The Real Life Partners Of The Cast Of Young Sheldon

As an avowed fan of comic books, superheroes, and sci-fi franchises, Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons), the hopelessly awkward, Nobel Prize-winning super-genius from CBS's long-running mega-hit "The Big Bang Theory," would probably appreciate "Young Sheldon." Debuting in 2017 and tonally the opposite of its parent series, "Young Sheldon" is a sweet and gentle, low-key family comedy about Sheldon in his child and tween years in a small Texas town. He navigates the world as a child prodigy who can't relate to anyone besides college professors and random smart adults — certainly not his siblings, classmates, or well-meaning but flawed parents.

As actors do, each member of the cast of "Young Sheldon" informs their character with their own life experiences, and that includes their own off-screen relationships and families. Here's a look at who the cast of the hit prequel series have settled down with and what they get up to together far away from the set of "Young Sheldon."

Jeff Difford, aka Pastor Jeff, is the ostensible villain of "Young Sheldon," albeit an unwitting and good-natured one. Little Sheldon is firmly pro-science, and he resents having to go to church with his family and listen to the spiritual sermons espoused by Pastor Jeff, a man he aims to destroy. Pastor Jeff seems pretty harmless, or at least that's how actor Matt Hobby portrays him.

Away from TV, Hobby is married to actor Mary Grill, who appears occasionally on "Young Sheldon" as Officer Robin Tilbrook, Pastor Jeff's wife. Apart from "Young Sheldon," Grill's work tends to be a bit edgier. She's worked steadily in comedy over the past decade, acting in projects for the Upright Citizens Brigade and CollegeHumor, along with guest-starring for six episodes on "The Mindy Project" and appearing in stuff like the Adult Swim show "Eagleheart," "You're the Worst," "Veep," and "The Detour." Grill is also a regular performer at the famed Improv comedy theater in Los Angeles, co-creating and starring in the character-based stage show "American Town Hall." In January 2021, according to Instagram, Grill and Hobby expanded their family when they welcomed twin boys named Ernie and Lyle.

It's a bit of logical stunt casting that a show that fondly and nostalgically looks back at the 1980s and 1990s would involve an actor who became famous and popular for appearing in iconic pop culture of that era. Annie Potts, best known as receptionist Janine Melnitz in the "Ghostbusters" films, Mary Jo Shively on "Designing Women," and the voice of Bo Peep in "Toy Story," plays Sheldon's kindly and sassy grandmother Connie Tucker, aka Meemaw, on "Young Sheldon."

Potts has been married four times, most recently and currently to James Hayman, with whom she tied the knot in 1990. She knew he was the man for her "because right away he loved [her] son" from a previous marriage, as Potts told Closer Weekly. "We were instantly a family, had two more sons together and a very happy life," she shared. Hayman is an accomplished and versatile filmmaker and television producer. He started off as a cinematographer in the 1980s, shooting the music video for the Talking Heads' "The Lady Don't Mind," episodes of shows like "Northern Exposure," and the film version of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" before moving into directing and producing. He both helmed installments of and produced big TV hits like "Judging Amy," "Joan of Arcadia," "Ugly Betty," and "NCIS: New Orleans."

Craig T. Nelson, who was part of the ensemble cast of "Parenthood" and the voice of Bob Parr in Pixar's "The Incredibles" movies, has a recurring role on "Young Sheldon" as Coach Ballard. This isn't the first time Nelson has played a coach — he famously played Hayden Fox, coach of the Minnesota State Screaming Eagles football team, on ABC's "Coach" for nine seasons, winning himself an Emmy for the role in 1992.

After splitting up with first wife (and mother of his three children), Robin McCarthy, Nelson married actor Doria Cook, now Doria Cook-Nelson, in 1987, according to Us Weekly. Since their wedding, Cook-Nelson has appeared in just four projects — the TV movie "Ride With the Wind," an episode of "Coach," the miniseries "To Serve and Protect" and the procedural "The District" — all of which starred her husband. Before her marriage, Cook-Nelson was a regular bit player on '70s television, popping up on episodes of era fare like "Lou Grant," "The Odd Couple," and "The Rockford Files."

Dr. Linkletter is one of Sheldon's science professors during his studies at East Texas Tech. He studies neutrinos and other high-end scientific concepts that interest Sheldon, although he tries to avoid the young scientist whenever he can, because, in predicting the character's interactions with academics on "The Big Bang Theory," he finds him annoying and rude.

Ed Begley, Jr. plays Dr. Linkletter, and he's equally well known for his crusading environmentalism as he is for his hundreds of roles in things like "St. Elsewhere," "Best in Show," and "Arrested Development." He even bridged the gap between entertainment and green advocacy with the reality show "Living with Ed," which co-starred and was produced by his wife, Rachelle Carson-Begley. She also works on Begley Living, an Earth-first lifestyle website and product hub for Begley's Earth Responsible Products, as well as a high-ranking executive at vegan health and beauty company Arbonne Products. A theatrical actor who moved to screen work in the late 1980s with a recurring part on "Falcon Crest," Begley-Carson still acts occasionally, turning in notable appearances in cult hits like "The Bling Ring" and "But I'm a Cheerleader."