Lisa Simpson
Encyclopedia
Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons
. She is the middle child of the Simpson family
. Voiced by Yeardley Smith
, Lisa first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show
short "Good Night
" on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist Matt Groening
created and designed her while waiting to meet James L. Brooks
. Groening had been invited to pitch a series of shorts based on his comic Life in Hell
, but instead decided to create a new set of characters. He named the elder Simpson daughter after his younger sister Lisa Groening. After appearing on The Tracey Ullman Show for three years, the Simpson family were moved to their own series on Fox
, which debuted on December 17, 1989.
At eight years old, Lisa is the second child of Homer
and Marge
, younger sister of Bart
and older sister of Maggie
. She is highly intelligent and plays the baritone saxophone
. She has been a vegetarian since season 7
, converted to Buddhism
in season 13
and advocates for a variety of political causes, including the Tibetan independence movement. She has appeared in other media relating to The Simpsons – including video games, The Simpsons Movie
, The Simpsons Ride
, commercials and comic books – and inspired a line of merchandise.
Yeardley Smith originally tried out for the role of Bart, while Nancy Cartwright
(who was later cast as the voice for Bart) tried out for Lisa. Producers considered Smith's voice too high for a boy, so she was given the role of Lisa. In the Tracey Ullman Show shorts, Lisa was something of a "female Bart" who mirrored her brother's mischief, but as the series progressed she became a more sophisticated and intellectual character. Because of her unusual pointed hair style, many animators consider Lisa the most difficult Simpsons character to draw.
Lisa is one of the most enduring characters on the series. TV Guide
ranked her eleventh (tied with Bart) on their list of the "Top 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time". Her environmentalism
has been especially well received; several episodes featuring her have won Genesis
and Environmental Media Awards
, including a special "Board of Directors Ongoing Commitment Award" in 2001. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
included Lisa on their list of the "Most Animal-Friendly TV Characters of All Time". Yeardley Smith won a Primetime Emmy Award
for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance
in 1992, and in 2000 Lisa and her family were awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
.
in which the characters do not physically age; as such, Lisa is always depicted as eight years old. The show itself is perpetually set in the year of broadcast (except for occasional flashback
s and flashforward
s). In several episodes, events have been linked to specific time periods, although this timeline has been contradicted in subsequent episodes. Lisa's year of birth is given in "Lisa's First Word
" (season 4
, 1992) as 1984, during the Summer Olympics
. The episode "That '90s Show" (season 19
, 2008), however, contradicts much of the established backstory; for example, it presents Homer and Marge as being childless in the late 1990s. Lisa is a lover of music, especially jazz
. She enjoys playing the saxophone and became friends with jazz musician Bleeding Gums Murphy, whom she regards as an idol. Murphy helps pull Lisa out of her depression in "Moaning Lisa
" (season 1
, 1990). She is later deeply saddened by Murphy's death in "'Round Springfield
" (season 6
, 1995).
Lisa has been friendly with several boys, including Ralph Wiggum
in "I Love Lisa
" (season 4, 1993), Nelson Muntz
in "Lisa's Date with Density
" (season 8
, 1996) and Colin in The Simpsons Movie
(2007). Bart's best friend Milhouse Van Houten
has a crush on her, but despite dropping unsubtle hints about his feelings, he has been unsuccessful in winning her affection.
Lisa is the most intellectual member of the Simpson family, and many episodes of the series focus on her fighting for various causes. Lisa is often the focus of episodes with "a real moral or philosophical point," which according to former writer David S. Cohen
is because "you really buy her as caring about it." Lisa's political convictions are generally liberal and she often contests other's views. She is a vegetarian, feminist
, environmentalist
and a supporter of gay rights and the Free Tibet movement. While supportive of the general ideals of the Christian
church in which she was raised, Lisa became a practicing Buddhist in the episode "She of Little Faith
" (season 13
, 2001) after she learned about the Noble Eightfold Path
.
first conceived Lisa and the rest of the Simpson family in 1986
in the lobby of producer James L. Brooks
's office. Groening had been called in to pitch a series of animated shorts for The Tracey Ullman Show and had intended to present an adaptation of his Life in Hell
comic strip. When he realized that animating Life in Hell would require him to rescind publication rights, Groening went in another direction, hurriedly sketching his version of a dysfunctional family
, named after members of his own family. Lisa was named after Groening's younger sister, but little else was based on her. In The Tracey Ullman Show shorts, Lisa displayed little of the intelligence for which she later became known. She was more of a "female Bart" and was originally described as simply the "middle child", without much personality.
Lisa made her debut with the rest of the Simpson family on April 19, 1987 in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night
". In 1989, the shorts were adapted into The Simpsons, a half-hour series on the Fox Broadcasting Company
. Lisa and the Simpson family remained the main characters on this new show.
The entire Simpson family was designed to be easily recognized in silhouette. The family was crudely drawn, because Groening had submitted basic sketches to the animators, assuming they would clean them up; instead, they just traced over his drawings. Lisa's physical features are generally unique. In some early episodes, minor background characters occasionally had a similar hairline. However, in the later seasons, no character other than Maggie shares her hairline. While designing Lisa, Groening "couldn't be bothered to even think about girls' hair styles". At the time, Groening was primarily drawing in black and white; when designing Lisa and Maggie, he "just gave them this kind of spiky starfish hair style, not thinking that they would eventually be drawn in color".
To draw Lisa's head and hair, most of the show's animators use what they call the "three-three-two arrangement". It begins with a circle, with two curving lines (one vertical, one horizontal) intersecting in the middle to indicate her eyeline. The vertical line continues outside of the circle to create one hair point, with two more added towards the back of her head. Three more points are then added in front (in the direction Lisa is facing), with two more behind it. Several Simpsons animators, including Pete Michels
and David Silverman
, consider Lisa the most difficult Simpsons character to draw. Silverman explains that "her head is so abstract" due to her hairstyle.
and Julie Kavner
because they were already a part of the Tracey Ullman Show cast, the producers decided to hold casting for the roles of Bart and Lisa. Nancy Cartwright
intended to audition for the role of Lisa, but disliked the character's bland description—Lisa was described simply as the "middle child"—and read for the role of Bart instead. Casting director Bonita Pietila brought Yeardley Smith
in for an audition after seeing her performing in the play Living on Salvation Street. Smith was hesitant to audition for an animated series, but her agent had persuaded her to give it a try. Smith originally auditioned for the role of Bart but Pietila believed her voice was too high. Smith later recalled: "I always sounded too much like a girl, I read two lines as Bart and they said, 'Thanks for coming!'" Pietila offered Smith the role of Lisa instead.
Smith and the show's writers worked to give Lisa a more defined personality, and she has developed greatly during the series. In her 2000 memoir My Life as a Ten-Year-Old Boy, Cartwright wrote: "with the brilliant wit of the writers and the wry, in-your-eye, honest-to-a-fault interpretation, Yeardley Smith has made Lisa a bright light of leadership, full of compassion and competence beyond her years. Lisa Simpson is the kind of child we not only want our children to be, but also the kind of child we want all children to be. But, at the time, on The Tracey Ullman Show, she was just an animated eight-year-old kid who had no personality."
Lisa is the only regular character voiced by Smith, who increases the pitch of her voice slightly for the role. In some earlier episodes she provided some of Maggie's squeaks and occasional speaking parts, and has voiced other characters on very rare occasions. Usually they are derivative of Lisa, such as Lisa Bella in "Last Tap Dance in Springfield
" (season 11
, 2000) and Lisa, Jr. in "Missionary: Impossible
". (season 11, 2000)
Despite the fame of Lisa Simpson, Smith is rarely recognized in public, which she does not mind. She said, "it's wonderful to be in the midst of all this hype about the show, and people enjoying the show so much, and to be totally a fly on the wall; people never recognise me solely from my voice." In a 2009 interview with The Guardian
she commented that "It's the best job ever. I have nothing but gratitude for the amount of freedom The Simpsons has bought me in my life." Although Smith received a Primetime Emmy Award
for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance
in 1992, she considers it unimportant, saying "there's part of me that feels it wasn't even a real Emmy." The award is a Creative Arts prize not awarded during the primetime telecast and, at the time, a juried award without nominations. Still, Smith considers her work on the show a success. "If I had to be associated with one character in fiction," she said, "I will always be thrilled that it was Lisa Simpson." Matt Groening has described Smith as being very similar to Lisa: "Yeardley has strong moral views about her character. There are lines that are written for Lisa that Yeardley reads and says, 'No, I wouldn't say that.'" Former Simpsons writer Jay Kogen
praised her performance on the show, particularly in the episode "Lisa's Substitute
", as able "to move past comedy to something really strong and serious and dramatic."
Until 1998, Smith was paid $30,000 per episode. A pay dispute erupted in 1998, during which Fox threatened to replace the six main voice actors with new actors, going as far as preparing for casting of new voices. The dispute was soon resolved, and Smith received $125,000 per episode until 2004 when the voice actors sought an increase to $360,000 per episode. The issue was resolved a month later, and Smith earned $250,000 per episode. New salary negotiations took place in 2008, and the voice actors currently receive approximately $400,000 per episode.
In The Tracey Ullman Show shorts, Lisa was something of a "female Bart": equally mischievous but lacking unique traits. As the series progressed, Lisa began to develop into a more intelligent and more emotional character. She demonstrates her intellect in the 1990 episode "Krusty Gets Busted
" (season one), by helping Bart reveal Sideshow Bob
's plot to frame Krusty the Clown for armed robbery. Many episodes focusing on Lisa have an emotional nature, such as "Moaning Lisa" (season one, 1990). The idea for the episode was pitched by James L. Brooks
, who wanted to do an emotional episode involving Lisa's sadness, to complement the many "jokey episodes" in the first season.
In the seventh-season episode "Lisa the Vegetarian
" (1995), Lisa permanently becomes a vegetarian, distinguishing her as one of the first primetime television characters to make such a choice. The episode was written by David S. Cohen (in his first solo writing credit) who jotted down the idea one day while eating lunch. Then-executive producer David Mirkin
, who had recently become a vegetarian, quickly approved the idea. Several of Lisa's experiences in the episode are based on Mirkin's own experiences. The episode guest stars musician Paul McCartney
, a committed vegetarian and animal rights
activist. McCartney's condition for appearing was that Lisa would remain a vegetarian for the rest of the series and would not revert back the next week (as is common on situation comedies). The trait stayed and is one of the few permanent character changes made in the show. In the season 13 episode "She of Little Faith" (2001), Lisa underwent another permanent character change when she converted to Buddhism.
Lisa plays the baritone saxophone
, and some episodes use that as a plot device. According to Matt Groening, the baritone saxophone was chosen because he found the thought of an eight year old girl playing it amusing. He added, "But she doesn't always play a baritone sax because the animators don't know what it looks like, so it changes shape and color from show to show." One of the hallmarks of the show's opening sequence
is a brief solo Lisa plays on her saxophone after being thrown out of music class. The Simpsons composer Alf Clausen
said that the session musicians who perform her solos do not try to play at the second grade level and instead "think of Lisa as a really good player."
, an act for which she later apologizes. Episodes often take shots at Lisa's idealism. In "Bart Star
", (season nine
, 1997) Lisa, apparently looking for a new cause to crusade over, defiantly declares that she, a girl, would like to join the football team. When coach Ned Flanders
reveals that several girls already play for the team, she hesitates and claims football is "not really [her] thing". She then expresses distaste about a ball made of pig's skin, but one of the girls informs her that their footballs are synthetic and that proceeds are donated to Amnesty International
. Visibly upset, Lisa runs off.
Lisa is said to have an IQ
of 159, and in "They Saved Lisa's Brain
" (season ten
, 1999) she becomes a member of the Springfield
chapter of Mensa
. When unable to attend school due to a teacher
s' strike
in "The PTA Disbands", (season six, 1995) she suffers withdrawal
symptoms because of the sudden lack of praise. She even demands that her mother grade her for no obvious reason. In Planet Simpson, Chris Turner
writes that these traits make Lisa more realistic because "No character can aspire to realism without a few all-too-human flaws."
Although she is intellectually gifted, Lisa experiences typical childhood issues, sometimes requiring adult intervention. For example, in "Lost Our Lisa
" (season nine, 1998), she tricks Homer into allowing her to ride the bus alone, only to become hopelessly lost and in need of aid from her father. Chris Turner writes in Planet Simpson that incidents like this illustrate that "Even when Lisa's lecturing like a college professor or mounting yet another protest, she never becomes a full-grown adult trapped in a kid's body." In The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer
, Aeon J. Skoble states that although Lisa is an intellectual, she is still portrayed as a character who enjoys normal childhood and girl activities, plays with Malibu Stacy dolls, loves ponies, obsesses over teenage heartthrobs such as Corey
, and watches The Itchy and Scratchy Show. He writes, "One might argue that this is typical childhood behavior, but since in so many cases Lisa is presented not simply as a prodigy but as preternaturally wise, the fondness for Itchy and Scratchy and Corey seem to be highlighted, taking on greater significance. Lisa is portrayed as the avatar of logic and wisdom, but then she also worships Corey so she's 'no better [than the rest of us]'."
Lisa occasionally worries that her family's dull habits will rub off on her, such as in "Lisa the Simpson
" (season nine, 1998) she worries that the "Simpson gene
" will make her less intelligent later finding out the gene only goes through the male side. She is often embarrassed and disapproving of her eccentric family: of her father's poor parenting skills and buffoonish personality; her mother's stereotypical image and social ineptitude; and her brother's delinquent and low-brow nature. She is also concerned that Maggie may grow up to be like the rest of the family and tries to teach her complex ideas. Chris Turner writes in Planet Simpson that "Lisa embarks on quests to find solace for her yearning spirit [...] but the most reliable source of truth she finds is the one she always believed in: her family. It is from the other Simpsons that Lisa draws stability, meaning, contentment." Her loyalty to her family is most clearly seen in the flashforward "Lisa's Wedding
" (season six, 1995), in which she must reconcile her love for them with the distaste of her cultured fiancé. In the episode "Mother Simpson
" (season seven, 1995) she meets her paternal grandmother Mona Simpson
for the first time. Mona is also well-read and articulate, and the writers used the character as a way to explain the origins of Lisa's intelligence.
Lisa has been a popular character since the show's inception. She was listed at number 11 (tied with Bart) in TV Guide's
"Top 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time." Yeardley Smith has won several awards for voicing Lisa, including a Primetime Emmy Award
for "Outstanding Voice-Over Performance
" in 1992 for "Lisa the Greek
". Various episodes in which Lisa stars have won Emmy Awards for Outstanding Animated Program
, including "Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment
" in 1991, "Lisa's Wedding" in 1995 and "HOMR
" in 2001. In 2000, Lisa and the rest of the Simpson family were awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard.
Lisa's environmentalism
has been especially well received. In 2001 Lisa received a special "Board of Directors Ongoing Commitment Award" at the Environmental Media Awards
. "Lisa the Vegetarian" won both an Environmental Media Award for "Best Television Episodic Comedy" and a Genesis Award
for "Best Television Comedy Series, Ongoing Commitment". Several other episodes that feature Lisa speaking out in favor of animal rights have won Genesis Awards, including "Whacking Day
" in 1994, "Bart Gets an Elephant
" in 1995, "Million Dollar Abie
" in 2007 and "Apocalypse Cow
" in 2009.
wrote, "Has there ever been a female TV character as complex, intelligent, and, ahem, as emotionally well-drawn as Lisa Simpson? Meet her once and she comes off priggish and one-note -- a know-it-all. Get to know her and Lisa is as well-rounded as anyone you may ever meet in the real world."
According to PETA, Lisa was one of the first vegetarian characters on primetime television. In 2004 the organization included Lisa on its list of the "Most Animal-Friendly TV Characters of All Time". In 2008, environmentalist website The Daily Green honored Lisa's role in The Simpsons Movie with one of its inaugural "Heart of Green" awards, which "recognize those who have helped green go mainstream." They wrote "young Lisa Simpson has inspired a generation to wear their hearts on their sleeves and get educated, and involved, about global issues, from justice to feminism and the environment." Japanese broadcasters reversed viewer dislike of the series by focusing marketing of the show on Lisa. Lisa's well-intended but ill-fated struggles to be a voice of reason and a force of good in her family and community struck a chord with Japanese audiences. Mario D'Amato, a specialist in Buddhist studies at Rollins College
in Florida, described Lisa as "open-minded, reflective, ethical, and interested in improving herself in various ways, while still preserving a child-like sense of innocence. These are all excellent qualities, ones which are espoused by many Buddhist traditions."
Lisa and the rest of the Simpsons have had a significant influence on English-language idiom
s. The dismissive term "Meh", used by Lisa and popularized by the show, entered the Collins English Dictionary
in 2008. In 1996, The New York Times
published an article saying that Lisa was inspiring children, especially young girls, to learn to play the saxophone.
s, figurines, bobblehead dolls, mug
s, and clothing such as slipper
s, T-shirt
s, baseball cap
s, and boxer shorts
. Lisa has appeared in commercials for Burger King
, C.C. Lemon
, Church's Chicken
, Domino's Pizza
, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Ramada Inn, Ritz Crackers
, Subway
and Butterfinger
.
On April 9, 2009, the United States Postal Service
unveiled a series of five 44 cent stamps featuring Lisa and the four other members of the nuclear Simpson family. They are the first characters from a television series to receive this recognition while still in production. The stamps, designed by Matt Groening, went on sale in May 2009.
Lisa has also appeared in other media relating to The Simpsons. She has appeared in each Simpsons video game
, including The Simpsons Game
, released in 2007. In addition to the television series, Lisa regularly appears in issues of Simpsons Comics, first published on November 29, 1993 and published monthly. The comics focus on the sweeter, more naive incarnation from the early seasons. Lisa also plays a role in The Simpsons Ride
, launched in 2008 at Universal Studios Florida
and Hollywood
.
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 is the middle child of the Simpson family
Simpson family
The Simpson family is a family of fictional characters featured in the animated television series The Simpsons. The Simpsons are a nuclear family consisting of the married couple Homer and Marge and their three children Bart, Lisa and Maggie. They live at 742 Evergreen Terrace in the fictional town...
. Voiced by Yeardley Smith
Yeardley Smith
Yeardley Smith is a French-born American actress, voice actress, writer and painter. She is best known for her long-running role as Lisa Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons....
, Lisa first appeared on television 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...
short "Good Night
Good Night (The Simpsons short)
"Good Night" is the first Simpsons short that appeared on The Tracey Ullman Show. It originally aired April 19, 1987, during the third episode of The Tracey Ullman Show and was the first appearance of the Simpson family on television. After three seasons on Tracey Ullman, the shorts would be...
" on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist 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....
created and designed her while waiting to meet James L. Brooks
James L. Brooks
James Lawrence Brooks is an American director, producer and screenwriter. Growing up in North Bergen, New Jersey, Brooks endured a fractured family life and passed the time by reading and writing. After dropping out of New York University, he got a job as an usher at CBS, going on to write for the...
. Groening had been invited to pitch a series of shorts based on his comic Life in Hell
Life in Hell
Life in Hell is a weekly comic strip by Matt Groening. The strip features anthropomorphic rabbits and a pair of gay lovers. Groening uses these characters to explore a wide range of topics about love, sex, work, and death...
, but instead decided to create a new set of characters. He named the elder Simpson daughter after his younger sister Lisa Groening. After appearing on The Tracey Ullman Show for three years, the Simpson family were moved to their own series 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...
, which debuted on December 17, 1989.
At eight years old, Lisa is the second child of Homer
Homer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
and Marge
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...
, younger sister of Bart
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...
and older sister of Maggie
Maggie Simpson
Margaret "Maggie" Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She first appeared on television in the Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Maggie was created and designed by cartoonist Matt Groening while he was waiting in the lobby of James...
. She is highly intelligent and plays the baritone saxophone
Baritone saxophone
The baritone saxophone, often called "bari sax" , is one of the largest and lowest pitched members of the saxophone family. It was invented by Adolphe Sax. The baritone is distinguished from smaller sizes of saxophone by the extra loop near its mouthpiece...
. She has been a vegetarian since season 7
The Simpsons (season 7)
The Simpsons seventh season originally aired on the Fox network between September 17, 1995 and May 19, 1996. The show runners for the seventh production season were Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein who would executive produce 21 episodes this season. David Mirkin executive produced the remaining...
, converted to Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
in season 13
The Simpsons (season 13)
The Simpsons thirteenth season originally aired on the Fox network between November 6, 2001 and May 22, 2002 and consists of 22 episodes. The show runner for the thirteenth production season was Al Jean who executive-produced 17 episodes...
and advocates for a variety of political causes, including the Tibetan independence movement. She has appeared in other media relating to The Simpsons – including video games, 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...
, The Simpsons Ride
The Simpsons Ride
The Simpsons Ride is a simulator ride featured at the Universal Studios Florida and Universal Studios Hollywood theme parks. The ride is based on the animated television series The Simpsons. It was first announced in 2007 and replaced the Back to the Future: The Ride at both locations...
, commercials and comic books – and inspired a line of merchandise.
Yeardley Smith originally tried out for the role of Bart, while 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 was later cast as the voice for Bart) tried out for Lisa. Producers considered Smith's voice too high for a boy, so she was given the role of Lisa. In the Tracey Ullman Show shorts, Lisa was something of a "female Bart" who mirrored her brother's mischief, but as the series progressed she became a more sophisticated and intellectual character. Because of her unusual pointed hair style, many animators consider Lisa the most difficult Simpsons character to draw.
Lisa is one of the most enduring characters on the series. TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
ranked her eleventh (tied with Bart) on their list of the "Top 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time". Her environmentalism
Environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
has been especially well received; several episodes featuring her have won Genesis
Genesis Awards
The Genesis Awards are awarded annually to individuals in the major news and entertainment media for producing outstanding works which raise public awareness of animal issues. Presented by The Humane Society of the United States, the awards show takes place every March in California...
and Environmental Media Awards
Environmental Media Awards
The Environmental Media Awards have been awarded by the Environmental Media Association since 1991 to the best television episode or film with an environmental message....
, including a special "Board of Directors Ongoing Commitment Award" in 2001. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is an American animal rights organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president. A non-profit corporation with 300 employees and two million members and supporters, it claims to be the largest animal rights...
included Lisa on their list of the "Most Animal-Friendly TV Characters of All Time". Yeardley Smith won 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 in 2000 Lisa and her family were awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
.
Role in The Simpsons
The Simpsons uses a floating timelineFloating timeline
A Floating timeline is a device used in fiction, particularly in comics and animation, to explain why characters age little or not at all over a period of time - despite real-world markers like notable events, people and technology appearing in the works and correlating with the real world.A...
in which the characters do not physically age; as such, Lisa is always depicted as eight years old. The show itself is perpetually set in the year of broadcast (except for occasional flashback
Flashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
s and flashforward
Flashforward
A flashforward is an interjected scene that takes the narrative forward in time from the current point of the story in literature, film, television and other media. Flashforwards are often used to represent events expected, projected, or imagined to occur in the future...
s). In several episodes, events have been linked to specific time periods, although this timeline has been contradicted in subsequent episodes. Lisa's year of birth is given in "Lisa's First Word
Lisa's First Word
"Lisa's First Word" is the tenth episode of The Simpsons fourth season. It was first broadcast on Fox in the United States on December 3, 1992. In the episode, as the Simpson family gathers around Maggie and tries to encourage her to say her first word, Marge reminisces and tells the story of...
" (season 4
The Simpsons (season 4)
The Simpsons fourth season originally aired on the Fox network between September 24, 1992 and May 13, 1993, beginning with "Kamp Krusty." The show runners for the fourth production season were Al Jean and Mike Reiss. The aired season contained two episodes which were hold-over episodes from season...
, 1992) as 1984, during the Summer Olympics
1984 Summer Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...
. The episode "That '90s Show" (season 19
The Simpsons (season 19)
The Simpsons nineteenth season originally aired on the Fox network between September 23, 2007 and May 18, 2008.-Production:The nineteenth season of The Simpsons is the first one produced after the movie and contained seven hold-over episodes from season 18's JABF production line...
, 2008), however, contradicts much of the established backstory; for example, it presents Homer and Marge as being childless in the late 1990s. Lisa is a lover of music, especially jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
. She enjoys playing the saxophone and became friends with jazz musician Bleeding Gums Murphy, whom she regards as an idol. Murphy helps pull Lisa out of her depression in "Moaning Lisa
Moaning Lisa
"Moaning Lisa" is the sixth episode of The Simpsons first season, and originally aired February 11, 1990. The episode was written by Al Jean and Mike Reiss, and was directed by Wes Archer. Ron Taylor guest stars in the episode as Bleeding Gums Murphy. The episode deals with Lisa's depression and...
" (season 1
The Simpsons (season 1)
The Simpsons first season originally aired between December 17, 1989 and May 13, 1990, beginning with the Christmas special "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". The show runners for the first production season were Matt Groening, James L...
, 1990). She is later deeply saddened by Murphy's death in "'Round Springfield
'Round Springfield
"Round Springfield" is the 22nd episode of the sixth season of The Simpsons. It originally aired on April 30, 1995. In the episode, Bart is rushed to hospital after eating a jagged metal Krusty-O and decides to sue Krusty the Clown. Whilst visiting Bart, Lisa meets her old mentor, jazz musician...
" (season 6
The Simpsons (season 6)
The Simpsons sixth season originally aired on the Fox network between September 4, 1994 and May 21, 1995 and consists of 25 episodes. The Simpsons is an animated series about a working class family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie...
, 1995).
Lisa has been friendly with several boys, including Ralph Wiggum
Ralph Wiggum
Ralph Wiggum is a recurring fictional character on the animated series The Simpsons, voiced by Nancy Cartwright. The son of Police Chief Wiggum and a classmate of Lisa Simpson, Ralph is best known as the show's resident oddball, and is noted for his non sequiturs and erratic behavior...
in "I Love Lisa
I Love Lisa
"I Love Lisa" is the fifteenth episode of The Simpsons fourth season, and originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 11, 1993. In the episode, Lisa gives Ralph Wiggum a Valentine's Day card when she sees that he has not received any. Ralph reads too much into Lisa's...
" (season 4, 1993), Nelson Muntz
Nelson Muntz
Nelson Mandela Muntz is a fictional character and bully from the animated TV series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Nancy Cartwright. Nelson was introduced in Season 1's "Bart the General" as a bully but later turned into a friend of Bart Simpson, who is best identified by his signature laugh .-Role...
in "Lisa's Date with Density
Lisa's Date with Density
"Lisa's Date with Density" is the seventh episode of the animated television series The Simpsons eighth season, which originally aired December 15, 1996. It was written by Mike Scully, and directed by Susie Dietter...
" (season 8
The Simpsons (season 8)
The Simpsons eighth season originally aired between October 27, 1996 and May 18, 1997, beginning with "Treehouse of Horror VII". The show runners for the eighth production season were Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein. The aired season contained two episodes which were hold-over episodes from season...
, 1996) and Colin 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...
(2007). Bart's best friend Milhouse Van Houten
Milhouse Van Houten
Milhouse Mussolini Van Houten is a fictional character featured in the animated television series The Simpsons, voiced by Pamela Hayden. He is Bart Simpson's best friend in Mrs. Krabappel's fourth grade class at Springfield Elementary School....
has a crush on her, but despite dropping unsubtle hints about his feelings, he has been unsuccessful in winning her affection.
Lisa is the most intellectual member of the Simpson family, and many episodes of the series focus on her fighting for various causes. Lisa is often the focus of episodes with "a real moral or philosophical point," which according to former writer David S. Cohen
David X. Cohen
David Samuel Cohen , primarily known as David X. Cohen, is an American television writer. He has written for The Simpsons and he is the head writer and executive producer of Futurama.-Early life:...
is because "you really buy her as caring about it." Lisa's political convictions are generally liberal and she often contests other's views. She is a vegetarian, feminist
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
, environmentalist
Environmentalist
An environmentalist broadly supports the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that seeks to improve and protect the quality of the natural environment through changes to environmentally harmful human activities"...
and a supporter of gay rights and the Free Tibet movement. While supportive of the general ideals of the Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
church in which she was raised, Lisa became a practicing Buddhist in the episode "She of Little Faith
She of Little Faith
"She of Little Faith" is the sixth episode of The Simpsons thirteenth season. It first aired in the United States on the Fox network on December 16, 2001...
" (season 13
The Simpsons (season 13)
The Simpsons thirteenth season originally aired on the Fox network between November 6, 2001 and May 22, 2002 and consists of 22 episodes. The show runner for the thirteenth production season was Al Jean who executive-produced 17 episodes...
, 2001) after she learned about the Noble Eightfold Path
Noble Eightfold Path
The Noble Eightfold Path , is one of the principal teachings of the Buddha, who described it as the way leading to the cessation of suffering and the achievement of self-awakening. It is used to develop insight into the true nature of phenomena and to eradicate greed, hatred, and delusion...
.
Creation
Matt GroeningMatt 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....
first conceived Lisa and the rest of the Simpson family in 1986
1986 in film
-Events:*April 12 - Actor Morgan Mason marries The Go-Go's Belinda Carlisle.*April 26 - Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger marries television journalist Maria Shriver.*May - Actress Heather Locklear marries Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee....
in the lobby of producer James L. Brooks
James L. Brooks
James Lawrence Brooks is an American director, producer and screenwriter. Growing up in North Bergen, New Jersey, Brooks endured a fractured family life and passed the time by reading and writing. After dropping out of New York University, he got a job as an usher at CBS, going on to write for the...
's office. Groening had been called in to pitch a series of animated shorts for The Tracey Ullman Show and had intended to present an adaptation of his Life in Hell
Life in Hell
Life in Hell is a weekly comic strip by Matt Groening. The strip features anthropomorphic rabbits and a pair of gay lovers. Groening uses these characters to explore a wide range of topics about love, sex, work, and death...
comic strip. When he realized that animating Life in Hell would require him to rescind publication rights, Groening went in another direction, hurriedly sketching his version of 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...
, named after members of his own family. Lisa was named after Groening's younger sister, but little else was based on her. In The Tracey Ullman Show shorts, Lisa displayed little of the intelligence for which she later became known. She was more of a "female Bart" and was originally described as simply the "middle child", without much personality.
Lisa made her debut with the rest of the Simpson family on April 19, 1987 in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night
Good Night (The Simpsons short)
"Good Night" is the first Simpsons short that appeared on The Tracey Ullman Show. It originally aired April 19, 1987, during the third episode of The Tracey Ullman Show and was the first appearance of the Simpson family on television. After three seasons on Tracey Ullman, the shorts would be...
". In 1989, the shorts were adapted into The Simpsons, a half-hour series on the Fox Broadcasting Company
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...
. Lisa and the Simpson family remained the main characters on this new show.
Design
To draw Lisa's head and hair, most of the show's animators use what they call the "three-three-two arrangement". It begins with a circle, with two curving lines (one vertical, one horizontal) intersecting in the middle to indicate her eyeline. The vertical line continues outside of the circle to create one hair point, with two more added towards the back of her head. Three more points are then added in front (in the direction Lisa is facing), with two more behind it. Several Simpsons animators, including Pete Michels
Pete Michels
Pete Michels is an animation director on Family Guy. He has also been the supervising director on Family Guy as well as on the short-lived TV show, Kid Notorious. He started working on The Simpsons in 1990 as a background layout artist. He worked his way up to character layout artist, timer,...
and David Silverman
David Silverman
David Silverman is an animator best known for directing numerous episodes of the animated TV series The Simpsons, as well as The Simpsons Movie...
, consider Lisa the most difficult Simpsons character to draw. Silverman explains that "her head is so abstract" due to her hairstyle.
Voice
While the roles of Homer and Marge were given to Dan CastellanetaDan 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,...
and Julie Kavner
Julie Kavner
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...
because they were already a part of the Tracey Ullman Show cast, the producers decided to hold casting for the roles of Bart and Lisa. 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...
intended to audition for the role of Lisa, but disliked the character's bland description—Lisa was described simply as the "middle child"—and read for the role of Bart instead. Casting director Bonita Pietila brought Yeardley Smith
Yeardley Smith
Yeardley Smith is a French-born American actress, voice actress, writer and painter. She is best known for her long-running role as Lisa Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons....
in for an audition after seeing her performing in the play Living on Salvation Street. Smith was hesitant to audition for an animated series, but her agent had persuaded her to give it a try. Smith originally auditioned for the role of Bart but Pietila believed her voice was too high. Smith later recalled: "I always sounded too much like a girl, I read two lines as Bart and they said, 'Thanks for coming!'" Pietila offered Smith the role of Lisa instead.
Lisa is the only regular character voiced by Smith, who increases the pitch of her voice slightly for the role. In some earlier episodes she provided some of Maggie's squeaks and occasional speaking parts, and has voiced other characters on very rare occasions. Usually they are derivative of Lisa, such as Lisa Bella in "Last Tap Dance in Springfield
Last Tap Dance in Springfield
"Last Tap Dance in Springfield" is the twentieth episode of the eleventh season of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 7, 2000. In the episode, Lisa decides to sign up for tap dancing lessons after being inspired by a film...
" (season 11
The Simpsons (season 11)
The Simpsons 11th season originally aired between September 1999 and May 2000, beginning on Sunday, September 26, 1999, with "Beyond Blunderdome". The show runner for the 11th production season was Mike Scully...
, 2000) and Lisa, Jr. in "Missionary: Impossible
Missionary: Impossible
"Missionary: Impossible" is the fifteenth episode of the 11th season of The Simpsons, which originally aired February 20, 2000.-Plot:In an attempt to end a pledge drive which interrupts a favorite show of his on PBS , Homer pledges $10,000 to the network...
". (season 11, 2000)
Despite the fame of Lisa Simpson, Smith is rarely recognized in public, which she does not mind. She said, "it's wonderful to be in the midst of all this hype about the show, and people enjoying the show so much, and to be totally a fly on the wall; people never recognise me solely from my voice." In a 2009 interview with The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
she commented that "It's the best job ever. I have nothing but gratitude for the amount of freedom The Simpsons has bought me in my life." Although Smith 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, she considers it unimportant, saying "there's part of me that feels it wasn't even a real Emmy." The award is a Creative Arts prize not awarded during the primetime telecast and, at the time, a juried award without nominations. Still, Smith considers her work on the show a success. "If I had to be associated with one character in fiction," she said, "I will always be thrilled that it was Lisa Simpson." Matt Groening has described Smith as being very similar to Lisa: "Yeardley has strong moral views about her character. There are lines that are written for Lisa that Yeardley reads and says, 'No, I wouldn't say that.'" Former Simpsons writer Jay Kogen
Jay Kogen
-Early life:Jay Steven Kogen was born on May 3rd, 1963 in Brooklyn, New York. He is the son of Mad writer Arnie Kogen, and Sue Kogen . His paternal grandparents, Samuel Kogen and Pauline Gorin, were Jewish immigrants from the Russian Empire , while his maternal grandparents, Harold Hirsch and Ida...
praised her performance on the show, particularly in the episode "Lisa's Substitute
Lisa's Substitute
"Lisa's Substitute" is the nineteenth episode of The Simpsons second season. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on April 25, 1991. In the episode, Lisa's teacher Miss Hoover takes medical leave due to what she thinks is Lyme disease, so substitute teacher Mr. Bergstrom takes over the...
", as able "to move past comedy to something really strong and serious and dramatic."
Until 1998, Smith was paid $30,000 per episode. A pay dispute erupted in 1998, during which Fox threatened to replace the six main voice actors with new actors, going as far as preparing for casting of new voices. The dispute was soon resolved, and Smith received $125,000 per episode until 2004 when the voice actors sought an increase to $360,000 per episode. The issue was resolved a month later, and Smith earned $250,000 per episode. New salary negotiations took place in 2008, and the voice actors currently receive approximately $400,000 per episode.
Development
Krusty Gets Busted
"Krusty Gets Busted" is the twelfth episode of The Simpsons first season, and originally aired on April 29, 1990. The episode was written by Jay Kogen and Wallace Wolodarsky, and directed by Brad Bird. In the episode, Krusty the Clown, a famous TV comedian, is convicted of the armed robbery of the...
" (season one), by helping Bart reveal Sideshow Bob
Sideshow Bob
Robert Underdunk Terwilliger, better known as Sideshow Bob, is a recurring character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Kelsey Grammer and first appeared briefly in the episode "The Telltale Head". Bob is a self-proclaimed genius who is a graduate of Yale, a member of...
's plot to frame Krusty the Clown for armed robbery. Many episodes focusing on Lisa have an emotional nature, such as "Moaning Lisa" (season one, 1990). The idea for the episode was pitched by James L. Brooks
James L. Brooks
James Lawrence Brooks is an American director, producer and screenwriter. Growing up in North Bergen, New Jersey, Brooks endured a fractured family life and passed the time by reading and writing. After dropping out of New York University, he got a job as an usher at CBS, going on to write for the...
, who wanted to do an emotional episode involving Lisa's sadness, to complement the many "jokey episodes" in the first season.
In the seventh-season episode "Lisa the Vegetarian
Lisa the Vegetarian
"Lisa the Vegetarian" is the fifth episode of The Simpsons seventh season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 15, 1995. In the episode, Lisa decides to stop eating meat after bonding with a lamb at a petting zoo...
" (1995), Lisa permanently becomes a vegetarian, distinguishing her as one of the first primetime television characters to make such a choice. The episode was written by David S. Cohen (in his first solo writing credit) who jotted down the idea one day while eating lunch. Then-executive producer David Mirkin
David Mirkin
David Mirkin is an American feature film and television director, writer and producer. Mirkin grew up in Philadelphia and intended to become an electrical engineer, but abandoned this career path in favor of studying film at Loyola Marymount University. After graduating, he became a stand-up...
, who had recently become a vegetarian, quickly approved the idea. Several of Lisa's experiences in the episode are based on Mirkin's own experiences. The episode guest stars musician Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
, a committed vegetarian and animal rights
Animal rights
Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...
activist. McCartney's condition for appearing was that Lisa would remain a vegetarian for the rest of the series and would not revert back the next week (as is common on situation comedies). The trait stayed and is one of the few permanent character changes made in the show. In the season 13 episode "She of Little Faith" (2001), Lisa underwent another permanent character change when she converted to Buddhism.
Lisa plays the baritone saxophone
Baritone saxophone
The baritone saxophone, often called "bari sax" , is one of the largest and lowest pitched members of the saxophone family. It was invented by Adolphe Sax. The baritone is distinguished from smaller sizes of saxophone by the extra loop near its mouthpiece...
, and some episodes use that as a plot device. According to Matt Groening, the baritone saxophone was chosen because he found the thought of an eight year old girl playing it amusing. He added, "But she doesn't always play a baritone sax because the animators don't know what it looks like, so it changes shape and color from show to show." One of the hallmarks of the show's opening sequence
The Simpsons opening sequence
The Simpsons opening sequence is an element that begins almost every episode of the American animated television series The Simpsons. Starting with the season 20 episode "Take My Life, Please", the opening sequence was redone to go with the high-definition format of the show, and replaced the...
is a brief solo Lisa plays on her saxophone after being thrown out of music class. The Simpsons composer Alf Clausen
Alf Clausen
Alf Clausen is an American film and television composer. He is best known for his work scoring many episodes of The Simpsons, of which he has been the sole composer since 1990...
said that the session musicians who perform her solos do not try to play at the second grade level and instead "think of Lisa as a really good player."
Personality
Lisa is highly intelligent and sees herself as a misfit within the Simpson family due to her knowledge. She shows characteristics rarely seen in Springfield, including spirituality and commitment to peaceful ways. Lisa's knowledge covers a wide range of subjects, from astronomy to medicine, and she is notably more concerned with world affairs than her life in Springfield. Although her rebellion against social norms is usually depicted as constructive and heroic, Lisa can be self-righteous at times. In "Lisa the Vegetarian", an increasing sense of moral righteousness leads her to disrupt her father's roast-pig barbecueBarbecue
Barbecue or barbeque , used chiefly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia is a method and apparatus for cooking meat, poultry and occasionally fish with the heat and hot smoke of a fire, smoking wood, or hot coals of...
, an act for which she later apologizes. Episodes often take shots at Lisa's idealism. In "Bart Star
Bart Star
"Bart Star" is the sixth episode of the ninth season of the animated television series The Simpsons, which originally aired November 9, 1997. The title of this episode is a play on Bart Starr...
", (season nine
The Simpsons (season 9)
The Simpsons ninth season originally aired between September 1997 and May 1998, beginning on Sunday, September 21, 1997 with "The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson". The show runner for the ninth production season was Mike Scully...
, 1997) Lisa, apparently looking for a new cause to crusade over, defiantly declares that she, a girl, would like to join the football team. When coach Ned Flanders
Ned Flanders
Nedward "Ned" Flanders, Jr. is a recurring fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Harry Shearer, and first appeared in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". He is the next door neighbor to the Simpson family and is generally...
reveals that several girls already play for the team, she hesitates and claims football is "not really [her] thing". She then expresses distaste about a ball made of pig's skin, but one of the girls informs her that their footballs are synthetic and that proceeds are donated to Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
. Visibly upset, Lisa runs off.
Lisa is said to have an IQ
Intelligence quotient
An intelligence quotient, or IQ, is a score derived from one of several different standardized tests designed to assess intelligence. When modern IQ tests are constructed, the mean score within an age group is set to 100 and the standard deviation to 15...
of 159, and in "They Saved Lisa's Brain
They Saved Lisa's Brain
"They Saved Lisa's Brain" is the twenty-second episode of The Simpsons tenth season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 9, 1999. After writing a thoughtful letter to the Springfield Shopper, Lisa is invited to join the Springfield chapter of Mensa...
" (season ten
The Simpsons (season 10)
The tenth season of the animated television series The Simpsons was originally broadcast on the Fox network in the United States between August 23, 1998 and May 16, 1999. It contains twenty-three episodes, starting with "Lard of the Dance". The Simpsons revolves around a working class family that...
, 1999) she becomes a member of the Springfield
Springfield (The Simpsons)
Springfield is the fictional town in which the American animated sitcom The Simpsons is set. A mid-sized town in an undetermined state of the United States, Springfield acts as a complete universe in which characters can explore the issues faced by modern society. The geography of the town and its...
chapter of Mensa
Mensa International
Mensa is the largest and oldest high-IQ society in the world. It is a non-profit organization open to people who score at the 98th percentile or higher on a standardised, supervised IQ or other approved intelligence test...
. When unable to attend school due to a teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
s' strike
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
in "The PTA Disbands", (season six, 1995) she suffers withdrawal
Withdrawal
Withdrawal can refer to any sort of separation, but is most commonly used to describe the group of symptoms that occurs upon the abrupt discontinuation/separation or a decrease in dosage of the intake of medications, recreational drugs, and alcohol...
symptoms because of the sudden lack of praise. She even demands that her mother grade her for no obvious reason. In Planet Simpson, Chris Turner
Chris Turner (author)
Chris Turner is a Canadian author. He is the author of Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation, published in 2004...
writes that these traits make Lisa more realistic because "No character can aspire to realism without a few all-too-human flaws."
Although she is intellectually gifted, Lisa experiences typical childhood issues, sometimes requiring adult intervention. For example, in "Lost Our Lisa
Lost Our Lisa
"Lost Our Lisa" is the twenty-fourth episode of the ninth season of The Simpsons. It originally aired May 10, 1998 on Fox. The episode contains the last appearance of character Lionel Hutz. When Lisa learns that Marge cannot give her a ride to the museum and forbids her to take the bus, she tricks...
" (season nine, 1998), she tricks Homer into allowing her to ride the bus alone, only to become hopelessly lost and in need of aid from her father. Chris Turner writes in Planet Simpson that incidents like this illustrate that "Even when Lisa's lecturing like a college professor or mounting yet another protest, she never becomes a full-grown adult trapped in a kid's body." In The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer
The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer
The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer is a non-fiction book analyzing the philosophy and popular culture effects of the American animated sitcom, The Simpsons, published by Open Court. The book is edited by William Irwin, Mark T. Conard and Aeon J...
, Aeon J. Skoble states that although Lisa is an intellectual, she is still portrayed as a character who enjoys normal childhood and girl activities, plays with Malibu Stacy dolls, loves ponies, obsesses over teenage heartthrobs such as Corey
Brother from the Same Planet
"Brother from the Same Planet" is the fourteenth episode of The Simpsons fourth season. After Homer is late to pick up Bart from soccer practice, Bart turns to the program The Bigger Brothers, and is assigned a man named Tom. Homer gets himself a little brother named Pepe. Homer and Tom fight, and...
, and watches The Itchy and Scratchy Show. He writes, "One might argue that this is typical childhood behavior, but since in so many cases Lisa is presented not simply as a prodigy but as preternaturally wise, the fondness for Itchy and Scratchy and Corey seem to be highlighted, taking on greater significance. Lisa is portrayed as the avatar of logic and wisdom, but then she also worships Corey so she's 'no better [than the rest of us]'."
Lisa occasionally worries that her family's dull habits will rub off on her, such as in "Lisa the Simpson
Lisa the Simpson
"Lisa the Simpson" is the seventeenth episode of the ninth season of the animated television series The Simpsons, which originally aired March 8, 1998. It was written by Ned Goldreyer and directed by Susie Dietter. This episode was also the final episode with Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein as show...
" (season nine, 1998) she worries that the "Simpson gene
Genetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
" will make her less intelligent later finding out the gene only goes through the male side. She is often embarrassed and disapproving of her eccentric family: of her father's poor parenting skills and buffoonish personality; her mother's stereotypical image and social ineptitude; and her brother's delinquent and low-brow nature. She is also concerned that Maggie may grow up to be like the rest of the family and tries to teach her complex ideas. Chris Turner writes in Planet Simpson that "Lisa embarks on quests to find solace for her yearning spirit [...] but the most reliable source of truth she finds is the one she always believed in: her family. It is from the other Simpsons that Lisa draws stability, meaning, contentment." Her loyalty to her family is most clearly seen in the flashforward "Lisa's Wedding
Lisa's Wedding
"Lisa's Wedding" is the 19th episode of The Simpsons sixth season, which originally aired March 19, 1995. The plot focuses around Lisa visiting a carnival fortune teller and learning about her future love. It was written by Greg Daniels and directed by Jim Reardon. Mandy Patinkin guest stars as...
" (season six, 1995), in which she must reconcile her love for them with the distaste of her cultured fiancé. In the episode "Mother Simpson
Mother Simpson
"Mother Simpson" is the eighth episode of The Simpsons seventh season and first aired on November 19, 1995. After faking his own death to get a day off of work, Homer reunites with his mother Mona, who he thought had died 27 years ago. It was directed by David Silverman and was the first episode to...
" (season seven, 1995) she meets her paternal grandmother Mona Simpson
Mona Simpson (The Simpsons)
Mona J. Simpson is a recurring fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She has been voiced by several actresses, including Maggie Roswell, Tress MacNeille and most prominently, Glenn Close. Mona is the estranged wife of Abe Simpson and the mother of Homer Simpson...
for the first time. Mona is also well-read and articulate, and the writers used the character as a way to explain the origins of Lisa's intelligence.
Commendations
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
"Top 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time." Yeardley Smith has won several awards for voicing Lisa, including 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 for "Lisa the Greek
Lisa the Greek
"Lisa the Greek" is the fourteenth episode of The Simpsons third season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 23, 1992. In the episode, Homer begins to bond with his daughter, Lisa, after learning her unique and convenient ability to pick winning American football...
". Various episodes in which Lisa stars have won Emmy Awards for Outstanding Animated Program
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming less than One Hour)
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program is a Creative Arts Emmy Award which is given annually to an animated series which is judged to have been the best...
, including "Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment
Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment
"Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment" is the thirteenth episode of The Simpsons second season and the 26th episode overall. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 7, 1991. In the episode, Homer gets an illegal cable hook-up. Despite the family's enjoyment of the...
" in 1991, "Lisa's Wedding" in 1995 and "HOMR
HOMR
"HOMR" is the ninth episode of The Simpsons’ twelfth season, originally aired on January 7, 2001 by the Fox Broadcasting Company. The episode is the 257th episode overall and the last episode produced for the eleventh season...
" in 2001. In 2000, Lisa and the rest of the Simpson family were awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard.
Lisa's environmentalism
Environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
has been especially well received. In 2001 Lisa received a special "Board of Directors Ongoing Commitment Award" at the Environmental Media Awards
Environmental Media Awards
The Environmental Media Awards have been awarded by the Environmental Media Association since 1991 to the best television episode or film with an environmental message....
. "Lisa the Vegetarian" won both an Environmental Media Award for "Best Television Episodic Comedy" and a Genesis Award
Genesis Awards
The Genesis Awards are awarded annually to individuals in the major news and entertainment media for producing outstanding works which raise public awareness of animal issues. Presented by The Humane Society of the United States, the awards show takes place every March in California...
for "Best Television Comedy Series, Ongoing Commitment". Several other episodes that feature Lisa speaking out in favor of animal rights have won Genesis Awards, including "Whacking Day
Whacking Day
"Whacking Day" is the twentieth episode of The Simpsons fourth season, and originally aired April 29, 1993. It concerns the fictional holiday "Whacking Day", celebrated annually May 10, in which the citizens of Springfield drive snakes into the town square, then club them to death...
" in 1994, "Bart Gets an Elephant
Bart Gets an Elephant
"Bart Gets an Elephant" is the seventeenth episode of The Simpsons fifth season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 31, 1994. In the episode, Bart wins a radio contest and is awarded an elephant named Stampy. After Stampy wrecks the Simpsons' house and eats all the...
" in 1995, "Million Dollar Abie
Million Dollar Abie
"Million Dollar Abie" is the sixteenth episode of the seventeenth season of The Simpsons. This is the first episode to have a parody title of the film Million Dollar Baby, with the second being Million Dollar Maybe.-Plot:...
" in 2007 and "Apocalypse Cow
Apocalypse Cow
"Apocalypse Cow" is the seventeenth episode of The Simpsons nineteenth season. It was broadcast on April 27, 2008. After joining 4-H, Bart saves a cow named Lou and gives it to a girl named Mary , a farm girl. Her father, Cletus, mistakenly believes it as a token for Mary's hand in marriage, and...
" in 2009.
Cultural influence
Jonathan Gray, author of the book Watching The Simpsons, feels that Lisa "is probably the best and certainly longest-running feminist character that television has had. She's the heart of the show and she quite often questions the gender politics" but only her own. Christopher Borrelli of The Toledo BladeThe Blade (newspaper)
The Blade is a daily newspaper in Toledo, Ohio, first published on December 19, 1835.- Overview :David Ross Locke gained national fame for the paper during the Civil War era by writing under the pen name Petroleum V. Nasby. Writing under the pen name, Locke wrote satires ranging on topics from...
wrote, "Has there ever been a female TV character as complex, intelligent, and, ahem, as emotionally well-drawn as Lisa Simpson? Meet her once and she comes off priggish and one-note -- a know-it-all. Get to know her and Lisa is as well-rounded as anyone you may ever meet in the real world."
According to PETA, Lisa was one of the first vegetarian characters on primetime television. In 2004 the organization included Lisa on its list of the "Most Animal-Friendly TV Characters of All Time". In 2008, environmentalist website The Daily Green honored Lisa's role in The Simpsons Movie with one of its inaugural "Heart of Green" awards, which "recognize those who have helped green go mainstream." They wrote "young Lisa Simpson has inspired a generation to wear their hearts on their sleeves and get educated, and involved, about global issues, from justice to feminism and the environment." Japanese broadcasters reversed viewer dislike of the series by focusing marketing of the show on Lisa. Lisa's well-intended but ill-fated struggles to be a voice of reason and a force of good in her family and community struck a chord with Japanese audiences. Mario D'Amato, a specialist in Buddhist studies at Rollins College
Rollins College
Rollins College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Winter Park, Florida , along the shores of Lake Virginia....
in Florida, described Lisa as "open-minded, reflective, ethical, and interested in improving herself in various ways, while still preserving a child-like sense of innocence. These are all excellent qualities, ones which are espoused by many Buddhist traditions."
Lisa and the rest of the Simpsons have had a significant influence on English-language idiom
Idiom
Idiom is an expression, word, or phrase that has a figurative meaning that is comprehended in regard to a common use of that expression that is separate from the literal meaning or definition of the words of which it is made...
s. The dismissive term "Meh", used by Lisa and popularized by the show, entered the Collins English Dictionary
HarperCollins
HarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...
in 2008. In 1996, 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...
published an article saying that Lisa was inspiring children, especially young girls, to learn to play the saxophone.
Merchandising
Lisa has been included in many The Simpsons publications, toys, and other merchandise. The Lisa Book, describing Lisa's personality and attributes, was released in 2006. Other merchandise includes dolls, posterPoster
A poster is any piece of printed paper designed to be attached to a wall or vertical surface. Typically posters include both textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or wholly text. Posters are designed to be both eye-catching and informative. Posters may be...
s, figurines, bobblehead dolls, mug
Mug
A mug is a sturdily built type of cup often used for drinking hot beverages, such as coffee, tea, or hot chocolate. Mugs, by definition, have handles and often hold a larger amount of fluid than other types of cup. Usually a mug holds approximately 12 fluid ounces of liquid; double a tea cup...
s, and clothing such as slipper
Slipper
A slipper or houseshoe is a semi-closed type of indoor/outdoor shoe, consisting of a sole held to the wearer's foot by a strap running over the toes or instep. Slippers are soft and lightweight compared to other types of footwear. They are mostly made of soft or comforting materials that allow a...
s, T-shirt
T-shirt
A T-shirt is a style of shirt. A T-shirt is buttonless and collarless, with short sleeves and frequently a round neck line....
s, baseball cap
Baseball cap
A baseball cap is a type of soft cap with a rounded stiff brim. The front of the cap typically contains designs or logos of sports teams ,...
s, and boxer shorts
Boxer shorts
Boxer shorts are a type of undergarment worn by men. The term has been used in English since 1944 for all-around-elastic shorts, so named after the shorts worn by boxers, for whom unhindered leg movement is very important.Reasons for a preference for boxers can be attributed to their variety of...
. Lisa has appeared in commercials for Burger King
Burger King
Burger King, often abbreviated as BK, is a global chain of hamburger fast food restaurants headquartered in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The company began in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida-based restaurant chain...
, C.C. Lemon
C.C. Lemon
C.C. Lemon is a Japanese soft drink created by Suntory. It is known for its lemon flavor and for its advertisements featuring characters from the popular American cartoon The Simpsons.-Sizes:...
, Church's Chicken
Church's Chicken
Church's Chicken is a US-based chain of fast food restaurants specializing in fried chicken, also trading outside North America as Texas Chicken. The chain was founded as Church's Fried Chicken To Go by George W. Church, Sr., on April 17, 1952, in San Antonio, across the street from The Alamo...
, Domino's Pizza
Domino's Pizza
Domino's Pizza, Inc. is an international pizza delivery corporation headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America. Founded in 1960, Domino's is the second-largest pizza chain in the United States and has over 9,000 corporate and franchised stores in 60 countries and all 50 U.S....
, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Ramada Inn, Ritz Crackers
Ritz Crackers
Ritz Crackers are a brand of snack cracker introduced by Nabisco in 1934. Outside of the United States, the Ritz Cracker brand is made by a subsidiary of Kraft Foods. They are circular in shape, salted lightly on one side, and have a small scalloped edge...
, Subway
Subway (restaurant)
Subway is an American restaurant franchise that primarily sells submarine sandwiches and salads. It is owned and operated by Doctor's Associates, Inc. . Subway is one of the fastest growing franchises in the world with 35,519 restaurants in 98 countries and territories as of October 25th, 2011...
and Butterfinger
Butterfinger
Butterfinger is a candy bar made by Nestlé.The bar consists of a flaky, orange-colored center—somewhat similar texture to crisp caramel, with a taste similar to peanut butter—that is coated in compound chocolate.- History :...
.
On April 9, 2009, the United States Postal Service
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
unveiled a series of five 44 cent stamps featuring Lisa and the four other members of the nuclear Simpson family. They are the first characters from a television series to receive this recognition while still in production. The stamps, designed by Matt Groening, went on sale in May 2009.
Lisa has also appeared in other media relating to The Simpsons. She has appeared in each Simpsons video game
The Simpsons video games
The Simpsons video games are a line of official video games that use the characters from the animated television show The Simpsons. The popularity of The Simpsons motivated the video game industry to turn to the characters and world of Springfield...
, including The Simpsons Game
The Simpsons Game
The 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...
, released in 2007. In addition to the television series, Lisa regularly appears in issues of Simpsons Comics, first published on November 29, 1993 and published monthly. The comics focus on the sweeter, more naive incarnation from the early seasons. Lisa also plays a role in The Simpsons Ride
The Simpsons Ride
The Simpsons Ride is a simulator ride featured at the Universal Studios Florida and Universal Studios Hollywood theme parks. The ride is based on the animated television series The Simpsons. It was first announced in 2007 and replaced the Back to the Future: The Ride at both locations...
, launched in 2008 at Universal Studios Florida
Universal Studios Florida
Universal Studios Florida is an American theme park located in Orlando, Florida. Opened on June 7, 1990, the park's theme is the entertainment industry, in particular movies and television. Universal Studios Florida inspires its guests to "ride the movies," and it features numerous attractions and...
and Hollywood
Universal Studios Hollywood
Universal Studios Hollywood is a movie studio and theme park in the unincorporated Universal City community of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is one of the oldest and most famous Hollywood movie studios still in use...
.
External links
- Lisa Simpson at The Simpsons.com