Yeardley Smith

Martha Maria Yeardley Smith ( ; Her mother, Martha Mayor, was a paper conservator for the Freer and Sackler Galleries at the Smithsonian Institution. Smith's parents later divorced. Her maternal grandfather was art historian A. Hyatt Mayor, and among her great-grandparents were marine biologist and zoologist Alpheus Hyatt and artist and sculptor Harriet Randolph Hyatt Mayor. She is also the paternal niece of political scientist, historian, and Latin American studies specialist Peter H. Smith. Smith has labeled her family "upper crust and reserved". As a child, Smith was often teased because of her unusual voice. Smith has stated: "I've sounded pretty much the same way since I was six. Maybe [my voice is] a little deeper now." She appeared in the films The Legend of Billie Jean and Ginger Ale Afternoon as "trailer-park girls".

The Simpsons quote=It's a happy fluke. When she was cast back in 1987, I just liked the sound of her voice. She's also a great actress. In general, people who make their living doing voices on cartoons aren't always great for us. Most cartoons want things peppy and cartoony. Yeardley is able to go through moments of great emotion and wring it for all she's worth. salign=right — —Matt Groening on Smith's vocal style Smith was given the role of Lisa, instead. She denies rumors that she almost turned down the role, though admits she had never planned a career in voice-over work. Pietila stated that, having seen her in Living on Salvation Street, Lisa is the only regular character voiced by Smith, although in some earlier episodes, she provided some of Maggie's squeaks and occasional speaking parts. Smith has only voiced characters other than Lisa on very rare occasions, with those characters usually being some derivative of Lisa, such as Lisa Bella in "Last Tap Dance in Springfield" and Lisa Jr. in "Missionary: Impossible" (both from season 11 in 2000). Smith spends two days a week recording the show. The issue was resolved a month later, and Smith earned $250,000 per episode. Three years later, with Fox threatening to cancel the series unless production costs were cut, Smith and the other cast members accepted a 25% pay cut, down to just over $300,000 per episode.

Despite her world-famous role, Smith is rarely recognized in public, which she does not mind, saying, "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: "It's the best job ever. I have nothing but gratitude for the amount of freedom The Simpsons has bought me in my life."

Smith received a Primetime Emmy Award in 1992, but felt it was not worth anything, saying "there's part of me that feels it wasn't even a real Emmy." The Emmy for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance is a Creative Arts and not handed out during the primetime telecast and, prior to 2009, was a juried award without nominations. However, Smith says "if I had to be associated with one character in fiction, I will always be thrilled that it was Lisa Simpson." Her other television roles include recurring appearances as Marlene on Dharma & Greg, and Penny in two episodes of Dead Like Me. Smith has also appeared in Phil of the Future and Teen Angel. Her one-scene role as pregnant checkout girl Nancy in 1991's City Slickers earned her "more attention than all [her] previous roles combined", and taught her "that it's far better to have small parts in big movies that everyone sees." She would later perform the play for three weeks in Los Angeles the following year.

Smith starred in and served as executive producer for the independent romantic comedy Waiting for Ophelia, which was released in 2009. She funded the film, which was written by Adam Carl and based on a stage play he wrote in 2003. She said: "I loved it. I never get to play parts like that. I always play the friend of a friend, never the lead. And the script surprised me." Carl stated it was very unlikely she would recoup her money, but Smith decided she "believe in this project, and my expectations have already been fulfilled by making the movie", and added: "You can support art even if it's not going to make a zillion dollars."

In 2010 she had a small but attention-getting guest role in The Big Bang Theory, as a counselor trying to place Sheldon in a job.

In 2011 Smith starred as Ms. Miller in the movie The Chaperone alongside Triple H and Ariel Winter.

In June 2016 the Human Rights Campaign released a video in tribute to the victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting; in the video, Smith and others told the stories of the people killed there. On March 30, 2019, Smith was honored with the Human Rights Campaign's National Leadership Award in Los Angeles for her work as an advocate of the LGBT community.

In 2017 Smith started a podcast, Small Town Dicks, which explores real life crime in small towns in the United States. Smith had co-hosted the podcast with actress and long-time friend Zibby Allen until March 2019 when the two filed lawsuits against one another, with Allen accusing Smith of pushing her out of ownership and profit rights from the show.

Politics Smith is a lifelong Democrat.

In 2018 Smith mocked Republican Ted Cruz after he labeled the Democratic Party as "the party of Lisa Simpson". Smith recommended that people of differing political views should be able to work together on gun control, promoting gay rights and environmentalism.

Personal life Smith married English-Canadian actor Christopher Grove in 1990. They were divorced in 1992, citing irreconcilable differences.

In a 1997 interview with The Daily Targum Smith stated "I am shy, but I have an extroverted persona which I can draw on when I need to," and that she is a "private" actress.

In 2009 she commented, "People have said to me that I'm unassuming. It's true, I'm the worst celebrity ever. But I'm trying to become better."

Smith enjoys writing and painting. During the first season of Herman's Head, Smith taught herself to paint by copying other artists. She has written a children's book, I, Lorelei, which was published by HarperCollins in February 2009.

In 2011 Smith launched a women's shoe line called Marchez Vous.

In November 2021 Yeardley was noted for producing a podcast on the murder of Sheila Anderson, one of Scotland's most notorious unsolved murders.

On June 11, 2022, Smith married one of the co-hosts of her podcast, Small Town Dicks, Detective (Ret) Dan Grice. She met him while he was providing personal security for her during a Simpsons event.

Filmography

Film

Television Year Series Role Notes 1984 ABC Afterschool Special Jenny Episode 13.4: "Mom's on Strike" 1987–1989 Brothers Louella Waters Appeared in 46 episodes 1985 The Recovery Room Jill TV film1986 Tales from the Darkside Betty Ann Cooper Episode 2.23: "Fear of Floating" Mama's Family Bonita Rokiki Episode 3.11: "Where There's Smoke" 1987 Square One Television (Mathnet) Jane Rice-Burroughs Appeared in four episodes; Episode 1.2: "The Problem of the Missing Monkey" 1987–1989 The Tracey Ullman Show Lisa Simpson (voice) The Simpsons shorts 1988 CBS Summer Playhouse Paula Bennett Episode 2.17: "Tickets, Please" 1989 Murphy Brown Phoebe Cramer Episode 2.5: "Miles' Big Adventure" 1989–present The Simpsons Lisa Simpson, Various voices (voice) Main cast member; longest-running rolePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance1990 Sydney Tracy Cole Episode 1.8: "The Me Nobody Knows" 42nd Primetime Emmy Awards Lisa Simpson (voice) TV special 1991–1994 Herman's Head Louise Fitzer Main cast member; appeared in all 72 episodes 1991 Sesame Street Lisa Simpson (voice) One episode; Celebrity Monster in the Mirror 1991–2004 Rugrats Brown Dummy Bear, additional voices (voice) 1992 Likely Suspects Unnamed character Episode 1.11: "Am I Not Your Stiff" 1994 Empty Nest Sally Episode 7.3: "Just for Laughs"1997 Toothless Gatekeeper TV film Smart Guy Mrs. Rawlings Episode 2.5: "Dumbstruck" Teen Angel Miss Gross Episode 1.8: "Jeremiah Was a Bullfrog" 1997–2002 Dharma & Greg Marlene Appeared in 17 episodes 1998 Sports Night Malory Moss Episode 1.4: "Intellectual Property" 1999 Nash Bridges Stevie Strong Episode 5.9: "Crosstalk" 2001 Last Dance Unnamed character TV film 2003 Becker Ruby Episode 5.19: "Ms. Fortune" 2004 Dead Like Me Penny Episodes 2.12: "Forget Me Not" and 2.14: "Always"2005 Phil of the Future Mandy Teslow Episodes 1.18: "Double Trouble" and 1.20: "Corner Pocket" Strong Medicine Real Estate Agent Episode 6.5: "Dying Inside"2009 Mad Men Nurse Episode 3.5: "The Fog" The Wishing Well Mary TV film2010 The Big Bang Theory Sandy Episode 3.14: "The Einstein Approximation" The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special – In 3-D! On Ice! HerselfLisa Simpson (voice) TV special 2012 FOX 25th Anniversary Special Lisa Simpson (voice) TV special 2013 Hot in Cleveland Margaret Episode 4.21: "Corpse Bride"2014 Revenge Phyllis Episode 4.1: "Renaissance" Family Guy Lisa Simpson (voice) Episode 13.1: "The Simpsons Guy" 2014–2015 The Mindy Project Carolyn Episode 3.6: "Caramel Princess Time" and Episode 3.12: Stanford 2016 Fresh Off the Boat Marie (Costco Employee) Episode 3.6: "WWJD: What Would Jessica Do?" 2017 Mom Enid Episode 4.21: "A Few Thongs and A Hawaiian Funeral"

Video games

Music videos Year Song Role Artist 1990 "Do the Bartman" Lisa Simpson Nancy Cartwright

Theme park

Podcasts Year Show Role 2017–present Small Town Dicks Co-host 2019 Harmontown Special guest (episode 337) 2020 Jensen and Holes: The Murder Squad Special guest (January 20, 2020)2021 I Said No Gifts! Special guest (June 3, 2021) 2022 The Adam Carolla Show Special guest (March 20, 2022)