On The Big Bang Theory, Beverly Hofstadter is Leonard's seemingly evil mother who cares more about her role as an analytical neuroscientist than as a caring mother. Over 12 seasons, fans have seen Leonard's relationship with his mom affect most of his decision-making as an adult. Every mistake he makes he blames on his upbringing.
Nevertheless, it should be said that Beverly does everything with intention; and just like Sheldon, she has problems with reading the person she's speaking to. But is Beverly all that bad? She's had some horrible moments but she's also redeemed herself over the years.
The Best: She Cared About Being At Leonard & Penny's Wedding
In the ninth season, Beverly is back in town and has a girls' night with Penny, Bernadette, and Amy. While Beverly spends all of her time getting to know Amy and Bernadette and finding them remarkable, Penny is left scratching her head, unsure of why Beverly dislikes her so much. It turns out that Beverly was hurt that Leonard and Penny eloped and didn't tell her about it. Beverly was even more upset when she found out she could have watched it online. Seeing this side of her was a big deal for her character because it showed that she truly cared about Leonard and Penny as a couple.
The Worst: She Used Leonard For Her Studies
As a neuroscientist, Beverly used her love of the brain to write numerous papers and books. The problem with Beverly's work is she used her son Leonard as her muse and studied him in the name of science. Sadly for Leonard, this information has come to haunt him as an adult.
Fans felt sorry for him Beverly's book was being studied in college psychology courses, making Penny more familiar than ever with Leonard's strange childhood. An example is when she accused him of breastfeeding co-dependently.
The Best: She Sang Rock Band With Sheldon
Unlike Beverly, Sheldon has truly transformed over the years. Who would have thought that he would be a married Nobel Prize winner by season 12? Beverly, on the other hand, was firm in her beliefs and stayed true to the person the audience first met.
The only one that appeared to loosen Beverly up was Sheldon. In one episode, he suggested to Beverly that they do something spontaneous together — and it ended up being Rock Band! Seeing these two very serious individuals jam out was a highlight of the series.
The Worst: She Never Celebrated Leonard's Birthday
As overrated or as underrated as some fans think Leonard is, everyone is entitled to celebrating their birthday. It's a day that should be all about you and filled with love. That's how Penny sees it, at least.
Upon meeting Leonard and co., Penny learned that Leonard never had a birthday party growing up because Beverly thought that it was silly to celebrate something his birth as it wasn't an achievement.
The Best: She Loves Penny
Penny has had a few continuity errors over the course of 12 seasons but one thing that has always been the same was her relationship with Beverly. Penny wanted a close relationship with Beverly (kind of like the relationship she had with Sheldon's mother) but found it hard to do so because Beverly can be intimidating. But after getting to know Penny, she realized she's brighter and more interesting than she assumed. It wasn't until Sheldon admitted his admiration for Penny that Beverly fully gave in and liked spending time with her.
The Worst: She Prefers Sheldon To Leonard
Whether it's because Sheldon is equally as interested in Beverly as she is in him or it's because of Sheldon's high IQ, but Beverly and Sheldon have a very close bond.
When viewers first met Beverly, she chose sitting in the backseat with Sheldon over being next to her son who just picked her up from the airport. On the way home, Leonard found out that Sheldon and Beverly are closer than he realized and it bothered him. Comically, Sheldon told Leonard that he knew about his parents looming divorce, the death of their dog Mitzy, and about Beverly's surgery. As amazing of a relationship as Sheldon and Beverly had, Leonard wanted to have the same thing with his mother — sometimes.
The Best: When She Tries To Bond With Penny & The Girls
As cruel and judgmental as Beverly can be to Penny, she does loosen up and tries to get to know her. There came a time when Beverly and Penny were close enough to hang out with Amy and Bernadette, which Beverly liked even more because of their commonalities. Beverly was fascinated by Amy's work in neuroscience and enjoyed talking about Bernadette's work. It was awkward and fun all at the same time to see the four of them in Penny's living room talking shop over wine.
The Worst: She Refused To Help Leonard With His Girl Issues
Although Leonard had been attached to Penny for all these years, he also dated some pretty phenomenal women. Some even say that he was better off with the likes of Stephanie or Priya.
After Leonard told his mother he wanted to have a closer relationship with her, he attempted to open up to her about his frustrations with Priya and Penny. Instead of giving him the warm response he was hoping, she told him to "Buck up, sissy pants" and to buy her books on Amazon for advice. Although Beverly gout mad at Leonard later on for not inviting her to his wedding, can she really blame him after advice like this?
The Best: She Finally Started Caring About Leonard's Life In Season 12
In the final season, Beverly made a trip to visit Leonard and became oddly interested in his work. She even dropped in at Caltech and asked to see his new project. Sheldon was shocked that Beverly chose time with Leonard over him and instantly became jealous. Sadly, Leonard found out that Beverly was only acting this way for research for her new book but it led to an open and honest conversation between the two. This proved that Beverly was stuck in her old ways but open to a stronger bond with her son in the series' final season.
The Worst: She Insulted Mary Cooper Regularly
Beverly Hofstadter assumed she would adore Mary Cooper because she gave birth to such a brilliant young man but the opposite became true. Mary is a very religious woman who credits God with all of her successes and faults. Beverly, on the other hand, credits her good fortune on the word of science. The two often went head-to-head but it was typically Beverly who started it all. She couldn't sit next to Mary without judging her points of view and dedication to the church. As a grown woman, Beverly should be bright enough to be civil for the sake of her son and Sheldon.