Dr. Rajesh Ramayan "Raj" Koothrappali, Ph.D., is an astrophysicist and Howard Wolowitz's best friend. He often hangs out at Leonard and Sheldon's apartment, though he has his own apartment (the Raj Mahal) in Pasadena. Raj fell in love with while attending Cambridge University. Originally from New Delhi, Raj has an Indian English accent and, ironically, dislikes Indian food and culture. He frequently portrays himself as having come from humble origins and growing up in poverty in India, only for his friends to remind him that his father is a gynecologist, drives a Bentley, and has a house full of servants. For the first six seasons, his principal characteristic was a case of selective mutism social anxiety disorder, which did not allow him to talk to women outside of his family. This condition could be suppressed through alcohol (or if he thought he was drinking alcohol) or experimental social anxiety medications; however, the former usually ended up changing his personality, making him more obnoxious and overbearing, while the latter tended to have unpredictable side-effects.
Physical Appearance
Raj is 5' 7" (1.70 m), with warm tan skin, black hair and brown eyes. He is normally seen wearing a layered combination of a shirt, a sweater vest, and a windbreaker with cargo pants and skate shoes; he wore a red baseball cap in the Pilot.
Early Life
Rajesh Koothrappali was born in New Delhi, India on October 6, 1981 to Dr. V.M. Koothrappali and Mrs. Koothrappali. He also has a younger sister Priya and also 3 brothers and 1 other sister. While growing up in India, he didn't really like it there and grew to dislike his country's food and culture. Later, Raj left India and moved to Pasadena, California in the United States of America. There, he met Howard Wolowitz who became his best friend and Howard's mother made Raj feel welcome into their house.(Although she thought he was the gardner for two years)