Yeardley Smith gives Lisa Simpson's earnestness the urgency of a child who needs to be heard. We rate the performance warmly, with one reservation: the writers sometimes leave her too little to do.
Fi1m perspective
Lisa Simpson wants somebody to listen, and Yeardley Smith makes that wish hard to dismiss. In The Simpsons (1989), her high, child-like voice could have been enough to establish the character and leave it there. Smith gives the earnestness an urgency that keeps it from becoming a stock delivery. We were moved by how much being heard matters to Lisa. Smith makes us attend to that need even when the writing chiefly wants her to be sensible.
Live-action work has often cast her in quirky, neurotic or awkward supporting parts. Maximum Overdrive (1986) and City Slickers (1991) belong to that early film career, but the decisive turn came with the Simpsons shorts in 1987. Smith read for Bart and was cast as Lisa; the series followed in 1989. Smith also voiced Lisa in the 2007 feature film. Her distinctive voice has limited other voice-over opportunities, while Lisa has kept her occupied across decades.
Nancy Cartwright gives Bart pleasure in his own defiance, and Smith makes Lisa's earnestness just as recognisable. The pairing helps explain why the programme's tenderness matters as much as its jokes: both children care about what they are doing. The writing is less rewarding when Lisa becomes the sensible one whose job is to supply the correct response. We prefer Smith when there is something awkward for Lisa to contend with, giving her more to play than good sense. The writers do not always give her that chance.
James L. Brooks's As Good as It Gets (1997), in which she plays Jackie Simpson, is worth seeing, though our affection for it rests chiefly with Helen Hunt and Greg Kinnear. They give Jack Nicholson's insults consequences; Smith's supporting part is not the basis of our recommendation. For her, begin with The Simpsons, without treating every episode as compulsory. Look for the stretches that let Lisa have difficulties of her own, rather than another assignment as the sensible one.
Biography
Yeardley Smith is an American actress best known for voicing Lisa Simpson (and, in earlier episodes, Maggie Simpson) on the animated series The Simpsons (1989–present).
Born Martha Maria Yeardley Smith on 3 July 1964 in Paris, France, she began acting after drama school in 1982. She moved to New York City in 1984 and appeared in the Broadway production of Tom Stoppard's The Real Thing. Her film debut came in 1985 with Heaven Help Us, followed by roles in The Legend of Billie Jean (1985) and Maximum Overdrive (1986). She relocated to Los Angeles in 1986.
In 1987 Smith was cast as Lisa Simpson for the shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show; the role continued when the series launched in 1989. She received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance in 1992. Other credits include the sitcom Herman's Head (as Louise), recurring roles on Dharma & Greg and Dead Like Me, and film appearances in City Slickers (1991) and As Good as It Gets (1997).
