Unfortunately for the team behind The Big Bang Theory, the hit TV show’s huge success has been called strange by some observers. Not only that, Joe Rogan told Macaulay Culkin he was lucky he didn’t star in the show and Bert Kreischer once insulted TBBT to Kaley Cuoco’s face. Despite criticism like that and the fact that a former teen star was traumatized by the show, The Big Bang Theory has many devoted fans.
The most devoted fans know things like who Jim Parsons’ favorite guest star was and that Craig Ferguson has an unofficial cameo. However, even a lot of fans who know that a TBBT scene was banned aren’t aware of what happened to the actor who originally played Missy Cooper, Courtney Henggeler.
Courtney Henggeler Landed A Starring Role In A Popular Show After The Big Bang Theory
Throughout the history of The Big Bang Theory, the popular sitcom featured many recurring characters who showed up many times. Despite that, Courtney Henggeler only appeared in two episodes even though her portrayal of Missy Cooper was a lot of fun on The Big Bang Theory.
According to Courtney’s IMDb page, she appeared in two The Big Bang Theory episodes that aired basically a decade apart. Courtney’s first episode aired in 2008 and her second episode premiered on May 10th, 2018.
Just over a week before Courtney’s second The Big Bang Theory episode aired, her career had a milestone moment for her. On May 2nd, 2018, the first season of Cobra Kai was released with Courtney in a starring role.
Throughout Cobra Kai’s six-season run, Courtney portrayed Amanda LaRusso, the wife of the character at the heart of the Karate Kid films, Daniel LaRusso.
Cobra Kai’s Characters Ranked, According to Screen Rant | |
|---|---|
Cobra Kai Character | Rank |
Mitch | #20 |
Aisha | #19 |
Moon | #18 |
Zara | #17 |
Kenny | #16 |
Devon Lee | #15 |
Carmen Diaz | #14 |
Anthony LaRusso | #13 |
Terry Silver | #12 |
Samantha LaRusso | #11 |
Eli “Hawk” Moskowitz | #10 |
Amanda LaRusso | #9 |
Demetri Alexopoulos | #8 |
John Kreese | #7 |
Chozen Toguchi | #6 |
Robby Keene | #5 |
Miguel Diaz | #4 |
Tory Nichols | #3 |
Daniel LaRusso | #2 |
Johnny Lawrence | #1 |
According to Courtney’s IMDb page, she was credited for all 65 episodes of Cobra Kai, which speaks to how important she was to the much-beloved show.
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In January 2021, Courtney spoke to CBS News about her starring Cobra Kai role.
According to Famous Birthdays, Courtney Henggeler was born on December 11th, 1978 in Phillipsburg, New Jersey.
During that discussion, Courtney spoke to the outlet about fighting to protect her Cobra Kai character, Amanda LaRusso.
“It was important for me and for the writers and creators to find a voice for Amanda in a very funny way. She is the voice of reason, but in a witty way. I’m always fighting to make Amanda her own person.”
During that same interview, Courtney praised her most notable Cobra Kai co-star.
After Courtney Henggeler first played Missy Cooper on The Big Bang Theory, the role was taken over by Raegan Revord who starred as the character on Young Sheldon. On May 10th, 2018, Raegan posted a video of her with Courtney on the set of The Big Bang Theory on X/Twitter. Courtney then responded to Raegan’s post by writing about how similar she and the child star were. “We’re basically the same person 🤗”
While still talking to CBS News, Courtney explained what it was like working with Ralph Macchio.
“Ralph always has a million stories and you feel like you’ll never catch up to the body of work that he has and his experience. Being with him, you just want to keep your game up. You always want to be just right there with him and keep fighting to get a little closer to his level of professionalism.”
In addition to starring in Cobra Kai, Courtney showed up in other projects after her The Big Bang Theory tenure.
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According to Courtney’s IMDb page, she appeared in one episode each of Fuller House and Into the Dark after her last The Big Bang Theory appearance.
Courtney also appeared in the movies Nobody’s Fool, Do Not Reply, and The Boys in the Boat.
Courtney Henggeler Retired From Acting After The Big Bang Theory
After fans saw Courtney Henggeler’s second The Big Bang Theory appearance, she enjoyed the greatest success of her acting career. When Cobra Kai came to an end, Courtney’s fans had to wonder what would come next for her acting career. What those fans likely never expected was to learn that Courtney was walking away.
In April 2025, E! News reported that Courtney had written a post on her substack revealing her decision to retire from acting. That post began with Courtney simply stating that she’d ended her acting career days earlier.
After 20 plus years of fighting the good fight in the acting business, I hung up my gloves on Friday. I called my agents and told them I was tapping out.
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As Courtney’s post continued, she explained that she decided to retire because she was tired from the grind and wanted to chart a new course.
“I no longer wanted to be a cog in the wheel of the machine. When prompted to know what I did want to do, I simply replied ‘I want to be the machine.’ All I’ve ever known in my professional life was acting. But not even the art or craft of acting. All I’ve truly ever knew was the hustle. The hustle, the grind, sprinkled occasionally with the odd acting job. Perhaps a line or two to TV’s Dr. House – ‘Sorry.’ (That’s it. That was my line. Genius). Or a recurring guest-star that never seemed to recur….”
Furthermore, Courtney revealed in the post that she’d considered giving up her acting career for years before she did. “For years I silenced the voice in my head, begging me to walk away. The voice, the constant gnawing. Not because of the acting itself. But because of the gauntlet I had to run to reach the acting. What once felt necessary, something I willingly participated, even celebrated, became stifling.”
Courtney Henggeler Expanded Her Family After The Big Bang Theory
In April 2025, Yahoo! published an article about Courtney Henggeler’s personal life. That article revealed the details of Courtney’s family that she built with her husband, Ross Kohn.
After the couple got married in October 2015, they welcomed the birth of their son, Oscar Noah Kohn, in January 2017.
Then, after Courtney’s second episode of The Big Bang Theory aired in May 2018, the couple had their second child, their daughter Georgie Healy Kohn in 2019.
The Big Bang Theory
- Release Date
-
2007 – 2019-00-00
- Network
-
CBS
- Showrunner
-
Mark Cendrowski
- Directors
-
Mark Cendrowski
- Writers
-
Chuck Lorre, Bill Prady
