Yeardley Smith facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Yeardley Smith
Smith interviewed on The Woody Show in 2019
Born	Martha Maria Yeardley Smith (1964-07-03) July 3, 1964 (age 60) Paris, France
Citizenship	United States
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1982–present
Spouse(s)	Christopher Grove ​ ​ (m. 1990; div. 1992)​ Daniel Erickson ​ ​ (m. 2002; div. 2008)​ Daniel Grice ​ ​ (m. 2022)​

Yeardley Smith (born July 3, 1964) is an American actress. She is most famous for being the voice of Lisa Simpson on the popular animated TV show The Simpsons.

Yeardley started her acting career in 1982 after finishing drama school. She moved to New York City in 1984. There, she performed in a Broadway play called The Real Thing. Her first movie role was in 1985 in Heaven Help Us. She also appeared in films like The Legend of Billie Jean and Maximum Overdrive. In 1986, she moved to Los Angeles and got a regular role in the TV series Brothers.

In 1987, Yeardley tried out for the Simpsons cartoon shorts. These shorts were part of The Tracey Ullman Show. She originally wanted to be the voice of Bart Simpson. However, the casting director thought her voice was too high. Instead, she was chosen to voice Bart's sister, Lisa. In 1989, these shorts became their own full TV show, The Simpsons. For her amazing work as Lisa, Yeardley won a Primetime Emmy Award in 1992.

Besides The Simpsons, Yeardley has acted in other TV shows. She was Louise in the sitcom Herman's Head. She also appeared as Marlene in Dharma & Greg and Penny in Dead Like Me. She has been in several movies, including City Slickers, Just Write, Toys, and As Good as It Gets. In 2004, Yeardley performed a special one-woman show called More in New York City. She has mostly done voice work for The Simpsons and a few commercials. She also voiced a character in the film We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story. In 2009, she starred in and helped produce a romantic comedy movie called Waiting For Ophelia.

Early life and acting start

Yeardley Smith was born in Paris, France, on July 3, 1964. Her father, Joseph Smith, worked for a news agency in Paris. He later became the first obituary editor for The Washington Post. Her mother, Martha Mayor, worked to preserve old paper and art at the Smithsonian Institution. Yeardley's parents later divorced.

When she was a child, Yeardley was sometimes teased because of her unique voice. She has said that her voice has sounded pretty much the same since she was six years old. She first acted in a play when she was in sixth grade.

Becoming a professional actress

Yeardley became a professional actress in 1982. After acting in school plays, she joined a theater group called Arena Stage. She performed in their play Peter Pan. She then acted in several other plays in Washington. In 1984, she moved to New York City. There, she joined the Broadway play The Real Thing. She acted alongside famous actors like Jeremy Irons and Glenn Close.

Her first movie role was in Heaven Help Us (1985). She then played a character named Putter in The Legend of Billie Jean (1985). Yeardley thought this movie would make her career take off. However, the film did not do well at the box office. After filming, she returned to The Real Thing and then was out of work for six months. She worried her acting career might be over. But the next year, she played Connie in Stephen King's movie Maximum Overdrive (1986). She described it as a "dreadful film" but enjoyed her part in it.

In 1986, Yeardley moved to Los Angeles. She had been told she might get a part in a TV movie, but the role went to someone else. This taught her that promises in Hollywood don't always come true. She decided to protect herself from disappointment. In Los Angeles, she acted in plays and had a regular role as Louella Waters on the TV show Brothers.

Voicing Lisa Simpson

Yeardley Smith's most famous and longest-running role is voicing Lisa Simpson on The Simpsons. She has been Lisa's voice since 1987. It started with the The Simpsons shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show.

How she became Lisa

Yeardley first tried out for the role of Lisa's brother, Bart Simpson. But the casting director, Bonita Pietila, thought her voice was too high for Bart. Yeardley remembers reading two lines as Bart and being told, "Thanks for coming!" Instead, she was given the role of Lisa. She says she never planned to be a voice actor, but she loves the job. To voice Lisa, Yeardley makes her voice a little higher. Lisa is the only main character she voices. Sometimes, in early episodes, she also made some of Maggie Simpson's sounds. Yeardley rarely voices other characters, unless they are versions of Lisa. She spends two days a week recording for the show.

Smith at The Simpsons 500th Episode Marathon in February 2012

Life as a voice actor

Even though her voice is world-famous, Yeardley is rarely recognized in public. She likes this, saying it's "wonderful to be in the midst of all this hype about the show... and to be totally a fly on the wall". In a 2009 interview, she called it "the best job ever." She is very thankful for the freedom The Simpsons has given her in her life.

Yeardley won a Primetime Emmy Award in 1992 for her voice work. She felt it wasn't a "real Emmy" because it's a Creative Arts Emmy, not given out during the main TV broadcast. However, she says she is "thrilled" to be connected with Lisa Simpson. The Simpsons creator, Matt Groening, says Yeardley is very similar to Lisa. He noted that Yeardley has strong moral views about her character. She sometimes tells writers that Lisa wouldn't say certain lines. Writer Jay Kogen praised her acting, especially in the episode "Lisa's Substitute". He said she could go "past comedy to something really strong and serious and dramatic".

Other acting and projects

From 1991 to 1994, while still working on The Simpsons, Yeardley was a main actress in the sitcom Herman's Head. She played Louise in all 72 episodes. She also had regular roles as Marlene on Dharma & Greg and Penny in Dead Like Me. She appeared in other shows like Phil of the Future and Teen Angel.

Her small role as a pregnant checkout girl in the 1991 movie City Slickers brought her a lot of attention. This taught her that "it's far better to have small parts in big movies that everyone sees." In 1997, she played Lulu the palm reader in the movie Just Write. She also had parts in Toys and As Good as It Gets.

One-woman show and producing

In 2004, Yeardley performed her own one-woman show called More in New York City. The play was about her feelings on The Simpsons' success, her family, and her relationships. A critic from The New York Times called it an "appealing show." She performed the play again in Los Angeles the next year.

In 2009, Yeardley starred in and helped produce an independent romantic comedy called Waiting for Ophelia. She paid for the film herself. She said she loved the script and that she usually plays smaller roles, never the lead. She knew she might not make her money back, but she believed in the project. The movie first showed at the Phoenix Film Festival in April 2009.

In 2011, Yeardley played Ms. Miller in the movie The Chaperone. She acted alongside Triple H and Ariel Winter.

Advocacy and podcast

In 2016, Yeardley appeared in a video honoring the victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting. In 2019, she received an award from the Human Rights Campaign for her work supporting the LGBT community.

In 2017, Yeardley started a podcast called Small Town Dicks. This podcast explores real crime stories in small towns across the United States.

Personal life

Yeardley Smith married actor Christopher Grove in 1990. They divorced in 1992. She married Daniel Erickson in 2002, and they divorced in 2008.

In 1997, Yeardley said she is a shy person but can be outgoing when needed. She also said she likes to keep her personal life private. In 2009, she commented that she is "the worst celebrity ever" because she is so unassuming, but she was trying to get better at being famous.

Yeardley enjoys writing and painting. She taught herself to paint by copying other artists. She has written a children's book called I, Lorelei, which was published in 2009. In 2011, she started her own women's shoe line called Marchez Vous.

On June 11, 2022, Yeardley married Daniel Grice. He was one of the co-hosts of her podcast, Small Town Dicks. They met when he was providing security for her at a Simpsons event.

Filmography

Film roles

Television roles

Video game roles

Music videos

Theme park rides

Podcasts

See also

In Spanish: Yeardley Smith para niños