Why Yvette From The Big Bang Theory Looks So Familiar
For a series as long-running and popular as "The Big Bang Theory," it should come as no surprise that the careers following the actors in question have been full of success. For 12 seasons, actors Kaley Cuoco and related cast members have appeared in close to 300 episodes and, since its conclusion, found a healthy amount of credits (via IMDb). Cuoco has appeared in the impressive two seasons of HBO's "Flight Attendant" while even Melissa Rauch has had a recurring role in "True Blood."
But just as important as these starring roles are actors that come in for only one episode engagements. Actors who have gained fame in acclaimed television shows and films can be seen from time to time on the CBS comedy. Those who have seen the episode where Raj (Kunal Nayyar) takes his dog Cinnamon to the vet may experience a wave of familiarity when they look at Yvette. The veterinarian only appears once in the series, but has had a long career of varied roles.
She started out young in Malcolm In the Middle
Before breaking the fourth wall became a well-known trope in film and television, the wildly successful sitcom "Malcolm In the Middle" was ahead of its time. Starring Frankie Muniz as the gifted titular character in a dysfunctional home, the series stood out from other sitcoms of the time. In addition to Malcolm addressing the camera, there was no laugh track, which was a common practice at the time.
In recent years, Muniz has acknowledged that he does not remember his time on "Malcolm In the Middle," but the same cannot be said for one guest star. Tania Raymonde's role as classmate Cynthia was one of the actor's earliest credits. Arriving in Season 2, Cynthia soon becomes a part of Malcolm's band of lovable nerds. She appears intermittently throughout the series until their freshman year of high school, when she is presumed to have transferred schools. Though fleeting, Raymonde cherishes the memories of her early role.
"Fun fact: I was hopelessly in love w/ Frankie Muniz at the time so when I got this part I figured the next logical step would be that we would get married," the actor posted on Instagram. Raymonde's early work made an impression, and she would go on to have a prolific career in television.
She was one of Lost's many tragically short-lived characters
In the bygone era of watching television on a weekly basis, there was no bigger series than ABC's "Lost." Full of mysteries and a flashback structure, the ambitious two-part pilot spawned a phenomenon of fans trying to unravel the secrets of a mysterious island and the survivors that crash-landed there. In the characters' attempts to escape the island, they encounter many types of foes, from the island's inhabitants to evil mercenaries. But perhaps the most fiendish among them is Ben Linus.
Portrayed by Michael Emerson in a terrifying display of manipulative tendencies, it was never clear if the leader of The Others could be trusted. And no one knew this better than his adoptive daughter, Alex (Tania Raymonde). After being taken hostage in Season 4, Alex's life is forfeit when a group of interlopers tries to use her to get to Ben. In a massive miscalculation, Ben tries to convince them that he doesn't care for her, thinking they will release her. Instead, it leads to her execution right in front of his eyes. Out of Ben's many crimes, this is one of the worst. His constant machinations only lead to the death of arguably the only person he cared about. Luckily for Raymonde, Alex's death didn't mean she was gone from the show forever. She would reprise her role as the shadowy monster in the jungle as well as appearances off the island.
Her romance on Cold Case didn't last very long
With crime procedurals saturating almost every major network, those on the air need to stand out from each other. Where "Criminal Minds" attacks unsubs and "NCIS" takes on Naval crimes, "Cold Case" approaches solving crimes in its own specific way. Kathryn Morris stars as Lilly Rush, the only female homicide detective at her precinct who is dedicated to get justice for victims who have none. Tackling crimes that seem unsolvable, "Cold Case" uses period music and moody filters to tell its story. And though the detectives don't always have time to service their love lives, when they do, it is often just as dramatic as the cases that they solve.
Lilly's partner Scotty Valens (Danny Pino) has had many hits and misses on the series, including Tania Raymonde's appearance as Frankie Rafferty. She and Scotty meet in an official capacity when she starts working as a lab technician. But their burgeoning romance is thrown into chaos when Scotty learns that Frankie has an estranged husband he didn't know about. The two become on-again-off-again as Frankie struggles to decide whether to reconcile with her husband or not. All this drama turns out to not be for Scotty, and he ends things decisively in Season 6. Unfortunately for Scotty, his romantic aspirations didn't have time to recover as "Cold Case" ended in Season 7.
She was an unfortunate victim in Texas Chainsaw 3D
Sometimes films become well known not for their amazing impact on pop culture but for the exact opposite. While many horror franchises such as "Halloween" and "Friday the 13th" has a somewhat linear trajectory — as much as that is possible — the "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" timeline is one full of confusion and inconsistencies. And "Texas Chainsaw 3D" is one of the most unfortunate in the myriad of sequels. Due to massive rewrites and suspect leadership, the attempt at rebooting the franchise failed terribly. Bloody Disgusting unpacked exactly what went wrong with the film when speaking to partners and original screenwriters Adam Marcus and Debra Sullivan. Despite best intentions, what could have been a truly inspired direct sequel to the original "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" became a hodgepodge of content, spinning the film into infamy. Starring Alexandra Daddario of "The White Lotus" and "True Detective" fame, the film follows Heather as she finds that she has inherited a mysterious estate in Texas (via IMDb).
It should come as no surprise that this pushes her into the crosshairs of Leatherface as a bounty of carnage follows. She and friends Nikki (Tania Raymonde), Kenny (Keram Malicki-Sanchez), and Ryan (Trey Songz) go on a tumultuous adventure that can only come from a "Texas Chainsaw" film. It may have a startling 19% on Rotten Tomatoes, but that just adds to the film's notoriety in a long list of sequels.
She played one of the most infamous true crime figures
Sensationalizing real-life crimes is not a new concept in pop culture. From Dahmer to Bundy, the life and crimes of many killers have been fictionalized and thrown up on the screen for public consumption. Lifetime is one network that fixated on this idea with the events surrounding the brutal murder of Travis Alexander. In 2008, the Mesa, Arizona native was found killed at the hands of his obsessive girlfriend, Jodi Arias (via ABC). Tania Raymonde plays the woman in question in "Jodi Arias: Dirty Little Secret." The actor spoke to Hollywood Life exclusively about the process and how surreal it was to be creating a film that was also happening in real-time.
"There was so much coverage and close ups of her on the stand, and some of the dialogue was word for word what she said when she was on the stand with the prosecutor," Raymonde stated. She went on to say: "She'd be on TV every night and the next day, I'm sitting in the same courthouse wearing the same outfit saying the same line she said yesterday on live TV. It was a trip." The film focuses on the beginning relationship between Arias and Alexander and the devastating following events. Certainly capitalizing on the scintillating details of the true events, Variety agrees that Lifetime succeeds in creating a disturbing rehash of the true crime story.
She has grown into her own in Goliath
Prolific producer David E. Kelley's reach extends to network television, HBO hits, and streaming shows on Amazon Prime. Running for four seasons, "Goliath" is one of Kelley's many series that features morally gray characters seeking redemption. Starring Billy-Bob Thorton as disgraced lawyer Billy McBride, the series follows his struggle to get his life back after taking on a wrongful death case. In his pursuit, he is aided by sometimes paralegal and sex worker Brittany Gold (Tania Raymonde). Her work with Billy is at times morally compromising, but she ultimately finds her purpose. Raymonde herself went through her own learning experience by portraying the character.
"I realized [being a sex worker is] the least important thing about her," the "Lost" actor told ScreenRant in an exclusive interview. "In fact, she's a human being that's complex and smart — and people are not what they do." Brittany learns many lessons throughout "Goliath" and eventually moves to Chicago to pursue a career in being a paralegal — away from the influence of Billy. Though she eventually finds her way back to helping her former mentor, her journey along the way was just as important as instruction.