Yeardley Smith

Yeardley Smith
Yeardley Smith

Smith on a panel at Comic-Con in San Diego for The Simpsons, July 2007
Born Martha Maria Yeardley Smith
July 3, 1964 (1964-07-03) (age 47)
Paris, France
Occupation Actress, author, voice artist
Years active 1982–present
Spouse Christopher Grove (1990-1992)
Daniel Erickson (2002-2008)

Yeardley Smith (play /ˈjɑrdliː/;[1] born Martha Maria Yeardley Smith on July 3, 1964) 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.

She was born in Paris and moved with her family to Washington, D.C. in 1966. As a child, Smith was often mocked because of her voice and unusual first name. She became a professional actress in 1982 after graduating from drama school and moved to New York City in 1984 where she appeared in the Broadway production of The Real Thing. She made her film debut in 1985's Heaven Help Us, followed by roles in The Legend of Billie Jean and Maximum Overdrive. She moved to Los Angeles, California in 1986 and received a recurring role in the television series Brothers. In 1987, she auditioned for a role in a series of animated shorts about a dysfunctional family on The Tracey Ullman Show. Smith intended to audition for the role of Bart Simpson, but the casting director felt her voice was too high, so she was given the role of Lisa instead. She voiced Lisa for three seasons on The Tracey Ullman Show, and in 1989, the shorts were spun off into their own half-hour show, The Simpsons. For her work as the character, Smith received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance in 1992.

Alongside The Simpsons, Smith appeared in the sitcom Herman's Head as Louise, and had recurring appearances as Marlene on Dharma & Greg and Penny in two episodes of Dead Like Me. She has appeared in several films, including City Slickers, Just Write, Toys and As Good as It Gets. In 2004 Smith performed her own off-Broadway one-woman show entitled More at the Union Square Theatre in New York City. Aside from The Simpsons, Smith has recorded few voice over parts, only commercials and the film We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story. Smith starred in and served as executive producer for the independent romantic comedy Waiting For Ophelia, which had its world premiere at the Phoenix Film Festival in April 2009.

Smith was married to actor Christopher Grove from 1990 to 1992 and Daniel Erickson from 2002 to 2008. She enjoys writing and painting. During the first season of Herman's Head, Smith taught herself to paint by copying other artists. She released a children's book titled I, Lorelei in 2009 and her story The Race was included in the book Just Humor Me.

Contents

Early life

Smith was born Martha Maria Yeardley Smith on July 3, 1964 in Paris, France. Her father, Joseph Smith, worked for United Press International in Paris and moved to Washington, D.C., United States in 1966, where he became The Washington Post's first official obituary editor.[2][3] Her mother, Martha Mayor, was a paper conservator for the Freer and Sackler Galleries at the Smithsonian Institution.[4] Smith's parents later divorced.[5] Smith labeled her family "upper crust and reserved".[6] As a child, Smith was often mocked because of her unusual first name and her voice.[7] Smith has stated: "I've sounded pretty much the same way since I was six. Maybe [my voice is] a little deeper now."[8] She made her acting debut in a sixth grade play.[9]

Career

Early career

Smith became a professional actress in 1982 after graduating from drama school.[9][10] After appearances in a number of school plays she joined the local Arena Stage theater group on an apprenticeship, featuring in their production of Peter Pan. She went on to star in several other plays in Washington.[9] She moved to New York City in 1984 and appeared in the Broadway production of The Real Thing alongside Jeremy Irons and Glenn Close.[7][11]

Her first film role came in 1985's Heaven Help Us.[7] She then played Putter in The Legend of Billie Jean. The film was a box office bomb and critically panned, although Smith "thought it would be the movie that launched my career. And then it was out at the box office about 10 days before it died."[8] When filming was over, she rejoined The Real Thing before being out of work for six months and worried her career was over.[7] However, the following year she played Connie in Stephen King's Maximum Overdrive, noting it was "truly a dreadful film but I had a great part in it."[7]

She moved to Los Angeles, California in 1986 on the "semi-promise" of a part in a TV film.[2][7] After the audition the role was given to another actress. Smith realized "that people don't mean what they say. It's not malicious. They just don't realize how much impact they have on an impressionable actor — and all actors are impressionable." From then on, she decided to "just sort of build a wall around myself," to cope with the disappointment of not getting a part.[7] In Los Angeles, Smith appeared in theatrical productions of Living On Salvation Street, for which she was paid $14 for each performance,[10] Boys and Girls/Men and Women and How the Other Half Loves, and played the recurring role of Luella Waters on the Showtime series Brothers.[12] She appeared in the films The Legend of Billie Jean and Ginger Ale Afternoon as "trailer-park girls."[2] She later spoke of her regrets of appearing in the latter in her one-woman show More.[13]

The Simpsons

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.

—Matt Groening on Smith's vocal style[7]

Smith's longest-running role is voicing Lisa Simpson on The Simpsons. She has voiced Lisa since 1987, beginning with The Simpsons shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show. Smith had initially been asked to audition for the role of Lisa's brother Bart, but casting director Bonita 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!'"[10][14] Smith was given the role of Lisa instead, although she almost turned it down.[15] Pietila stated that, having seen her in Living on Salvation Street,[10] Smith was always her preferred choice.[7] In order to perform the voice, Smith lifts her voice up a little.[10] 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.[16] 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" (season 11, 2000) and Lisa, Jr. in "Missionary: Impossible". (season 11, 2000)[1] Smith spends two days a week recording the show.[17]

Until 1998, Smith was paid $30,000 per episode. During a pay dispute in 1998, Fox threatened to replace the six main voice actors with new actors, going as far as preparing to cast new voices.[18] However, the dispute was soon resolved and she received $125,000 per episode until 2004, when the voice actors demanded that they be paid $360,000 an episode.[18] The issue was resolved a month later,[19] and Smith earned $250,000 per episode.[20] After salary renegotiations in 2008, the voice actors now receive approximately $400,000 per episode.[21]

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."[20] 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."[17]

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.[15] However, Smith says "if I had to be associated with one character in fiction, I will always be thrilled that it was Lisa Simpson."[15] The show's creator Matt Groening has called Smith 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.'"[7] 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."[7]

Further career

From 1991-1994, alongside The Simpsons, Smith appeared in the sitcom Herman's Head as Louise.[9] Her other television roles include recurring appearances as Marelene on Dharma & Greg, and Penny in two episodes of Dead Like Me. Smith has also appeared in Phil of the Future and Teen Angel.[22] 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 "that it's far better to have small parts in big movies that everyone sees."[8] In 1997, she appeared as Lulu the palm reader in the independent film Just Write.[8] Her other roles include parts in Barry Levinson's Toys and James L. Brooks' As Good as It Gets.[2] Brooks, who is also executive producer of The Simpsons, had cast Smith in his 1994 film I'll Do Anything (in one of the film's musical numbers) but her part was cut.[8] Aside from The Simpsons, Smith has recorded few voice over parts, only commercials and the film We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story. She "had a voice over agent for about two years, and I used to go out [on auditions] all the time, but it never really came to anything. Everybody said, 'Oh Yeardley, you'll clean up,' and that was definitely not the case."[7]

In 2004 Smith performed her own Off-Broadway one-woman show entitled More at the Union Square Theatre in New York City. Directed by Judith Ivey,[23] the play is about her mixed feelings over the success of The Simpsons, her parents, her relationships and her struggles with bulimia.[2][15] The New York Times critic Margo Jefferson called it an "appealing if overlong show", adding that "The career narrative needed shortening. This would involve some editing and revising but wouldn't taint the best parts of More. It is refreshing to hear a celebrity talk cleanly about being fame-driven and about not getting the degree or the kind of fame you craved. It's fun to watch a skilled actress use her craft to the full."[23] She would later perform the play for three weeks in Los Angeles the following year.[24]

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[d] 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."[17] It premiered on April 4, 2009 at the Phoenix Film Festival.[25]

Personal life

Smith married English-Canadian actor Christopher Grove in 1990. They were divorced in 1992, citing irreconcilable differences.[26] She married Daniel Erickson in 2002; the marriage lasted for six years and Smith filed for divorce on May 21, 2008, citing once again irreconcilable differences.[27] 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.[8] In 2009 she commented that "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."[17] Smith had bulimia since she was a teenager. She noted "It would make me high, I would feel endorphins and this great sense of victory."[6][11]

She enjoys writing and painting. During the first season of Herman's Head, Smith taught herself to paint by copying other artists.[8] The book Just Humor Me includes a story titled The Race, written by Smith.[8] She also wrote a children's book, I, Lorelei, which was published by HarperCollins in February 2009.[28]

Filmography

Films

Year Film Role Notes
1985 Heaven Help Us Kathleen
The Legend of Billie Jean Putter
1986 Maximum Overdrive Connie
1987 Three O'Clock High Cheerleader
1989 Listen to Me Cootz
Zwei Frauen Karen
Ginger Ale Afternoon Bonnie Cleator Credited as "Yeardly Smith"
1991 City Slickers Nancy
1992 Toys Researcher Miss Drum
1993 We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story Cecilia
1996 Jingle All the Way Woman who hits Howard with her purse[8] Uncredited
1997 Just Write Lulu
As Good as It Gets Jackie Simpson
2002 Back by Midnight Veronica
2007 The Simpsons Movie Lisa Simpson
2009 Waiting for Ophelia Caitlin O'Malley Awaiting release; also executive producer
Miracle of Phil Holly Awaiting release
Tug Mom Post-production
2010 High School TBA Filming
2011 The Chaperone Ms. Miller

Television

Year Series Role Notes
1984 ABC Afterschool Special Jenny Episode 13.4: "Mom's on Strike"
1984–1989 Brothers Luella Waters Appeared in 46 episodes
1985 The Recovery Room Jill TV film
1986 Tales from the Darkside Betty Ann Cooper Episode 2.23: "Fear of Floating"
Mama's Family Bonita Rokeke Episode 3.13: "Where's 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 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- The Simpsons Lisa Simpson Main cast member; longest-running role
Won Primetime Emmy Award
1990 Sydney Tracy Cole Episode 1.8: "The Me Nobody Knows"
1991–1994 Herman's Head Louise Fitzer Appeared in 32 episodes
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 Mrs. 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"
2010 The Big Bang Theory Sandy Episode 3.14: "The Einstein Approximation"

Video games

Year Game Role
1991 The Simpsons Lisa Simpson
1996 The Simpsons Cartoon Studio Lisa Simpson
1997 Virtual Springfield Lisa Simpson
1999 The Simpsons Bowling Lisa Simpson
2001 The Simpsons Wrestling Lisa Simpson
2001 The Simpsons Road Rage Lisa Simpson
2002 The Simpsons Skateboarding Lisa Simpson
2003 The Simpsons Hit & Run Lisa Simpson
2007 The Simpsons Game Lisa Simpson

References

  1. ^ a b Smith, Yeardley. (2005). Commentary for "Missionary: Impossible", in The Simpsons: The Complete Eleventh Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  2. ^ a b c d e Gates, Anita (2004-03-17). "Lisa Simpson's Voice Steps Out on Her Own". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE7D71731F934A25750C0A9629C8B63. Retrieved 2008-10-26. 
  3. ^ Pickle, Betsy (1992-02-26). "Two in one. Yeardley Smith is behind Lisa Simpson, but up front on 'Herman's Head'". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. 
  4. ^ Smith, Martha. "Hunting for Old Paper with James McNeill Whistler." The Book and Paper Group Annual. v16 (1997). American Institute for Conservation. Accessed 2 August 2011.
  5. ^ Bernstein, Adam (2006-01-19). "J.Y. Smith, 74; Raised Standards for Post Obituaries". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/18/AR2006011802475_pf.html. Retrieved 2009-04-03. 
  6. ^ a b Heidi Vogt (2004-04-05). "'Lisa Simpson' turns insecurities to laughs". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: p. 3. 
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l L.W. Michion (Spring 1992). "Yeardley Smith Confesses: "I Love Lisa"". Simpsons Illustrated Magazine, Volume 1, Number 5: pp. 20–23. 
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i Nancy E. Dalin (1997-01-23). "Ms. Smith goes to Springfield". The Daily Targum. 
  9. ^ a b c d Paul Freeman (1994-11-20). "Local actress finds a voice in 'Simpsons'". The Washington Times. 
  10. ^ a b c d e Charles Miranda (2007-12-08). "She who laughs last". The Daily Telegraph. p. 8E. 
  11. ^ a b Dziemianowicz, Joe (2004-03-18). "A Homer Town Girl". New York Daily News. http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/entertainment/2004/03/18/2004-03-18_a_homer_town_girl.html. Retrieved 2009-04-03. 
  12. ^ "Brothers on Showtime". TV Guide. http://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/brothers/200260. Retrieved 2009-04-03. 
  13. ^ Hernandez, Ernio (2005-01-19). ""The Simpsons" Actress Yeardley Smith Brings Her More to Los Angeles". Playbill. http://www.playbill.com/news/article/90684-The_Simpsons_Actress_Yeardley_Smith_Brings_Her_More_to_Los_Angeles. Retrieved 2009-05-24. 
  14. ^ Larry Carroll (2008-10-26). "'Simpsons' Trivia, From Swearing Lisa To 'Burns-Sexual' Smithers". MTV. http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1565538/20070725/story.jhtml. Retrieved 2007-07-29. 
  15. ^ a b c d Heidi Vogt (2004-04-04). "She’s happy as Lisa Simpson, although she’d like more d’oh". The Spokesman-Review (Associated Press). 
  16. ^ Smith, Yeardley (2007). Audio commentary for The Simpsons Movie (DVD). 20th Century Fox. 
  17. ^ a b c d Lisa Marks (2009-01-16). "From Springfield to Tinseltown". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/jan/16/lisa-simpson-yeardley-smith-film. Retrieved 2009-02-16. 
  18. ^ a b Glaister, Dan (2004-04-03). "Simpsons actors demand bigger share". The Age. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/04/02/1080544690429.html. Retrieved 2009-02-10. 
  19. ^ "'Simpsons' Cast Goes Back To Work". CBS News. 2004-05-01. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/05/01/entertainment/main615066.shtml. Retrieved 2009-02-10. 
  20. ^ a b Peter Sheridan (2004-05-06). "Meet the Simpsons". Daily Express. 
  21. ^ "Simpsons cast sign new pay deal". BBC News. 2008-06-03. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7434296.stm. Retrieved 2009-02-10. 
  22. ^ "Development update - July 12–13". The Futon Critic. 2004-07-13. http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=6653. Retrieved 2009-04-03. 
  23. ^ a b Jefferson, Margo (2004-03-25). "Theater review; What Do I Want? It's Just One Word". The New York Times. http://theater2.nytimes.com/mem/theater/treview.html?html_title=More%20(Play)&tols_title=More%20(Play)&pdate=20040325&byline=Margo%20Jefferson&id=1078134675658. Retrieved 2009-04-03. 
  24. ^ Heffley, Lynne (2005). "Local hero". Los Angeles Times. http://www.thestandard.com.hk/stdn/std/Weekend/GC12Jp10.html. 
  25. ^ Harter, Jess (2009-03-31). "Stars come out for Phoenix Film Festival". East Valley Tribune. http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/137338. Retrieved 2009-04-21. [dead link]
  26. ^ Smith, Lori (2008-05-23). "People: Cameron Diaz gives a hair-raising scene". Denver Post. http://www.denverpost.com/datacenter/ci_9357980. Retrieved 2009-04-03. 
  27. ^ "'Simpsons' actress files for divorce". Jam! Showbiz (Canadian Online Explorer). 2008-05-23. http://jam.canoe.ca/Television/2008/05/23/5651356.html. Retrieved 2009-03-08. 
  28. ^ "Yeardley Smith". FoxFlash. http://www.foxflash.com/div.php/main/page?aID=1z2z2z175z13z4&bioid=1674. Retrieved 2009-04-21. 

External links

v · d · eThe Simpsons cast members
Main cast
Recurring cast
Recurring guest stars
Former cast
v · d · ePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance (1990-2000)

Nancy Cartwright / Dan Castellaneta / Julie Kavner / Jackie Mason / Yeardley Smith / Marcia Wallace (1992) · Dan Castellaneta (1993) · Christopher Plummer (1994) · Jonathan Katz (1995) · none (1996) · Jeremy Irons / Rik Mayall (1997) · Hank Azaria (1998) · Ja'net Dubois (1999) · Seth MacFarlane / Julie Harris (2000) ·

Complete list: (1990–2000) · (2001–present)

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