Julie Kavner
Encyclopedia
Julie Deborah Kavner is an American film and television actress, comedian and voice artist
. Noted for her role as Marge Simpson
on the animated television series The Simpsons
, she also voices other characters for the show, including Jacqueline Bouvier, and Patty and Selma Bouvier.
Born in Los Angeles, Kavner grew up in Southern California, attending Beverly Hills High School
and later San Diego State University
. Known for her improvisation and distinctive "honeyed gravel voice," Kavner was cast in her first professional acting role as Brenda Morgenstern
in Rhoda
in 1974. She received a Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Primetime Emmy Award
in 1978 and several more award nominations for playing the character. Following Rhoda, Kavner was cast in The Tracey Ullman Show
, which debuted in 1987. The Tracey Ullman Show included a series of animated shorts about a dysfunctional family
. Voices were needed for the shorts, so the producers decided to ask Kavner to voice Marge. The shorts would eventually be spun off into The Simpsons.
Kavner has been described as "nearly reclusive"; part of her contract says that she will never have to promote The Simpsons on video. For her work as Marge, Kavner received a Primetime Emmy Award
for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance
in 1992 and an Annie Award
nomination for her performance as the character in The Simpsons Movie
.
Typically cast as a "woman who is supportive, sympathetic or self-effacingly funny," Kavner grew to dislike playing such roles. In 1992, she starred in This Is My Life
, her first leading role in a feature film. Kavner has also appeared in live-action roles in seven films written by Woody Allen
, and in the Adam Sandler
comedy Click.
, formerly the chairman of the Beverly Hills High School art department, later commented that Kavner was "excellent at improvisation but she wasn't an ingenue and not that castable at that age."
After graduating from high school, Kavner attended San Diego State University
and majored in Drama. Kavner was cast in several productions at the University, such as a role as Charlotte Corday
in Marat/Sade
. She became known for her improvisation and ability to do both comedy and drama. She graduated in 1971 and got a day job as a typist at the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture
.
's sisters in The Mary Tyler Moore Show
. David Davis, producer of the show, had convinced her to audition for the part, but decided to cast another actress instead. A year later, Rhoda Morgenstern became the leading character in a spin-off called Rhoda
. Kavner was cast in her first professional acting role as Brenda Morgenstern
, sister of the eponymous character. Rhoda debuted on CBS
on September 9, 1974 and was cancelled in December 1978. She received four Primetime Emmy Award
nominations for Outstanding Continuing Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
for playing Brenda, and won the award in 1978. She also received four Golden Globe Award
nominations. In 1975, she received Daytime Emmy Award
nomination for her starring role in the daytime special The Girl Who Couldn't Lose.
Following Rhoda, Kavner had a guest appearance on Taxi
appeared in the 1985 comedy Bad Medicine
and the 1987 film Surrender, both of which were box office failures. She appeared in the television movies Revenge of the Stepford Wives
, No Other Love and A Fine Romance, and shot a television pilot. She also starred in several stage plays, including a play called It Had to be You at a dinner theater in Canada
, Particular Friendships in New York
in 1981, and Two for the Seesaw, directed by Burt Reynolds
. Woody Allen
first saw Kavner one night while he was watching Rhoda in the 1970s. He thought that she was remarkable and later offered her a role in his 1986 film Hannah and Her Sisters
. Kavner agreed, and credits Allen and the film with rejuvenating her career.
Kavner was then cast as a sidekick to Tracey Ullman
in The Tracey Ullman Show
, which debuted on Fox
in 1987. Kavner described the show as, "like being back in school, a chance to play a wide variety of characters, some really vicious people, to not rest on laurels, to not play it safe." Kavner commented, "What I do is not mimicry or an impersonation, but more of an assimilation. [On The Tracey Ullman Show] we did a lot of looking at people to find out who to base our characters on. We did our homework on our lunch hour." She received four Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Best Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program
.
on the animated television show The Simpsons
, a show that continues to the present. The Tracey Ullman Show included a series of animated shorts about the dysfunctional Simpson family. Voices were needed for the shorts, so the producers decided to ask Kavner and fellow cast member Dan Castellaneta
to voice Marge and Homer rather than hire more actors. Kavner has what Hilary de Vries of The New York Times
described as a "honeyed gravel voice". Kavner says her distinctive voice is due to "a bump on [her] vocal cords." Marge's raspy voice is only slightly different from Kavner's.
Although Marge is her most famous character, Kavner's favorite characters to voice are her sisters Patty and Selma Bouvier because "they're really funny and sad at the same time." Series creator Matt Groening
instructed Kavner to voice the duo as characters who "suck the life out of everything." Both have similar raspy voices, but Patty's voice is more masculine and has a lower register, while Selma's voice is a little sweeter. Kavner also provides the voices of every other female member of the Bouvier family, including Marge's mother Jacqueline.
Part of Kavner's contract says that she will never have to promote The Simpsons on video and she rarely performs Marge's voice in public because she believes it "destroys the illusion. People feel these are real people." Kavner takes recording sessions seriously and feels that voice acting is, "a little more limiting than live acting. And I have nothing to do with my character's movement." Nancy Cartwright
, who voices Bart Simpson
, said in her book My Life as a 10-Year-Old Boy
that Kavner is "a workhorse of an actor" with "extraordinary professionalism and quiet work ethic," and notes that she is rarely late for recording sessions.
Until 1998, Kavner was paid $30,000 per episode. During a pay dispute in 1998, Fox threatened to replace the six main voice actors with new actors, going as far as preparing to cast new voices. However, the dispute was soon resolved and she received $125,000 per episode until 2004 when the voice actors demanded that they be paid $360,000 an episode. The issue was resolved a month later, and Kavner earned $250,000 per episode. After salary re-negotiations in 2008, the voice actors receive approximately $400,000 per episode.
At the 44th Primetime Emmy Awards
, Kavner received a Primetime Emmy Award
for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance
for voicing Marge in the season three
episode "I Married Marge
". In 2004, Kavner and Dan Castellaneta
won a Young Artist Award
for "Most Popular Mom & Dad in a TV Series". For her performance in The Simpsons Movie
, Kavner was nominated for "Best Voice Acting in an Animated Feature" at the 2007 Annie Awards, but lost to Ian Holm
from Ratatouille
. Kavner's emotional performance in the movie got positive reviews and one critic said she "gave what must be the most heartfelt performance ever to find its way into a movie based on an irreverent cartoon." Some scenes in the movie, such as Marge's emotional video message to Homer, were recorded over one hundred times, leaving Kavner exhausted.
Many of Kavner's roles have been described by New York Times writer Hilary de Vries as a "woman who is supportive, sympathetic or self-effacingly funny." Kavner grew to despise playing such roles, saying "If it smacks of Brenda Morgenstern, I won't take the job." She had a supporting role as Eleanor Costello, a nurse who befriends Robin Williams
' character in the Academy Award nominated film Awakenings
. Kavner interviewed several nurses in preparation for the role and Penny Marshall
, the director of the film, described Kavner as "a low-maintenance actor [...] You never have to worry about giving [her] back-story for her characters." In 1992, Kavner starred in This Is My Life
, her first leading role in a feature film. Kavner played Dottie Ingels, an aspiring stand-up comedian who starts neglecting her family when her career begins to take off. Kavner described Dottie as "really selfish" but admitted, "I liked the role for that very reason." Kavner had been asked to play a character with a smaller role in the film, but Joe Roth
, at the time the chairman of 20th Century Fox
, suggested that they cast a lesser known actress in the lead role. Nora Ephron
, the writer of This Is My Life said Kavner, "has so little vanity that it is almost shocking. Not only does she have no demands as an actress—'How big is my trailer, what's in my refrigerator?'—but she will do anything for the character if it makes sense to her."
Kavner has frequently appeared in Woody Allen
films, having roles in Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), Radio Days
(1987), New York Stories
(1989), Alice
(1990), Shadows and Fog
(1991), the television movie Don't Drink the Water (1994) and Deconstructing Harry
(1997). Allen described her as "a naturally funny person. When she does a scene you listen to her and look at her and the prism through which it's all filtered is funny." Kavner believes he is "a true film-maker, one that has something to say, continually experimenting on different themes within his own film- making," adding that "anything [Allen] ever does, I always want to do, [...] I don't even have to read it."
She has done voice-over work in films such as The Lion King 1½
, Dr. Dolittle
and an uncredited role as an announcer in A Walk on the Moon
. Her most recent live-action film was a role of the mother of Adam Sandler
's character in Click. She has also worked with Tracey Ullman in the HBO sketch comedy series Tracey Takes On...
.
Voice acting
Voice acting is the art of providing voices for animated characters and radio and audio dramas and comedy, as well as doing voice-overs in radio and television commercials, audio dramas, dubbed foreign language films, video games, puppet shows, and amusement rides.Performers are called...
. Noted for her role as Marge Simpson
Marge Simpson
Marjorie "Marge" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the eponymous family. She is voiced by actress Julie Kavner and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
on the animated television series The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
, she also voices other characters for the show, including Jacqueline Bouvier, and Patty and Selma Bouvier.
Born in Los Angeles, Kavner grew up in Southern California, attending Beverly Hills High School
Beverly Hills High School
Beverly Hills High School is the only major public high school in Beverly Hills, California. Beverly is part of the Beverly Hills Unified School District and located on on the west side of Beverly Hills, at the...
and later San Diego State University
San Diego State University
San Diego State University , founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, is the largest and oldest higher education facility in the greater San Diego area , and is part of the California State University system...
. Known for her improvisation and distinctive "honeyed gravel voice," Kavner was cast in her first professional acting role as Brenda Morgenstern
Brenda Morgenstern
Brenda Morgenstern, played by actress Julie Kavner, was a fictional character on the 1970s sitcom Rhoda, a spin-off of The Mary Tyler Moore Show.-Rhoda's sister:...
in Rhoda
Rhoda
Rhoda is an American television sitcom, starring Valerie Harper, which ran for five seasons, from 1974 to 1978 airing in 109 episodes. The show was a spin-off from The Mary Tyler Moore Show, in which Harper between the years 1970 and 1974 had played the role of Rhoda Morgenstern, a spunky,...
in 1974. She received a Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress - Comedy Series
This is a list of winners of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.-Superlatives:-1950s:*1953: Vivian Vance - I Love Lucy as Ethel Mertz** Audrey Meadows - The Jackie Gleason Show as Alice Kramden...
Primetime Emmy Award
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming...
in 1978 and several more award nominations for playing the character. Following Rhoda, Kavner was cast in The Tracey Ullman Show
The Tracey Ullman Show
The Tracey Ullman Show was an American television variety show, hosted by British comedian and onetime pop singer Tracey Ullman. It debuted on April 5, 1987 as the Fox network's second primetime series after Married... with Children, and ran until May 26, 1990. The show blended sketch comedy shorts...
, which debuted in 1987. The Tracey Ullman Show included a series of animated shorts about a dysfunctional family
Dysfunctional family
A dysfunctional family is a family in which conflict, misbehavior, and often abuse on the part of individual members occur continually and regularly, leading other members to accommodate such actions. Children sometimes grow up in such families with the understanding that such an arrangement is...
. Voices were needed for the shorts, so the producers decided to ask Kavner to voice Marge. The shorts would eventually be spun off into The Simpsons.
Kavner has been described as "nearly reclusive"; part of her contract says that she will never have to promote The Simpsons on video. For her work as Marge, Kavner received a Primetime Emmy Award
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming...
for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance is a creative arts Emmy Award given out by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. It is awarded to a performer for an outstanding "continuing or single voice-over performance in a series or a special." Prior to 1992, voice-actors...
in 1992 and an Annie Award
Annie Award
The Annie Awards have been presented by the Los Angeles, California branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood since 1972...
nomination for her performance as the character in The Simpsons Movie
The Simpsons Movie
The Simpsons Movie is a 2007 American animated comedy film based on the animated television series The Simpsons. The film was directed by David Silverman, and stars the regular television cast of Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, Tress...
.
Typically cast as a "woman who is supportive, sympathetic or self-effacingly funny," Kavner grew to dislike playing such roles. In 1992, she starred in This Is My Life
This is My Life (film)
This Is My Life is a 1992 film that marked the directorial debut of screenwriter Nora Ephron. The screenplay, written by Ephron and her sister, Delia Ephron, is based on the book, This Is Your Life, by Meg Wolitzer. The film tells the story of Dottie Ingels , who works at a cosmetics counter but...
, her first leading role in a feature film. Kavner has also appeared in live-action roles in seven films written by Woody Allen
Woody Allen
Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
, and in the Adam Sandler
Adam Sandler
Adam Richard Sandler is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, musician, and film producer.After becoming a Saturday Night Live cast member, Sandler went on to star in several Hollywood feature films that grossed over $100 million at the box office...
comedy Click.
Early life
Kavner was born in Los Angeles, California on September 7, 1950, the second daughter of Rose, a family counselor, and David Kavner, a furniture manufacturer. She decided to pursue a career in acting because, "There was nothing else I wanted to do, ever." She attended Beverly Hills High School, which she later admitted she hated. She was "something of a loner" in high school and unsuccessfully tried out for several plays. John IngleJohn Ingle
John Ingle is an American actor known for his role as scheming patriarch Edward Quartermaine on the ABC daytime drama, General Hospital.-Career:...
, formerly the chairman of the Beverly Hills High School art department, later commented that Kavner was "excellent at improvisation but she wasn't an ingenue and not that castable at that age."
After graduating from high school, Kavner attended San Diego State University
San Diego State University
San Diego State University , founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, is the largest and oldest higher education facility in the greater San Diego area , and is part of the California State University system...
and majored in Drama. Kavner was cast in several productions at the University, such as a role as Charlotte Corday
Charlotte Corday
Marie-Anne Charlotte de Corday d'Armont , known to history as Charlotte Corday, was a figure of the French Revolution. In 1793, she was executed under the guillotine for the assassination of Jacobin leader Jean-Paul Marat, who was in part responsible, through his role as a politician and...
in Marat/Sade
Marat/Sade
The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade , almost invariably shortened to Marat/Sade, is a 1963 play by Peter Weiss...
. She became known for her improvisation and ability to do both comedy and drama. She graduated in 1971 and got a day job as a typist at the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture
UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture
The UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture is a professional school at the University of California, Los Angeles. The school plays a vital role in the cultural and artistic life of the campus and the community. Through the six degree-granting departments, it provides a full range of course...
.
Early career
In 1973 Kavner auditioned for a role as one of Rhoda MorgensternRhoda Morgenstern
Rhoda Morgenstern, portrayed by Valerie Harper, is a character on the television sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show and subsequent spin-off Rhoda.-The Mary Tyler Moore Show:...
's sisters in The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Mary Tyler Moore Show is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns that aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977...
. David Davis, producer of the show, had convinced her to audition for the part, but decided to cast another actress instead. A year later, Rhoda Morgenstern became the leading character in a spin-off called Rhoda
Rhoda
Rhoda is an American television sitcom, starring Valerie Harper, which ran for five seasons, from 1974 to 1978 airing in 109 episodes. The show was a spin-off from The Mary Tyler Moore Show, in which Harper between the years 1970 and 1974 had played the role of Rhoda Morgenstern, a spunky,...
. Kavner was cast in her first professional acting role as Brenda Morgenstern
Brenda Morgenstern
Brenda Morgenstern, played by actress Julie Kavner, was a fictional character on the 1970s sitcom Rhoda, a spin-off of The Mary Tyler Moore Show.-Rhoda's sister:...
, sister of the eponymous character. Rhoda debuted on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
on September 9, 1974 and was cancelled in December 1978. She received four Primetime Emmy Award
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming...
nominations for Outstanding Continuing Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress - Comedy Series
This is a list of winners of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.-Superlatives:-1950s:*1953: Vivian Vance - I Love Lucy as Ethel Mertz** Audrey Meadows - The Jackie Gleason Show as Alice Kramden...
for playing Brenda, and won the award in 1978. She also received four Golden Globe Award
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
nominations. In 1975, she received Daytime Emmy Award
Daytime Emmy Award
The Daytime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Los Angeles-based Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American daytime television programming...
nomination for her starring role in the daytime special The Girl Who Couldn't Lose.
Following Rhoda, Kavner had a guest appearance on Taxi
Taxi (TV series)
Taxi was an American sitcom that originally aired from 1978 to 1982 on ABC and from 1982 to 1983 on NBC. The series, which won 18 Emmy Awards, including three for "Outstanding Comedy Series", focuses on the everyday lives of a handful of New York City taxi drivers and their abusive dispatcher...
appeared in the 1985 comedy Bad Medicine
Bad Medicine (film)
Bad Medicine is a 1985 comedy film starring Steve Guttenberg, Alan Arkin, and Julie Hagerty. The film was written and directed by Harvey Miller, and was based on the novel Calling Dr. Horowitz, by Steven Horowitz, MD and Neil Offen....
and the 1987 film Surrender, both of which were box office failures. She appeared in the television movies Revenge of the Stepford Wives
Revenge of the Stepford Wives
Revenge of the Stepford Wives is a 1980 made-for-television sci-fi/horror film inspired by the Ira Levin novel The Stepford Wives. It was directed by Robert Fuest with a screenplay by David Wiltse. Sharon Gless, Julie Kavner, Don Johnson, Arthur Hill, and Audra Lindley starred in the film...
, No Other Love and A Fine Romance, and shot a television pilot. She also starred in several stage plays, including a play called It Had to be You at a dinner theater in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Particular Friendships in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in 1981, and Two for the Seesaw, directed by Burt Reynolds
Burt Reynolds
Burton Leon "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. is an American actor. Some of his memorable roles include Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Bobby "Gator" McCluskey in White Lightning and sequel Gator, Paul Crewe and Coach Nate Scarborough in The Longest Yard and its...
. Woody Allen
Woody Allen
Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
first saw Kavner one night while he was watching Rhoda in the 1970s. He thought that she was remarkable and later offered her a role in his 1986 film Hannah and Her Sisters
Hannah and Her Sisters
Hannah and Her Sisters is a 1986 American comedy-drama film which tells the intertwined stories of an extended family over two years that begin and end with a family Thanksgiving dinner...
. Kavner agreed, and credits Allen and the film with rejuvenating her career.
Kavner was then cast as a sidekick to Tracey Ullman
Tracey Ullman
Tracey Ullman is a British stage and television actress, comedienne, singer, dancer, screenwriter and author ....
in The Tracey Ullman Show
The Tracey Ullman Show
The Tracey Ullman Show was an American television variety show, hosted by British comedian and onetime pop singer Tracey Ullman. It debuted on April 5, 1987 as the Fox network's second primetime series after Married... with Children, and ran until May 26, 1990. The show blended sketch comedy shorts...
, which debuted on Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
in 1987. Kavner described the show as, "like being back in school, a chance to play a wide variety of characters, some really vicious people, to not rest on laurels, to not play it safe." Kavner commented, "What I do is not mimicry or an impersonation, but more of an assimilation. [On The Tracey Ullman Show] we did a lot of looking at people to find out who to base our characters on. We did our homework on our lunch hour." She received four Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Best Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program
Primetime Emmy Award for Individual Performance In A Variety Or Music Program
This is a list of winners of the Primetime Emmy Award for Individual Performance In A Variety Or Music Program. Awards in this category from 1974 through 1978 were presented for Outstanding Supporting Actor or Actress in A Variety Show or Special...
.
The Simpsons
Kavner became most famous for her role as Marge SimpsonMarge Simpson
Marjorie "Marge" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the eponymous family. She is voiced by actress Julie Kavner and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
on the animated television show The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
, a show that continues to the present. The Tracey Ullman Show included a series of animated shorts about the dysfunctional Simpson family. Voices were needed for the shorts, so the producers decided to ask Kavner and fellow cast member Dan Castellaneta
Dan Castellaneta
Daniel Louis "Dan" Castellaneta is an American actor, voice actor, comedian, singer and screenwriter. Noted for his long-running role as Homer Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons, he voices many other characters on The Simpsons, including Abraham "Grampa" Simpson, Barney Gumble,...
to voice Marge and Homer rather than hire more actors. Kavner has what Hilary de Vries of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
described as a "honeyed gravel voice". Kavner says her distinctive voice is due to "a bump on [her] vocal cords." Marge's raspy voice is only slightly different from Kavner's.
Although Marge is her most famous character, Kavner's favorite characters to voice are her sisters Patty and Selma Bouvier because "they're really funny and sad at the same time." Series creator Matt Groening
Matt Groening
Matthew Abram "Matt" Groening is an American cartoonist, screenwriter, and producer. He is the creator of the comic strip Life in Hell as well as two successful television series, The Simpsons and Futurama....
instructed Kavner to voice the duo as characters who "suck the life out of everything." Both have similar raspy voices, but Patty's voice is more masculine and has a lower register, while Selma's voice is a little sweeter. Kavner also provides the voices of every other female member of the Bouvier family, including Marge's mother Jacqueline.
Part of Kavner's contract says that she will never have to promote The Simpsons on video and she rarely performs Marge's voice in public because she believes it "destroys the illusion. People feel these are real people." Kavner takes recording sessions seriously and feels that voice acting is, "a little more limiting than live acting. And I have nothing to do with my character's movement." Nancy Cartwright
Nancy Cartwright
Nancy Campbell Cartwright is an American film and television actress, comedian and voice artist. She is best known for her long-running role as Bart Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons...
, who voices Bart Simpson
Bart Simpson
Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
, said in her book My Life as a 10-Year-Old Boy
My Life as a 10-Year-Old Boy
My Life as a 10-Year-Old Boy is an autobiography written by Nancy Cartwright. First published in September 2000 by Hyperion, it details Cartwright's career, particularly her experiences as the voice of Bart Simpson on The Simpsons and contains insights on the show, diary entries and anecdotes about...
that Kavner is "a workhorse of an actor" with "extraordinary professionalism and quiet work ethic," and notes that she is rarely late for recording sessions.
Until 1998, Kavner was paid $30,000 per episode. During a pay dispute in 1998, Fox threatened to replace the six main voice actors with new actors, going as far as preparing to cast new voices. However, the dispute was soon resolved and she received $125,000 per episode until 2004 when the voice actors demanded that they be paid $360,000 an episode. The issue was resolved a month later, and Kavner earned $250,000 per episode. After salary re-negotiations in 2008, the voice actors receive approximately $400,000 per episode.
At the 44th Primetime Emmy Awards
44th Primetime Emmy Awards
The 44th Primetime Emmy Awards were held on August 30, 1992. The ceremony was broadcast on Fox, from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, Pasadena, California. It was hosted by Tim Allen, Kirstie Alley, and Dennis Miller, and directed by Walter C. Miller. Presenters included Roseanne Barr, Tom Arnold,...
, Kavner received a Primetime Emmy Award
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming...
for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance is a creative arts Emmy Award given out by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. It is awarded to a performer for an outstanding "continuing or single voice-over performance in a series or a special." Prior to 1992, voice-actors...
for voicing Marge in the season three
The Simpsons (season 3)
The Simpsons third season originally aired on the Fox network between September 19, 1991 and May 7, 1992. The show runners for the third production season were Al Jean and Mike Reiss who executive produced 22 episodes the season, while two other episodes were produced by James L. Brooks, Matt...
episode "I Married Marge
I Married Marge
"I Married Marge" is the twelfth episode of The Simpsons third season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 26, 1991. In the episode, Marge worries that she may yet again be pregnant and drives to Dr. Hibbert's office...
". In 2004, Kavner and Dan Castellaneta
Dan Castellaneta
Daniel Louis "Dan" Castellaneta is an American actor, voice actor, comedian, singer and screenwriter. Noted for his long-running role as Homer Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons, he voices many other characters on The Simpsons, including Abraham "Grampa" Simpson, Barney Gumble,...
won a Young Artist Award
Young Artist Award
The Young Artist Award is an accolade bestowed by the Young Artist Foundation, a non-profit organization founded in 1978 to recognize and award excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young artists who may be physically and/or financially challenged.The Young Artist...
for "Most Popular Mom & Dad in a TV Series". For her performance in The Simpsons Movie
The Simpsons Movie
The Simpsons Movie is a 2007 American animated comedy film based on the animated television series The Simpsons. The film was directed by David Silverman, and stars the regular television cast of Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, Tress...
, Kavner was nominated for "Best Voice Acting in an Animated Feature" at the 2007 Annie Awards, but lost to Ian Holm
Ian Holm
Sir Ian Holm, CBE is an English actor known for his stage work and for many film roles. He received the 1967 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor for his performance as Lenny in The Homecoming and the 1998 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor for his performance in the title role of King Lear...
from Ratatouille
Ratatouille (film)
Ratatouille is a 2007 American computer-animated comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the eighth film produced by Pixar, and was directed by Brad Bird, who took over from Jan Pinkava in 2005...
. Kavner's emotional performance in the movie got positive reviews and one critic said she "gave what must be the most heartfelt performance ever to find its way into a movie based on an irreverent cartoon." Some scenes in the movie, such as Marge's emotional video message to Homer, were recorded over one hundred times, leaving Kavner exhausted.
Further career
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
' character in the Academy Award nominated film Awakenings
Awakenings
Awakenings is a 1990 American drama film based on Oliver Sacks's 1973 memoir Awakenings. It tells the true story of British neurologist Oliver Sacks, fictionalized as American Malcolm Sayer and portrayed by Robin Williams who, in 1969, discovers beneficial effects of the then-new drug L-Dopa...
. Kavner interviewed several nurses in preparation for the role and Penny Marshall
Penny Marshall
Penny Marshall is an American actress, producer and director.After playing several small roles for television, she was cast as Laverne DeFazio in the sitcom Laverne and Shirley...
, the director of the film, described Kavner as "a low-maintenance actor [...] You never have to worry about giving [her] back-story for her characters." In 1992, Kavner starred in This Is My Life
This is My Life (film)
This Is My Life is a 1992 film that marked the directorial debut of screenwriter Nora Ephron. The screenplay, written by Ephron and her sister, Delia Ephron, is based on the book, This Is Your Life, by Meg Wolitzer. The film tells the story of Dottie Ingels , who works at a cosmetics counter but...
, her first leading role in a feature film. Kavner played Dottie Ingels, an aspiring stand-up comedian who starts neglecting her family when her career begins to take off. Kavner described Dottie as "really selfish" but admitted, "I liked the role for that very reason." Kavner had been asked to play a character with a smaller role in the film, but Joe Roth
Joe Roth
Joe Roth is an American film executive, producer and film director. He co-founded Morgan Creek Productions in 1987 and was chairman of 20th Century Fox , Caravan Pictures , and Walt Disney Studios before founding Revolution Studios in 2000.-Life and career:Roth was born in New York, New York,...
, at the time the chairman of 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
, suggested that they cast a lesser known actress in the lead role. Nora Ephron
Nora Ephron
Nora Ephron is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, novelist, playwright, journalist, author, and blogger.She is best known for her romantic comedies and is a triple nominee for the Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay; for Silkwood, When Harry Met Sally... and Sleepless in...
, the writer of This Is My Life said Kavner, "has so little vanity that it is almost shocking. Not only does she have no demands as an actress—'How big is my trailer, what's in my refrigerator?'—but she will do anything for the character if it makes sense to her."
Kavner has frequently appeared in Woody Allen
Woody Allen
Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
films, having roles in Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), Radio Days
Radio Days
Radio Days is a 1987 comedy film directed by Woody Allen. The film looks back on an American family's life during the Golden Age of Radio using both music and memories to tell the story.-Plot:...
(1987), New York Stories
New York Stories
New York Stories is a 1989 anthology film; it consists of three shorts with the central theme being New York City.The first is Life Lessons, directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Richard Price and starring Nick Nolte. The second is Life Without Zoë, directed by Francis Ford Coppola and written by...
(1989), Alice
Alice (1990 film)
Alice is a 1990 film written and directed by Woody Allen and starring Joe Mantegna, Mia Farrow and Alec Baldwin. The film is a loose reworking of Federico Fellini's 1965 film Juliet of the Spirits.-Plot:...
(1990), Shadows and Fog
Shadows and Fog
Shadows and Fog is a black-and-white film directed by Woody Allen and based on his one-act play Death. It stars Allen, Mia Farrow, John Malkovich, John Cusack, Madonna, and Kenneth Mars. It was filmed on a set at Kaufman Astoria Studios, which holds the distinction of being the biggest set ever...
(1991), the television movie Don't Drink the Water (1994) and Deconstructing Harry
Deconstructing Harry
Deconstructing Harry is a black comedy film by Woody Allen released in 1997. This film tells the story of a successful writer called Harry Block, played by Allen himself, who draws inspiration from people he knows in real-life, and from events that happened to him, sometimes causing these people to...
(1997). Allen described her as "a naturally funny person. When she does a scene you listen to her and look at her and the prism through which it's all filtered is funny." Kavner believes he is "a true film-maker, one that has something to say, continually experimenting on different themes within his own film- making," adding that "anything [Allen] ever does, I always want to do, [...] I don't even have to read it."
She has done voice-over work in films such as The Lion King 1½
The Lion King 1½
The Lion King 1½ is a 2004 American direct-to-video animated film released by Buena Vista Home Entertainment on February 10, 2004. The film is the third installment in the Lion King series. The DVD went to the Disney Vault in January 2005...
, Dr. Dolittle
Dr. Dolittle (film)
Dr. Dolittle is a 1998 American family comedy film starring Eddie Murphy as a doctor who discovers that he has the ability to talk to animals...
and an uncredited role as an announcer in A Walk on the Moon
A Walk on the Moon
A Walk On The Moon is a 1999 drama film starring Diane Lane, Viggo Mortensen, Liev Schreiber and Anna Paquin. The movie, which was set against the backdrop of the Woodstock festival of 1969 and the moon landing of that year, was distributed by Miramax Films.- Plot summary :Pearl Kantrowitz and her...
. Her most recent live-action film was a role of the mother of Adam Sandler
Adam Sandler
Adam Richard Sandler is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, musician, and film producer.After becoming a Saturday Night Live cast member, Sandler went on to star in several Hollywood feature films that grossed over $100 million at the box office...
's character in Click. She has also worked with Tracey Ullman in the HBO sketch comedy series Tracey Takes On...
Tracey Takes On...
Tracey Takes On... is an HBO sketch comedy series created by British-American comedienne Tracey Ullman.In 1993, Ullman returned to television after her hit Fox comedy series, The Tracey Ullman Show, was canceled, with two comedy specials for HBO. Tracey Ullman Takes On New York, and Tracey Ullman:...
.
Personal life
Kavner leads a private, "nearly reclusive" life, "discreet and guarded beyond the usual reticent star routine." She rarely makes public appearances and refuses to allow herself to be photographed at work. Her partner is retired producer David Davis; they have lived together since 1976. In a 1992 interview with The New York Times, Kavner said she was considering retiring, "except for doing three days a year for [Woody Allen]," but felt that if she did retire, she would receive a script she wanted "to do more than life itself".Films
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | National Lampoon Goes to the Movies National Lampoon Goes to the Movies National Lampoon Goes to the Movies is a 1982 National Lampoon anthology of three shorts spoofing everything from personal growth films, glossy soap operas, and police stories... |
Mrs. Falcone | |
| 1985 | Bad Medicine Bad Medicine (film) Bad Medicine is a 1985 comedy film starring Steve Guttenberg, Alan Arkin, and Julie Hagerty. The film was written and directed by Harvey Miller, and was based on the novel Calling Dr. Horowitz, by Steven Horowitz, MD and Neil Offen.... |
Cookie Katz | |
| 1986 | Hannah and Her Sisters Hannah and Her Sisters Hannah and Her Sisters is a 1986 American comedy-drama film which tells the intertwined stories of an extended family over two years that begin and end with a family Thanksgiving dinner... |
Gail | |
| 1987 | Radio Days Radio Days Radio Days is a 1987 comedy film directed by Woody Allen. The film looks back on an American family's life during the Golden Age of Radio using both music and memories to tell the story.-Plot:... |
Mother | |
| Surrender | Ronnie | ||
| 1989 | New York Stories New York Stories New York Stories is a 1989 anthology film; it consists of three shorts with the central theme being New York City.The first is Life Lessons, directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Richard Price and starring Nick Nolte. The second is Life Without Zoë, directed by Francis Ford Coppola and written by... |
Treva | |
| 1990 | Awakenings Awakenings Awakenings is a 1990 American drama film based on Oliver Sacks's 1973 memoir Awakenings. It tells the true story of British neurologist Oliver Sacks, fictionalized as American Malcolm Sayer and portrayed by Robin Williams who, in 1969, discovers beneficial effects of the then-new drug L-Dopa... |
Eleanor Costello | |
| Alice Alice (1990 film) Alice is a 1990 film written and directed by Woody Allen and starring Joe Mantegna, Mia Farrow and Alec Baldwin. The film is a loose reworking of Federico Fellini's 1965 film Juliet of the Spirits.-Plot:... |
Decorator | ||
| 1991 | Shadows and Fog Shadows and Fog Shadows and Fog is a black-and-white film directed by Woody Allen and based on his one-act play Death. It stars Allen, Mia Farrow, John Malkovich, John Cusack, Madonna, and Kenneth Mars. It was filmed on a set at Kaufman Astoria Studios, which holds the distinction of being the biggest set ever... |
Alma | |
| 1992 | This Is My Life This is My Life (film) This Is My Life is a 1992 film that marked the directorial debut of screenwriter Nora Ephron. The screenplay, written by Ephron and her sister, Delia Ephron, is based on the book, This Is Your Life, by Meg Wolitzer. The film tells the story of Dottie Ingels , who works at a cosmetics counter but... |
Dottie Ingels | |
| 1994 | I'll Do Anything I'll Do Anything I'll Do Anything is a 1994 American dramedy film written and directed by James L. Brooks. Its primary plot concerns a down-on-his-luck actor who suddenly finds himself the sole caretaker of his six-year-old daughter.-Synopsis:... |
Nan Mulhanney | |
| 1995 | Forget Paris Forget Paris Forget Paris is a 1995 film produced, directed, co-written by and starring Billy Crystal as an NBA referee and Debra Winger as an independent working woman whose lives are interrupted by love and marriage.... |
Lucy | |
| 1997 | Deconstructing Harry Deconstructing Harry Deconstructing Harry is a black comedy film by Woody Allen released in 1997. This film tells the story of a successful writer called Harry Block, played by Allen himself, who draws inspiration from people he knows in real-life, and from events that happened to him, sometimes causing these people to... |
Grace Harry's character |
|
| 1998 | Dr. Dolittle Dr. Dolittle (film) Dr. Dolittle is a 1998 American family comedy film starring Eddie Murphy as a doctor who discovers that he has the ability to talk to animals... |
Female pigeon | |
| 1999 | Judy Berlin Judy Berlin Judy Berlin is a 1999 American drama film directed by Eric Mendelsohn. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival.Mendelsohn won the directing prize for Judy Berlin at the 1999 Sundance International Film Festival... |
Marie | |
| A Walk on the Moon A Walk on the Moon A Walk On The Moon is a 1999 drama film starring Diane Lane, Viggo Mortensen, Liev Schreiber and Anna Paquin. The movie, which was set against the backdrop of the Woodstock festival of 1969 and the moon landing of that year, was distributed by Miramax Films.- Plot summary :Pearl Kantrowitz and her... |
P.A. Announcer | ||
| Story of a Bad Boy | Elaine | ||
| 2001 | Someone Like You Someone Like You (film) Someone Like You is a 2001 romantic comedy film, based on Laura Zigman's novel Animal Husbandry which tells a story of a heartbroken woman who is looking for the reason she was dumped. The film stars Ashley Judd, Greg Kinnear, Hugh Jackman and Marisa Tomei and was directed by Tony Goldwyn... |
Furry animal | |
| 2004 | Barn Red | Unnamed character | |
| The Lion King 1½ The Lion King 1½ The Lion King 1½ is a 2004 American direct-to-video animated film released by Buena Vista Home Entertainment on February 10, 2004. The film is the third installment in the Lion King series. The DVD went to the Disney Vault in January 2005... |
Ma | Direct-to-DVD release | |
| Behind the Legend: Timon | Ma | Direct-to-DVD release; uncredited | |
| 2006 | Click | Trudy Newman | |
| 2007 | The Simpsons Movie The Simpsons Movie The Simpsons Movie is a 2007 American animated comedy film based on the animated television series The Simpsons. The film was directed by David Silverman, and stars the regular television cast of Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, Tress... |
Marge Simpson Marge Simpson Marjorie "Marge" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the eponymous family. She is voiced by actress Julie Kavner and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987... |
Television
| Year | Show | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974–1978 | Rhoda Rhoda Rhoda is an American television sitcom, starring Valerie Harper, which ran for five seasons, from 1974 to 1978 airing in 109 episodes. The show was a spin-off from The Mary Tyler Moore Show, in which Harper between the years 1970 and 1974 had played the role of Rhoda Morgenstern, a spunky,... |
Brenda Morgenstern | Appeared in all 110 episodes; Won one Primetime Emmy Award Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming... ; nominated for three more Nominated for four Golden Globes |
| 1975 | The ABC Afternoon Playbreak The ABC Afternoon Playbreak The ABC Afternoon Playbreak is an American television anthology series that was broadcast on ABC from 1973 to 1975. The ninety-minute dramas aired once a month and featured some of the more popular television and film stars of the 1970s .-Episodes:Season 1#"The Things I Never Said" #"A... |
Jane Darwin | Episode 3.4: "The Girl Who Couldn't Lose" |
| Katherine Katherine (film) Katherine is a 1975 television movie starring Sissy Spacek, Art Carney and Henry Winkler. It was written and directed by Jeremy Kagan... |
Margot Weiss Goldman | TV film | |
| Petrocelli Petrocelli Petrocelli is an American legal drama which ran for two seasons on NBC from September 11, 1974 to March 31, 1976.-Plot:Tony Petrocelli was an Italian-American Harvard-educated lawyer who grew up in South Boston and gave up the big money and frenetic pace of major-metropolitan life to practice in a... |
Unnamed character | Episode 2.6: "To See No Evil" | |
| 1976 | Bert D'Angelo/Superstar | Unnamed character | Episode 1.4: "The Brown Horse Connection" |
| 1977 | Lou Grant Lou Grant (TV series) Lou Grant is an American television drama series starring Ed Asner in the titular role as a newspaper editor. Unusual in American television, this drama series was a spinoff from a sitcom, The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Aired from 1977 to 1982, Lou Grant won 13 Emmy Awards, including "Outstanding Drama... |
Alice | Episode 1.11: "Housewarming" |
| 1979 | No Other Love | Janet Michaels | TV film |
| 1980 | Revenge of the Stepford Wives Revenge of the Stepford Wives Revenge of the Stepford Wives is a 1980 made-for-television sci-fi/horror film inspired by the Ira Levin novel The Stepford Wives. It was directed by Robert Fuest with a screenplay by David Wiltse. Sharon Gless, Julie Kavner, Don Johnson, Arthur Hill, and Audra Lindley starred in the film... |
Megan Brady | TV film |
| Taxi Taxi (TV series) Taxi was an American sitcom that originally aired from 1978 to 1982 on ABC and from 1982 to 1983 on NBC. The series, which won 18 Emmy Awards, including three for "Outstanding Comedy Series", focuses on the everyday lives of a handful of New York City taxi drivers and their abusive dispatcher... |
Monica Banta Douglas | Episode 3.2: "Tony's Sister and Jim" | |
| 1983 | A Fine Romance | Laura Prescott | TV film |
| 1987–1989 | The Tracey Ullman Show The Tracey Ullman Show The Tracey Ullman Show was an American television variety show, hosted by British comedian and onetime pop singer Tracey Ullman. It debuted on April 5, 1987 as the Fox network's second primetime series after Married... with Children, and ran until May 26, 1990. The show blended sketch comedy shorts... |
Various characters | Nominated for four Primetime Emmy Awards |
| 1989–present | The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie... |
Marge Simpson Patty and Selma Bouvier Additional voices |
Longest-running role; Won Primetime Emmy Award |
| 1991 | Sibs Sibs Sibs was an American sitcom broadcast by ABC as part of its 1991-92 prime time lineup.Sibs starred veteran actress Marsha Mason as Nora Rusico, a successful accountant and Alex Rocco as her longsuffering husband, Howie. The source of most of Howie's suffering was his wife's younger sisters , Audie... |
Unnamed character | Episode 1.13: "Honey, I Shrunk My Head" |
| To the Moon, Alice | Sitcom Producer | TV film | |
| 1994 | Birdland | Madeline Diamond | Episode 1.5: "Grand Delusion" |
| Don't Drink the Water | Marion Hollander | TV film | |
| 1996 | Jake's Women Jake's Women Jake's Women is a play by Neil Simon. It centers on Jake, a writer with a struggling marriage. Jake talks to many of the women he knows, both in real life and in his imagination, as he works to save his marriage... |
Karen | TV film |
| 1996–1999 | Tracey Takes On... Tracey Takes On... Tracey Takes On... is an HBO sketch comedy series created by British-American comedienne Tracey Ullman.In 1993, Ullman returned to television after her hit Fox comedy series, The Tracey Ullman Show, was canceled, with two comedy specials for HBO. Tracey Ullman Takes On New York, and Tracey Ullman:... |
Various characters | Appeared in numerous episodes |
Video games
- The SimpsonsThe Simpsons (arcade game)The Simpsons Arcade Game is an arcade beat 'em up developed by Konami released in 1991, and the first video game based on The Simpsons franchise. The voice actors of the immediate family provide voices for their respective characters...
(1991) – Marge Simpson - The Simpsons Cartoon StudioThe Simpsons Cartoon StudioThe Simpsons Cartoon Studio is a computer program based on the animated television series The Simpsons that was released for PC and Mac computers in 1996 by Fox Interactive. It allows users to create their own Simpsons cartoons, using characters, sounds, music, and locations from the show. The cast...
(1996) – Marge Simpson - Virtual SpringfieldVirtual SpringfieldThe Simpsons: Virtual Springfield is a Windows and Macintosh computer game released in 1997 and published by Fox Interactive. It lets players to explore the fictional town Springfield featured in the animated television series The Simpsons, and the goal is to collect an entire set of character...
(1997) – Marge Simpson, Patty and Selma Bouvier - Simpsons Bowling (1999) – Marge Simpson, Patty and Selma Bouvier
- The Simpsons WrestlingThe Simpsons WrestlingThe Simpsons Wrestling is a professional wrestling video game based on the animated television series The Simpsons, made for the PlayStation console. The game was developed by Big Ape Productions, and published by Fox Interactive and Activision...
(2001) – Marge Simpson - The Simpsons Road RageThe Simpsons Road RageThe Simpsons Road Rage is a 2001 video game based on the animated television series The Simpsons, and is part of a series of games based on the show. It was developed by Radical Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts for the PlayStation 2, the Xbox, and the GameCube...
(2001) – Marge Simpson - The Simpsons Skateboarding (2002) – Marge Simpson
- The Simpsons Hit & RunThe Simpsons Hit & RunThe Simpsons Hit & Run is an action-adventure video game based on the animated sitcom The Simpsons. It was released for the GameCube, Xbox, PlayStation 2, and Windows in North America on September 16, 2003, In Europe and Australia on October 31, 2003 and in Japan on December 25, 2003...
(2003) – Marge Simpson, Patty and Selma Bouvier - The Simpsons GameThe Simpsons GameThe Simpsons Game is an action/platformer video game based on the animated television series The Simpsons, made for the Wii, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, and PlayStation Portable. The game was developed, published, and distributed by Electronic Arts. It was released in North...
(2007) – Marge Simpson, Patty and Selma Bouvier
Awards
| Year | Award | Category | Role | Series/film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series | Brenda Morgenstern | Rhoda | |
| 1975 | Golden Globe Award | Best Supporting Actress – Television | Brenda Morgenstern | Rhoda | |
| 1975 | Daytime Emmy Award | Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Special | Jane Darwin | The Girl Who Couldn't Lose | |
| 1976 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series | Brenda Morgenstern | Rhoda | |
| 1976 | Golden Globe Award | Best Supporting Actress – Television | Brenda Morgenstern | Rhoda | |
| 1977 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series | Brenda Morgenstern | Rhoda | |
| 1977 | Golden Globe Award | Best Supporting Actress – Television | Brenda Morgenstern | Rhoda | |
| 1978 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series | Brenda Morgenstern | Rhoda | |
| 1978 | Golden Globe Award | Best Television Actress in a Supporting Role | Brenda Morgenstern | Rhoda | |
| 1987 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Performance in a Variety or Music Program | Various | The Tracey Ullman Show | |
| 1988 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Performance in a Variety or Music Program | Various | The Tracey Ullman Show | |
| 1989 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Performance in a Variety or Music Program | Various | The Tracey Ullman Show | |
| 1990 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Performance in a Variety or Music Program | Various | The Tracey Ullman Show | |
| 1992 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Voice-Over Performance | Marge Simpson | The Simpsons | |
| 2004 | Young Artist Award | Most Popular Mom & Pop in a Television Series | Marge Simpson | The Simpsons | |
| 2008 | Annie Award | Best Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production | Marge Simpson | The Simpsons Movie |