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Julie Deborah Kavner (born September 7, 1950) is an American actress. Before becoming well known for her voice role as Marge Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons, Kavner attracted notice for her role as Brenda Morgenstern, the younger sister of Valerie Harper's title character in the sitcom Rhoda, for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. She also voices other characters for The Simpsons, including Marge's mother, Jacqueline Bouvier, sisters Patty and Selma Bouvier, and half-step-great-aunt Eunice Bouvier.
Known for her improvisation and distinctive "honeyed gravel voice", Kavner was cast in her first professional acting role as Brenda Morgenstern in Rhoda in 1974. Starting in 1987, Kavner appeared on The Tracey Ullman Show. The Tracey Ullman Show included a series of animated shorts about a dysfunctional family. Voices were needed for the shorts, and the producers asked Kavner to voice Marge. The shorts were spun off into The Simpsons.
Kavner has been described as "nearly reclusive"; part of her contract says that she will never have to promote The Simpsons on video. For her work as Marge, Kavner received another Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance in 1992 and an Annie Award nomination for her performance as the character in The Simpsons Movie (2007).
Typically cast as a "woman who is supportive, sympathetic or self-effacingly funny", Kavner grew to dislike playing such roles. In 1992, she starred in This Is My Life, her first leading role in a feature film. Kavner has also appeared in live-action roles in six films written by Woody Allen, and in the Adam Sandler comedy Click.
After graduating from high school, Kavner attended San Diego State University and majored in drama, being cast in several productions including a role as Charlotte Corday in Marat/Sade, becoming known for her improvisation and ability to do both comedy and drama. After graduating in 1971, she got a day job as a typist at the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture.
Following Rhoda, Kavner had a guest appearance on Taxi and appeared in the 1985 comedy Bad Medicine as well as the 1987 film Surrender, both of which were box office failures (and also starred Steve Guttenberg). She appeared in the television movies Revenge of the Stepford Wives, No Other Love and A Fine Romance, and shot a television pilot. She also starred in several stage plays, including a play called It Had to Be You at a dinner theater in Canada, Particular Friendships in New York City in 1981, and Two for the Seesaw, directed by Burt Reynolds. Woody Allen first saw Kavner one night while he was watching Rhoda in the 1970s. He thought that she was remarkable and later offered her a role in his 1986 film Hannah and Her Sisters. Kavner agreed, and credits Allen and the film with rejuvenating her career.
Kavner was then cast as a sidekick to Tracey Ullman in The Tracey Ullman Show, which debuted on Fox in 1987. Kavner described the show as, "like being back in school, a chance to play a wide variety of characters, some really vicious people, to not rest on laurels, to not play it safe". Kavner commented, "What I do is not mimicry or an impersonation, but more of an assimilation. On we did a lot of looking at people to find out who to base our characters on. We did our homework on our lunch hour." She received four Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Best Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program.
Although Marge is her highest profile character on the show, Kavner's favorite characters to voice are Marge's sisters Patty and Selma Bouvier because "they're really funny and sad at the same time". Series creator Matt Groening instructed Kavner to voice the duo as characters who "suck the life out of everything".Groening, Matt (2001). Commentary for "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", in The Simpsons: The Complete First Season DVD. 20th Century Fox. Both have similar raspy voices, but Patty's voice is more masculine and has a lower register, while Selma's voice is a little sweeter.Jean, Al (2004). Commentary for "Selma's Choice", in The Simpsons: The Complete Fourth Season DVD. 20th Century Fox. Kavner also provides the voices of every other female member of the Bouvier family, including Marge's mother Jacqueline, Great-Aunt Gladys (a dead relative who was introduced on season four's "Selma's Choice"), and an unnamed grandmother seen on the season six episode "Fear of Flying".
While cast members and crew have referenced Kavner as a deep fan of the series and the characters she voices, part of Kavner's contract says that she will never have to promote The Simpsons on video nor has she performed Marge's voice in public because she believes the publicity "destroys the illusion. People feel these are real people." Kavner takes recording sessions seriously, and feels that voice acting is "a little more limiting than live acting. And I have nothing to do with my character's movement." Nancy Cartwright, who voices Bart Simpson, said in her book My Life as a 10-Year-Old Boy (2000) that Kavner is a warm person who is "a workhorse of an actor" with "extraordinary professionalism and quiet work ethic", and notes that she is rarely late for recording sessions. Kavner had very few recorded interviews in regard to her work on the show. In behind-the-scenes footage from 1992, she describes Marge as "a wonderful person" with "a great sex life". On a 1994 appearance on Late Show with David Letterman, Kavner explains that performing the voice of Marge in a live-action setting would break the illusion of the character, and that she does not want her own likeness to overlap with that of the character. However, after being coaxed by Letterman, Kavner turns to face away from the camera and speaks briefly in the voice of Marge.
Until 1998, Kavner 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. 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. The issue was resolved a month later, and Kavner earned $250,000 per episode. After salary re-negotiations in 2008, the voice actors received approximately $400,000 per episode. Three years later, with Fox threatening to cancel the series unless production costs were cut, Kavner and the other cast members accepted a 30 percent pay cut, down to just over $300,000 per episode.
At the 44th Primetime Emmy Awards, Kavner received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance for voicing Marge in the season three episode "I Married Marge". In 2004, Kavner and Dan Castellaneta won a Young Artist Award for Most Popular Mom & Dad in a TV Series. For her performance in The Simpsons Movie, Kavner was nominated for Best Voice Acting in an Animated Feature at the 2007 Annie Awards, but Ian Holm from Ratatouille received the award. Kavner's emotional performance in the movie got positive reviews, and one critic said she "gave what must be the most heartfelt performance ever to find its way into a movie based on an irreverent cartoon". Some scenes in the movie, such as Marge's emotional video message to Homer, were recorded over 100 times, leaving Kavner exhausted.
Kavner has frequently appeared in Woody Allen films, having roles in Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), Radio Days (1987), New York Stories (1989), Alice (1990), Shadows and Fog (1991), the television movie Don't Drink the Water (1994) and Deconstructing Harry (1997). Allen described her as "a naturally funny person. When she does a scene, you listen to her and look at her, and the prism through which it's all filtered is funny." Kavner believes he is "a true filmmaker, one that has something to say, continually experimenting on different themes within his own film-making", adding that "anything Allen ever does, I always want to do, ... I don't even have to read it."
She has done voice-over work in films such as The Lion King 1½ (2004), Dr. Dolittle (1998) and an uncredited role as an announcer in A Walk on the Moon (1999). She worked with Tracey Ullman in the HBO sketch comedy series Tracey Takes On... She was cast as the mother of Adam Sandler's character in Click, released in 2006. She did not appear in a non- Simpsons role after her appearance in Click until her role in the James L. Brooks film Ella McCay (2025).
In 1983, Current Biography referred to Kavner as an avid athlete and Pescetarianism. Current Biography Yearbook, Volume 53. (1992). H. W. Wilson Co. p. 318. "Largely indifferent to food, Kavner generally follows a vegetarian diet, although she occasionally eats fish." In a 1992 interview with The New York Times, she said she was considering retiring "except for doing three days a year for
Further career
Many of Kavner's roles have been described by New York Times writer Hilary de Vries as a "woman who is supportive, sympathetic, or self-effacingly funny". Kavner grew to despise playing such roles, saying "If it smacks of Brenda Morgenstern, I won't take the job." She had a supporting role as Eleanor Costello, a nurse who befriends Robin Williams' character in the Academy Award nominated film Awakenings (1990). Kavner interviewed several nurses in preparation for the role, and Penny Marshall, the director of the film, described Kavner as "a low-maintenance actor ... You never have to worry about giving her back-story for her characters." In 1992, Kavner starred in This Is My Life, her first leading role in a feature film. Kavner played Dottie Ingels, an aspiring stand-up comedian who starts neglecting her family when her career begins to take off. Kavner described Dottie as "really selfish" but admitted, "I liked the role for that very reason." Kavner had been asked to play a character with a smaller role in the film, but Joe Roth, at the time the chairman of 20th Century Fox, suggested that they cast a lesser known actress in the lead role. Nora Ephron, the writer of This Is My Life, said Kavner "has so little vanity that it is almost shocking. Not only does she have no demands as an actress – 'How big is my trailer, what's in my refrigerator?' – but she will do anything for the character if it makes sense to her."
Personal life
Kavner is Jewish. She has lived in New York City's Manhattan borough since around 1992. She leads an intensely private life, described by The New York Times as "nearly reclusive" and "discreet and guarded beyond the usual reticent star routine". She rarely makes public appearances and refuses to be photographed while working. She was in a relationship with producer David Davis from 1976 until his death in 2022. Neither of them confirmed being married, though reports referred to her as his wife at the time of his death.
Filmography
+Film work by Julie Kavner 1979 No Other Love Janet 1982 National Lampoon's Movie Madness Mrs. Falcone 1985 Bad Medicine Cookie Katz 1986 Hannah and Her Sisters Gail 1987 Radio Days Mother Surrender Ronnie 1989 New York Stories Treva 1990 Awakenings Eleanor Costello Alice Decorator 1991 Shadows and Fog Alma 1992 This Is My Life Dottie Ingels 1994 I'll Do Anything Nan Mulhanney 1995 Forget Paris Lucy 1997 Deconstructing Harry Grace 1998 Dr. Dolittle Female pigeon (voice) 1999 Judy Berlin Marie A Walk on the Moon P.A. Announcer Story of a Bad Boy Elaine 2001 Someone like You Furry animal (voice) 2004 Barn Red Unnamed character The Lion King 1½ Ma (voice) Direct-to-DVD 2006 Click Trudy Newman 2007 The Simpsons Movie Marge Simpson, Patty and Selma Bouvier (voices) 2022 The Simpsons Meet the Bocellis in "Feliz Navidad" Marge Simpson (voice) Short film 2024 May the 12th Be with You 2025 Ella McCay Post-production +Television work by Julie Kavner 1974–1978 Rhoda Brenda Morgenstern 110 episodes 1975 The ABC Afternoon Playbreak Jane Darwin Episode: "The Girl Who Couldn't Lose" Katherine Margot Weiss Goldman Television film Petrocelli Julie Episode: "To See No Evil" 1976 Bert D'Angelo/Superstar Billy Gordon Episode: "The Brown Horse Connection" 1977 Lou Grant Alice Episode: "Housewarming" 1979 No Other Love Janet Michaels Television film 1980 Revenge of the Stepford Wives Megan Brady Taxi Monica Banta Douglas Episode: "Tony's Sister and Jim" 1983 A Fine Romance Laura Prescott Television film 1987–1990 The Tracey Ullman Show Various characters 43 episodes 1989–present The Simpsons Marge Simpson, Patty and Selma Bouvier, Additional voices Main role 1990 42nd Primetime Emmy Awards Marge Simpson (voice) Television special 1991 Sibs Julia Episode: "Honey, I Shrunk My Head" To the Moon, Alice Sitcom Producer Television film 1994 Birdland Madeline Diamond Episode: "Grand Delusion" Don't Drink the Water Marion Hollander Television film 1996 Jake's Women Karen 1996–1999 Tracey Takes On... Various characters 14 episodes 2014 Family Guy Marge Simpson, Patty and Selma Bouvier (voices) Episode: "The Simpsons Guy" 2015 Late Show with David Letterman Marge Simpson (voice) Episode: "Final Show" +Video game work by Julie Kavner 1990 Storybook Weaver Mayzie Bird 1991 The Simpsons Marge Simpson 1994 Storybook Weaver Mayzie Bird 1996 The Simpsons Cartoon Studio Marge Simpson 1997 Virtual Springfield Marge Simpson, Patty Bouvier, Selma Bouvier 1999 Simpsons Bowling 2001 The Simpsons Wrestling Marge Simpson 2002 The Simpsons Skateboarding 2003 Marge Simpson, Patty Bouvier, Selma Bouvier 2007 The Simpsons Game 2012 +Music video work by Julie Kavner 1990 "Do the Bartman" Marge Simpson Nancy Cartwright +Theme park work by Julie Kavner 2008 The Simpsons Ride Marge Simpson, Patty Bouvier, Selma Bouvier
External links
Categories: 1950 Births, Living People, American Ashkenazi Jews, American Film Actresses, American Television Actresses, American Video Game Actresses, American Women Comedians, American Voice Actresses, Comedians From Los Angeles, Jewish American Actresses, Jewish American Comedians, Jewish Women Comedians, Actresses From Los Angeles, San Diego State University Alumni, 20th-century American Actresses, 21st-century American Actresses, 21st-century American Jews
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