'The Big Bang Theory' star Simon Helberg has become a father for the first time.

The actor - who plays aerospace engineer Howard Wolowitz in the hit sitcom - and his wife Jocelyn Towne welcomed a baby girl into the world last week and the couple have named the tot Adeline.

A source close to the couple - who married in 2007 - told Us Weekly magazine: ''Simon is excited to be a father... he's been doing his reading.''

While Simon is now a father, his alter-ego Howard recently got married in 'The Big Bang Theory' although the actor admits he still has a lot of growing up to do.

He has said of the marriage: ''It seems like it built up pretty evenly and naturally. You start to see, wait a second, even though he's married, the dynamic has not completely shifted yet. He's not grown up. He's still with his mother. He still needs these guys to hang out with. And now you're going to get this whole view of what married life is like, which I think is a kind of fascinating thing to put into this show about young nerds.''