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.