Summary. Kaley Cuoco's absence from two episodes of The Big Bang Theory was due to a horse riding accident that resulted in a broken leg. Cuoco's character, Penny, was a key component of the show's dynamic and her absence was keenly felt in season 4.

Considering that Cuoco was born in 1985, the actress was 22 years old at the start of The Big Bang Theory, making her just a year shy of her counterpart. Before appearing on TBBT, she was mainly known for playing Bridget Hennessey on the sitcom 8 Simple Rules.

During the season, Kaley Cuoco's character Penny was absent from episodes 5 and 6 after she fell off a horse and the horse broke her leg. When returning to the series, she was shown working as a bartender instead of waitressing at her usual workplace, The Cheesecake Factory, to hide her injury.

The Actors Actually Dated In Real Life Cuoco admits that she had a crush on Galecki early on while filming TBBT season 1, but it wasn't until filming the elevator scene in the season 1 installment "The Nerdvana Annihilation," that something clicked for both of them.