:52, 8 January 2022 (UTC)

Inclusion of Wikiproject Women

@Dimadick: for inclusion of {{WikiProject Women}} on this talk page, in what way is the subject of this article important to women, women's issues or women's studies? The fictional character, which was created by two men (neither of whom seem to be notable as feminists), doesn't appear to tackle women's issues in any notable way.

Wikipedia:WikiProject Council/Guide § Tagging pages with WikiProject banners states: pages should only be marked with WikiProject banners for projects that intend to support the tagged pages. (And further down: If an article is only tangentially related to the scope of a WikiProject, then please do not place that project's banner on the article) If you wish to actively rally that project to edit this article, by all means. But I feel that Wikiproject Women would tend to focus its efforts on actual women, particularly women from underrepresented communities, and only be interested in fictional women that have a substantial impact on real women (e.g.: Rosie the Riveter). – Reidgreg (talk) 07:09, 11 January 2022 (UTC)

Read again this WikiProject's scope: "This project addresses the under-representation of content on Wikipedia about women (both real and fictional) and covering women's perspectives. " This is not at all about women's issues, that is WikiProject Feminism. Dimadick (talk) 07:14, 12 January 2022 (UTC)

Penny appeared in every/all but 2 episodes. Does this get a mention?

Well the 4 guys appeared in every episode, and it's mentioned in their wiki pages. How about for Penny? It was just because of the broken leg of Kaley right? Thewriter006 (talk) 08:19, 17 January 2022 (UTC)