Julie Kavner is an American actress best known as the iconic voice of Marge Simpson on The Simpsons, a role she originated in 1987 on The Tracey Ullman Show before the shorts spun off into the long-running animated series. Her distinctively raspy, “honeyed gravel” voice also brings to life Marge’s mother and sisters, among others. Before her voice acting fame, Kavner earned critical acclaim for playing Brenda Morgenstern on Rhoda, a role that won her a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 1978.

Known for her privacy and aversion to public promotion, Kavner has nonetheless built a successful and enduring career. She won another Emmy for her voice work as Marge in 1992 and received an Annie Award nomination for The Simpsons Movie in 2007. While often cast in roles portraying sympathetic and self-effacing women, she sought more complex parts, taking a rare leading role in Nora Ephron’s This Is My Life (1992). Kavner has also frequently collaborated with Woody Allen, appearing in six of his films, and in the 2006 comedy Click alongside Adam Sandler.