April Bowlby is best known by many fans for playing Kandi on “Two and a Half Men,” where she was the love interest of Jon Cryer’s Alan. “She could get away with anything and was super-lovable. She’s also very naïve but in an appealing way,” the actor told Cream magazine in February 2021 when discussing her character. She last appeared on “Two and a Half Men” after Charlie Sheen left the hit sitcom on Season 12’s “Of Course He’s Dead” episode, which aired in 2015. Following that, she landed small parts on multiple shows, including FX’s “You’re the Worst” and “The Big Bang Theory.” Later, she found a home as a superhero on the DC Universe’s “Doom Patrol.”
You can add Bowlby to the list of DC villains who are gorgeous in real life, as she played Rita Farr, Elasti-Woman, on the HBO Max series for 46 episodes. “I like to keep my projects different to each other,” Bowlby told Cream when talking about playing a superhero versus the affable Kandi on CBS. “It’s just so much fun to be the b***h. It’s the best role that you could play,” she said about being Rita.
Her “Doom Patrol” character evolved from her early beginnings in Season 1 when she was more one-note. “I’m constantly learning about Rita, but I can definitely step more easily into her for season two,” Bowlby told Brief Take in June 2020 as the show was headed into its second season. Bowlby’s time as Elasti-Woman came to an end in 2023 when the show was canceled after four seasons. The actor has not landed another big series since then, but she remains busy with projects on various platforms.
April Bowlby collaborated with her husband
Besides her work on the DC series, the former “Two and a Half Men” cast member has been up to a lot both in front of and behind the cameras. April Bowlby married filmmaker Matthew Cooke in December 2020. Cooke may be familiar to fans as he previously made headlines when he was engaged to “Taken” star Maggie Grace, but the pair split in 2016. Bowlby and her beau had a low-key wedding, but she shared a black and white photo from the ceremony to Instagram in October 2022. The following day, Bowlby uploaded another black and white snap as she and Cooke posed with their newborn baby.
Besides starting a family together, the couple also collaborated on a series of videos posted to Instagram in 2024. Those comedic shorts featured Cooke struggling with domestic duties as Bowlby provided pithy commentary. One of the shorts titled “Man vs. Dishwasher” showed Cooke attempting to properly load a dishwasher, which his wife described as “adult Tetris.” Another clip titled “Man vs. Expiration Dates” had Bowlby’s husband tearing the refrigerator apart as he tried to find a snack while encountering food past its best-before date. Following that video series, Bowlby had been fairly quiet on Instagram, but she still occasionally posted to promote “Doom Patrol.”
In addition to acting gigs and video shorts, Bowlby further diversified her brand when she launched the “75reads” podcast, which aired from 2018 until 2020. On the pod, she and co-host Jo Bozarth discussed the favorite books from some of their most inspirational people. “In having my podcast, it affects my worldview,” she told Brief Take in June 2020. “To have the podcast and have the ability to focus on other work is very important,” Bowlby added.
