[Photos] Kaley Cuoco on Maxim Magazines - March 2010

Blonde But No Bimbo

KALEY Cuoco may be the blonde bombshell of the average geek's dreams - especially after gracing the cover of Maxim last month.

But even though "dumb blonde" roles like the one she played in 8 Simple Rules and the one she currently plays in The Big Bang Theory associate her with that stereotype, Cuoco is no vapid Hollywood starlet.

On the geek-themed sitcom, her character, Penny, a buxom blonde waitress with dreams of making it big as a Hollywood actress, contrasts with the quartet of socially-awkward nerds next door.

Although Cuoco is living her character's dream, the 24-year-old proclaimed that she'd rather shovel horse manure than get caught up in the empty glitz of Hollywood.

Well, not in so many words, but horses were definitely involved.

"Someone might be looking at me and I'm thinking I have something on my face," said Cuoco to prove the point that fame wasn't something that concerned her at all. Her real life is spent on a ranch outside of Hollywood.

"I don't think about the show - the minute I leave the set, it's a completely different lifestyle. I get home and it's like, 'Are you going to help me with the dishes?' I have three horses and four dogs. I'm very involved in the animal world, so that's what keeps me grounded. I show horses. That's my favourite part of my life."

Really? Not the glamour of stardom and her adoring masses?

"This is not a real life. This is a weird little world," she proclaimed. "If I didn't have animals ... You get so sucked in and become obsessed with what you're doing, you don't appreciate it any more."

If you're wondering how she can be so blase about it, seeing as she got her start in showbiz at the ripe old age of six, Cuoco shared that unlike Penny, becoming an actress was never a lifelong dream - it was just something she felt comfortable doing.

"It's just another part of life," she shrugged.

"The minute you start taking it too seriously is the minute no one wants to hear what you're doing any more. Who wants to hear about your craft? It's boring. No one cares. It's stupid! I've never been in an acting class in my life. I'd rather kill myself. I don't want to learn about acting. It just is what it is."

Okay ... But mouthing off like that could be dangerous for her career, couldn't it?

"Oh yeah, I've gotten into trouble a couple of times," Cuoco said, smiling. "I've said certain things. But I don't care. Someone's always going to make a dumber remark than you did."

Is there a good part to being famous and successful, then?

Laughing, Cuoco replied: "It gives me an opportunity to have all those animals! You know how expensive it is to have these frickin' horses hanging around?"

Source: http://www.kaley-cuoco.org/