Q&A with Mayim Bialik: "I fell in love with biology ... "

POSTED: Thursday, March 22, 2012, 3:00 PM

Filed Under: Events | Interview

You probably remember her best from the ’90s, but since her days as a fashion-challenged teen on Blossom, Mayim Bialik has bloomed in every way possible. This weekend, the PhD-wielding author and mother of two will be the keynote speaker at the National Museum of American Jewish History’s celebration of the bat mitzvah ceremony’s 90th anniversary.

City Paper: OK, so I have to ask this first. Blossom must follow you everywhere. Can you ever escape it, and do you want to?

Mayim Bialik: It does, but no, not at all! I think it’s normal for a lot of women my age to want to get away from things they did [early in their careers]. But Blossom was great. It was the first show of its kind to feature a girl the way that it did, so I think it is something to be proud of.

CP: You didn’t really take any of the traditional paths that a lot of child stars do. What was the driving force behind pursing a higher education?

MB: I come from an immigrant background; three of my four grandparents came to America from their native countries, so I was raised with the ethic that you go to college. It’s just what you do if you have the opportunity, and it was something I wanted to do no matter what I had done in my teen years.

CP: Why did you choose neuroscience?

MB: I actually fell in love with biology while being tutored on the set of Blossom, and that initial interest in the coursework just took off. For my graduate work, I focused on Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and the specific hormones related to human attachment.

CP: You seem particularly devoted to your religious beliefs. How does your religious self inform your scientific self, and vice-versa?

MB: Well, I really don’t experience much of a conflict. The Torah doesn’t claim to be a science book, and I don’t read it that way. The more amazing things I learn about the human body, the more appreciation I have for something that created it.

CP: How else does your religion factor into your day-to-day routine?

MB: The main structure of my life is as a Jewish person. My family’s calendar rotates around it. It dictates the things that we eat [and] the way I frame my day is as a person constantly driven by the values instilled in me by my faith.

CP: You’ll be speaking this weekend at National Museum of American Jewish History. As a Jewish woman, what does this event mean to you?

MB: I think it’s an amazing event to be part of when I not only represent a lot of the values that are being talked about, but also personally, it is something very close to me. In 1988, I was the first woman in my family to have a bat mitzvah and I remember it as a very significant day. It was more about the religious aspects than the material ones for me, and I really appreciated the whole experience.

CP: So you’re a star, you’ve attained a PhD and you’ve given birth to two children. You must feel pretty on top of the world, no?

MB: Honestly, I’m a pretty humble person, and am exceedingly grateful for the opportunities I’ve had. I’m far from perfect and there is a lot more I hope to accomplish, and things for my children to accomplish. There is a Hasidic sayings that goes: "We should walk with a piece of paper in each pocket. On one should have 'I am dust and ashes' written on it, and the other, 'The world was created for me.'"

CP: How has motherhood directed this next phase in your life?

MB: It’s fantastic. My boys are three-and-a-half and six … it has been a very humbling experience to be a parent.

CP: Your book, Beyond the Sling deals a lot with parenting. Can you tell me about it?

MB: It is mainly about attachment parenting and is inspired by our family’s experiences with natural birth: what it looked like in our home, breastfeeding, gentle discipline … navigating those waters. A lot of what I feel like is intuitive in these regards actually makes a lot of sense from a neuroscience standpoint.

CP: You’ve recently seen a re-blossoming in your acting career with your role on The Big Bang Theory. How’s that going and what got you back into it?

MB: We had our first son when we were still in graduate school, and the second just after I finished my PhD, so a return to acting allowed me to be around the kids. Life as a research professor would have involved me being away from them much more. I didn’t think I’d have a regular role so quickly, but we’re figuring it out.

CP: How do you fit it all in — motherhood, multiple careers, public speaking, continued studies …?

MB: Honestly, I don’t have a very active social life. I’m a pretty efficient multi-tasker. I stay up late and I wake up early. My rabbi and teacher at UCLA is one of the people I admire most. He doesn’t sleep a lot. There are no nannies. We clean our own toilets. We’re not extravagant.

Mayim Bialik will be speaking at “Coming of Age in America,” Sun., March 25, 11 a.m., free, The National Museum of American Jewish History, 101 S. Independence Mall East, 215-923-3811, nmajh.org.

(courtney.sexton@citypaper.net) (@NoRelation2Anne)

Posted by Courtney Sexton @ 3:00 PM Permalink | Post a comment

Comments (0)

Q&A with SHARI SOLANIS: "The goal isn't pornography"
What we're trying to do this weekend
SEXY TIME Q&A: I've never had an orgasm during sex with a man — and I'm 30!
Q&A with Tony Goldwyn: "Life is gray, and relationships are, too"
CONCERT REVIEW: Primus (3D & quadraphonic sound) @ The Tower 10/17
NOW SEE THIS: Transit cop arrests marijuana activist for alleged disorderly conduct.
ICE CUBE: In Memoriam: Joe Tartaglia
Coming soon to Philly: Two cockamamie movie promotion schemes
ICEPACK ILLUSTRATED: The Archbishop meets the Geator, the Mayor goes suit shopping, Le Bec Fin fin.
NOW SEE THIS: Tim and Eric direct Terry Crews for Old Spice

About this blog

Featuring everything from event roundups to concert reviews and sex talk, City Paper's Critical Mass is a space for off-the-wall coverage of Philly's A&E scene.

Follow Critical Mass editors Patrick Rapa and Emily Guendelsberger on Twitter:

@mission2denmark | @emilygee

Search this blog:

Topics:

Blog archives:

May
April
March

February
January

Past Archives: