Julie Deborah Kavner (born September 7, 1950) is an American film and television actress, comedian and voice actress. She first attracted notice for her role as Valerie Harper's character's younger sister in the sitcom Rhoda for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. However, she is since best known for her voice role as Marge Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons. She also voices other characters for the show, including Jacqueline Bouvier, and Patty and Selma Bouvier.

Born in Los Angeles, Kavner grew up in Southern California, attending Beverly Hills High School and later San Diego State University. 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. She received the Primetime Emmy Award in 1978 and three more nominations for playing the character. Following Rhoda, Kavner was cast in The Tracey Ullman Show, which debuted in 1987. The Tracey Ullman Show included a series of animated shorts about a dysfunctional family. Voices were needed for the shorts, and the producers decided to ask Kavner to voice Marge. The shorts would eventually be 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.

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 seven films written by Woody Allen, and in the Adam Sandler comedy Click.

Biography

Kavner leads a private, "nearly reclusive" life, "discreet and guarded beyond the usual reticent star routine." She rarely makes public appearances and refuses to allow herself to be photographed at work, especially in the studio while doing The Simpsons. Her partner is retired producer David Davis; they have lived together since 1976. In a 1992 interview with The New York Times, Kavner said she was considering retiring, "except for doing three days a year for Woody [Allen]," but felt that if she did retire, she would receive a script she wanted "to do more than life itself".

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