Mayim Bialik said she wore suits while guest-hosting 'Jeopardy!' to look like 'the academic I was trained to be'

• "The Big Bang Theory" star Mayim Bialik hosted "Jeopardy!" episodes airing now through June 11.
• Bialik said she wore suits to "look like the academic" she was "trained to be."
• She said her choice to wear suits was also partially inspired by the late Alex Trebek.

Mayim Bialik guest-hosted "Jeopardy!" in a series of episodes that started airing Monday night, and fans loved her first appearance on the show.

In a pre-show interview on the "Jeopardy!" YouTube channel, Bialik said that she was inspired by her education and background in academia to make suits a part of her wardrobe for the show.

Bialik, who played Amy Farrah Fowler on the CBS sitcom "The Big Bang Theory," holds a doctorate in neuroscience, which she earned from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 2007.

"This is actually something that I felt instantly really passionate about," Bialik said of her fashion on the game show. "Much as women are accomplished in many fields, and we've made so many changes in how we're represented and how we're seen, it's by-and-large a confusing time I think still for women in terms of what we're expected to look like and what people think when we dress a certain way or don't."

"For me, I really just wanted to look like the academic that I was trained to be," she continued.

Bialik went on to say that in her opinion, an "academic" style includes "a certain amount of formality and decorum." As a result, she chose a suit that also honored the show's late host Alex Trebek, who died in November 2020.

"The image I have of him is in a suit; it's blazered up," she said of Trebek.

"I really wanted to do my version of that - not because I'm trying to look like a man or because I want to look masculine," Bialik continued in the interview. "I wanted to choose things that were flattering and that I feel comfortable in, which, as an actress, you almost never get to have those things."

The actor also noted that she wanted her look to include "a little bit of flair, but not too much." In the pre-show interview, she wore a green blouse with a high neckline that tied into a bow. She also accessorized with short earrings and clear-rimmed glasses.

Bialik's episodes of "Jeopardy!" will air through June 11. The show will match contestants' winnings to make a donation to the National Alliance for Mental Illnesses - the charity that Bialik selected as part of her time as a guest host, according to Yahoo! Entertainment.

After Trebek died in November 2020, "Jeopardy!" announced that celebrities and journalists including Katie Couric, Robin Roberts, legendary "Jeopardy!" player Ken Jennings, and others would be taking turns as guest hosts.