Yeardley Smith

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Martha Maria Yeardley Smith ( YARD-lee; born July 3, 1964) is an 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.

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 an 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.

Early life

Smith was born on July 3, 1964, in Paris, France. Her father, Joseph Smith, worked for United Press International in Paris and moved to Washington, D.C., in 1966, where he became The Washington Post's first official obituary editor. 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 made her acting debut in a sixth-grade play.

Personal life

Smith married English-Canadian actor Christopher Grove in 1990. They were divorced in 1992, citing irreconcilable differences. She married Daniel Erickson in 2002; the marriage lasted for six years and Smith filed for divorce on May 21, 2008, 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 had bulimia when she was a teenager. She noted "It would make me high, I would feel endorphins and this great sense of victory."

Smith enjoys writing and painting. During the first season of Herman's Head, Smith taught herself to paint by copying other artists. The book Just Humor Me includes a story, "The Race", written by Smith. 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.

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.

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Career

Smith began practicing drama in 1982, becoming a professional actor. She appeared in a number of school productions before joining the local Arena Stage theatre company on an apprenticeship, and was included in their production of Peter Pan. She went on to appear in a number of other Washington productions. In 1984, she and Jeremy Irons and Glenn Close appeared in Tom Stoppard's play The Real Thing on Broadway.

In Heaven Help Us (1985), Smith's first film role appeared in Heaven Help Us (1985). She appeared as Putter in The Legend of Billie Jean (also 1985). Although Smith "thought it would be the movie that launched my career," the film was a box office bomber and critically panned. It was also out at the box office ten days before it died." She rejoined The Real Thing after being out of work for six months when filming was finished. Smith was worried that her career was over. However, she appeared in Stephen King's Maximum Overdrive (1986), claiming that it was "truly a dreadful film, but I was fortunate to be involved."

Smith moved to Los Angeles in 1986 on the "semi-promise" of a role in a television film. The role was offered to another actress after the audition. Smith discovered "that people don't mean what they say." It is not threatening. They just don't know how much impact they have on an impressionable actor, and all actors are impressionable." She continued to "just sort of build a wall around myself" to deal with the shame of not being a part of the show. Smith appeared in stage productions of Living on Salvation Street, Boys and Girls/Men and Women, and How the Other Half Loves, as well as a recurring appearance of Louella Waters in the Showtime series Brothers. She appeared in Billie Jean and Ginger Ale Afternoon (1989) as "trailer park girls." She expressed her regrets for being in the latter in her one-woman show More later.

Smith has appeared on The Simpsons for a long time. Lisa has been on television since 1987, beginning with The Simpsons shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show. Smith had been invited to audition for Lisa's brother Bart's role, but casting director Bonita Pietila said her voice was too loud. "I always sounded too much like a girl," Smith said, after saying, 'Thanks for coming!'" Rather, Smith was given the role of Lisa. She disputes rumors that she almost resigned from the position, but admits she had never intended to pursue a career in voice-over work. Pietila said that Smith was always her first choice when she saw her on Salvation Street. Smith raises her voice a little to play the role. Lisa is Smith's only regular character, though she did have some of Maggie's squeaks and occasional speaking parts in earlier episodes. Smith has only voiced characters other than Lisa on very rare occasions, such as Lisa Bella in "Last Tap Dance in Springfield" and Lisa, Jr. in "Missionary: Impossible" (both from season 11 in 2000). Smith appears on two days a week.

Smith was paid $30,000 per episode before 1998. Fox threatened to replace the six main voice actors with new actors during a pay dispute in 1998, going as far as attempting to perform new voices. The fight was quickly settled, and she earned $125,000 per episode until 2004, when the voice actors demanded that they be paid $360,000 per episode. Smith was paid $250,000 per episode a month later, and the issue was closed a month later. The voice actors made $400,000 per episode after wage reverties in 2008. Smith and the other cast members accepted a 25% wage cut, down to just over $300,000 per episode three years ago, with Fox threatening to cancel the show if production costs were reduced.

Despite her international fame, Smith is barely acknowledged in public, but she does not mind saying, "It's wonderful to be in the midst of all the hype surrounding the film and people who are so keen to see the show so much, and to be a fly on the wall; people never recognize me solely from my voice." In a 2009 interview with The Guardian, she said, "It's the best job ever." I have nothing but gratitude for the amount of freedom the Simpsons have given me in my life.

Smith received a Primetime Emmy Award in 1992, but said it was not worth anything because "there's part of me that doesn't even an Emmy." The Emmy for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance is a Creative Arts and not given out during the primetime telecast, and before 2009, it was a juried award without nominations. Smith, on the other hand, says, "I will always be thrilled that it was Lisa Simpson" if I had to be associated with one character in fiction. Smith has been compared to Lisa by show's creator Matt Groening: "Yeardley has a strong moral stance about her character." Yeardley reads and says, "I wouldn't say that." Jay Kogen, a writer, praised her appearance on the show, especially in the episode "Lisa's Subtute," as she was able to "get from comedy to something really good and dramatic."

Smith appeared in The Simpsons from 1991 to 1994 as one of the lead cast members in the sitcom Herman's Head as Louise. Marlene's other television appearances include appearances as Marlene on Dharma & Greg and Penny in two episodes of Dead Like Me. Smith has appeared in Phil of the Future and Teen Angel. Nancy, the pregnant checkout girl on 1991's City Slickers, received "more attention than [her] previous roles combined," she told her, "that it's much better to have tiny parts in big movies that no one sees." In 1997, she appeared as Lulu the palm reader in the independent film Just Write. She has appeared in Toys and As Good as It Gets by Barry Levinson. In his 1994 film I'll Do Anything (in one of the film's musical numbers), Brooks, the film's executive producer, had cast Smith in his film I'll Do Anything, but her role was cut. Smith hasn't appeared in any voice-over parts of The Simpsons, only commercials and the film We're Back! The tale of a Dinosaur. She had a voice-over agent for about two years, and I used to go out [on auditions] all the time, but nothing came to anything. "Oh Yeardley, you'll clean up," everyone said, but that was certainly not the case."

More at the Union Square Theatre in New York City in 2004, Smith appeared in an off-Broadway one-woman performance entitled More. The play is directed by Judith Ivey, and it is about her mixed emotions about The Simpsons' triumph, her parents' lives, her friendships, and her battle with bulimia. Margo Jefferson, a New York Times columnist, called it a "appealing if long show," adding that "the career tale's journey story needs to be shortening." This will require some editing and rewriting, but it won't t taint the best parts of More. It's refreshing to hear a celebrity talk openly about being fame-driven and not getting the degree or the kind of fame you craved. It's exciting to see a skilled actress use her art to the full. The following year, she will appear in Los Angeles for three weeks.

Smith appeared in and appeared as executive producer for the independent romantic comedy Waiting for Ophelia, which was released in 2009. She sponsored the film, which was written by Adam Carl and based on a stage play he wrote in 2003. "I loved it," she said. I never get to perform roles like that. I'm always playing the friend of a friend, not the leader. "The script had me befuddled." Carl said it was unlikely she would recoup her money, but Smith emphasized "believe[d] in this venture, and my hopes had already been fulfilled by attending the film": "You can support art even if it isn't going to make a zillion dollars." On April 4, 2009, it premiered at the Phoenix Film Festival.

Smith appeared as Ms. Miller in Triple H and Ariel Winter's film The Chaperone in 2011.

In June 2016, the Human Rights Campaign released a video in honor of the victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting; Smith and others told the tales of the people injured there. Smith received the National Leadership Award in Los Angeles on March 30, 2019 for her efforts as an advocate for the LGBT community.

Small Town Dicks, Smith's latest book, delves into real life crime in small towns throughout the United States, which launched in 2017. When Smith and her longtime colleague Zibby Allen launched litigation against one another in March 2019, they accused Smith of comming her out of control and profit rights from the program.

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