After a 12-season run of CBS's The Big Bang Theory, Kaley Cuoco is finally able to showcase her talent outside of the long-running, quirky sitcom. On Feb. 3, the HBO Max series The Flight Attendant made her a first-time Golden Globe nominee, much to the 35-year-old actress's delight.
She posted her very emotional reaction on Instagram:
"Thank you @goldenglobes #hfpa I will never ever forget this moment and I can’t stop crying ... so proud of my entire team @flightattendantonmax ✈️ !!!!!," she wrote.
Cuoco is also an executive producer on the Flight Attendant, which was also nominated for Best Television Series, Musical or Comedy. The show is about a flight attendant who wakes up in a Bangkok hotel room with a dead man and no memory of how any of it happened. The murder-mystery comedy series also stars Rosie Perez, Zosia Mamet, and Michiel Huisman.
The person right beside Cuoco in that celebratory, emotion-filled viral moment, was her husband, Karl Cook. On Feb. 3, he also posted to celebrate his wife's big Globes moment. Alongside a video of Cuoco losing it over a photo of her dog, he wrote, "You can be a little crazy sometimes @kaleycuoco but I am soo proud of you and amazed at what you created with the flight attendant! You earned you golden globe nominations!! I love you so so much!"
The two have been married since June 2018 after dating for about two years. Cuoco separated from her first husband, Ryan Sweeting, in 2015.
"I cannot wait to be in love again," she told Cosmopolitan in a March 2016 interview, published a few weeks before she posted her first photo with Cook. "I don't feel like I am ready yet which is so different for me. I dive into everything."
Here's what we know about Cook.
He's a big-deal equestrian
Once Cook started making an appearance on Cuoco's social media, publications zeroed in on his impressive equestrian career. In 2016, he won the blue ribbon at the $25,500 SmartPak Grand Prix and the $15,000 UltrOz Jumper. He has an impressive ranking International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI).
In June 2019, Cook spoke with equestrian site NOËLLE FLOYD after he and his horse had a bad accident at the Upperville Colt & Horse Show in Upperville, Virginia.
"As I was falling, I could hear my grooms and my trainer yell in shock. And when I turned around my horse was on the ground. [My horse] didn't get up," he said. "She didn't get up for a while. I thought she broke her neck; she was laying there shaking. Even now it’s so difficult—it’s so hard because you sit there as a rider, and you rode that horse. You picked that distance, that was your choice. And now your horse is laying on the ground shaking. The horse ambulance pulls up and people are talking about euthanizing. It was the worst experience." In the end his horse, Kalinka "Kali" Van't Zorgvlie, was okay.
He went on, adding that he's always driven to do better in the future: "What drives me to be better and learn more and continue to improve is shame…I want to get better not because I want to win every jump-off or want to be clear every time, but because I never want to have that feeling. I never want to make a mistake."
Cuoco is also a skilled and competitive horse rider, and the two met at a horse show in 2016, per Us Weekly.
His parents are pretty accomplished, too
Per E!, Cook's mom, Signe Ostby, is also a rider and owns several of the horses on which Cook competes. According to her University of Wisconsin bio, Otsby launched her start-up, Software Publishing Corporation, in 1982. The company made productivity software for computers. Later, she launched her own marketing strategy for IBM, HP (printers and software), Apple, Epson, Egghead, Radio Shack, Compaq, and more.
His father, Scott Cook, is the cofounder of financial software Intuit and has a net worth of $4.7 billion, according to Forbes. Cook's own net worth is estimated to be $100 million.
He and Cuoco's names are connected in a funny way
Cuoco is derived from the Italian word meaning "chef" or "cook." Not to sound like Toula's father from My Big Fat Greek Wedding, but when you translate Cuoco's last name, it's...also basically "Cook."
He has a fun-loving sense of humor
Cook seems to like to have fun (at his wife's expense) with his social-media presence. On New Year's Day 2018, he posted this groggy photo of Cuoco. "I like starting the year off with a good chuckle," he wrote. "Here's @normancook really trying to stay up to the new year. It was only 9:30, good effort. I love you so much honey." Notice he tagged Cuoco's dog Norman in that photo (Norman doesn't currently have any posted photos).
Here's another goofy spouse moment:
Yet another:
He's a dog dad
Cuoco and Cook are passionate about animals (kind of a requirement if you're a horse family!), and they own 25 horses and what Variety describes as a "large pack of dogs."
In her interview with Variety this month, Cuoco didn't want to say exactly how many dogs she has at her home. "I'm not allowed to say how many I have, because I am afraid they will come knocking, saying that it's an illegal amount," she said.
Just one look at either Cuoco and Cook's Instagram grids, and you will see many dogs. Norman, unfortunately, died in January, and in December 2020, Cook revealed that their rescue dog Petunia had died a few months after they adopted her.
But it looks like they still have lots of furry love in their home:
And a home owner
Variety noted last year that, nearly two years into their marriage, Cook and Cuoco still didn't live together. But that apparently changed once they bought a $12 million Hidden Hills home.
Remember that Cuoco alone has done quite well for herself; during her time on Big Bang, she famously became one of the highest-paid actors in TV. So, yeah, they can afford to live among the Kardashians.
He's a skilled woodworker
For her birthday last year, Cuoco received a very special gift (if you're into horses). He made her a "mounting block" from salvaged wood embedded with her horse's shoes.
"For non-horse people, this is something used to help get on your horses and it’s nothing short of amazing ! 🥰🥰😭😭🐴🦄 @mrtankcook 🎁," she wrote. Cook is a man of many talents, for sure.
