Yeardley Smith

Yeardley Smith

Martha Maria Yeardley Smith ( YARD-lee; born 3 July 1964) is a French born American actress, writer, and artist. She is known for her long-running role as Lisa Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons. Smith became an actress in 1982 after graduating from drama school and moved to New York City in 1984, where she appeared in the Broadway production of Tom Stoppard's 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 in 1986 and took a recurring role in the television series Brothers. In 1987, Smith auditioned for the Simpsons shorts 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, and she was cast as Bart's sister Lisa. In 1989, the shorts were spun off into their own half-hour show, The Simpsons. For her work on The Simpsons, Smith received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance in 1992.

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