Maggie Simpson

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The Simpsons character

Maggie Simpson
Age	1 (Since "Lady Bouvier's Lover")
Gender	Female
Hair color	Yellow
Job	None
Relatives	Parents: Homer and Marge Siblings: Bart and Lisa Grandparents: Abraham, Mona, Jackie and Clancy Aunts: Patty and Selma Cousin: Ling Bouvier Daughter: Maggie Junior (from the future) Uncle:Herb Powell . Aunt:Abbie (See also Simpson family)
First appearance	The Tracey Ullman Show, Simpsons short "Good Night"
Voice actor	Nancy Cartwright^[1] James Earl Jones^[1] Harry Shearer Yeardley Smith Elizabeth Taylor^[2]

Margaret "Maggie" Simpson is a fictional character featured in the animated television series The Simpsons. She is the youngest and least-seen of the five main family members. She first appeared in the Tracey Ullman short "Good Night" and was quite prominent during the Ullman days, often being featured alongside Bart and Lisa. Maggie has since become the least seen of the five main Simpsons.^[3]

1 Character origins
2 Role within the Show
3 Personality
4 Maggie's voice
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Character origins

Maggie in her first appearance in the Ullman short "Good Night."

She was named after Margaret "Maggie" Groening, sister of Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons.^[4] Her comedic hallmarks include her tendency to stumble and land on her face while attempting to walk (though this has been downplayed in later seasons), and a penchant for sucking on her pacifier, the sound of which has become the equivalent of her catchphrase and was originally created by Groening during the Tracey Ullman period, and by Nancy Cartwright during the regular series.

[edit] Role within the Show

During the show's opening credits, Maggie is run through a supermarket checkout scanner, which reads that she is worth $847.63 (a reference to the monthly cost of infant-rearing in 1989). In "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular," the scanner instead reads "NRA4EVER," a reference to the running joke that the show's creators are right-wing radicals.

[edit] Personality

Maggie Simpson seen as a teenager in the episode "Lisa's Wedding".

Like average babies, Maggie is impressionable and easily influenced by what she sees around her. She once hit Homer on the head with a mallet, shot a suction dart at his picture, and brandished a pencil in imitation of Itchy and Scratchy. See Itchy and Scratchy and Marge. Her talent for handling weapons is seen in Who shot Mr. Burns?^[5] and Papa's Got a Brand New Badge, where she is able to shoot a whole mob of gangsters with a rifle.^[6]

She is however keenly aware of her surroundings, and can usually be seen imitating the flow of action around her. Like Bart, Lisa and Homer, she is not fond of spending time with her aunts Patty and Selma.^[7]

Maggie appears to potentially be the real genius of the family. The episode Smart and Smarter suggests the possibility that she may have a higher IQ than Lisa (at least, she appears as extremely clever during the episode, even though her real IQ was unknown due to Lisa 'helping' her during the test as revealed at the end of the episode).

At age one, Maggie could spell EMCSQU (E=MC²) with her toy building blocks- as shown in the season one episode Bart The Genius- whereas Lisa at age three could merely spell "STAR" with hers. She's able to answer complicated questions putting cubes together (Smart and Smarter), and solve complex IQ problems. She's also able to count. In "Treehouse of Horror V", Maggie managed to spell REDRUM without anyone noticing.

She has also played Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker on her toy xylophone, and written her own name with an Etch A Sketch. In two respective episodes set at her aunts' house, she was able to change her diapers by herself (just as Lisa once could [1]), and on another occasion donned a 'Patty and Selma' wig while she was supposed to be eating a Manwich. When prompted, she has been able to understand and identify an "octogenarian" and a credenza. In Homerazzi she shows that she can drive the family car with reasonable skill.

Her intelligence and leadership are showcased in A Streetcar Named Marge, where she leads the other babies in a Great Escape-style revolt against the strict Ms. Sinclair. (In it, she grabbed a bag, slid up a Venetian Blind-cord, climbed into the duct, crawled above her desk that had the Keys to the locker where the forbidden pacifiers were kept on top of it, tied herself to a Krusty pullstring Toy (saying "Hey kids! I'm flame-retardent!" and "If I break, buy a new one!"), slid down using full milk bottles as weights, grabbed the keys, dropped the milk and slid upward, crawled back to the vent where she fired a corded dart gun thru the vent grating, slid across on a Krusty Brand Coathanger, unlocked the door, and threw pacifiers to the crowds. Also mentioned is that the other babies communicated signals to her by flapping blankets, rolling poppers, and opening pop-up books (showing Bongo from Life in Hell).

[edit] Maggie's voice

With few exceptions, Maggie never speaks but is very participatory in the events around her, emoting with subtle gestures and facial expressions. She has also never been heard in any of the three "future" episodes.

Maggie's first word spoken in the normal continuity of the series occurred in "Lisa's First Word", when she was voiced by Elizabeth Taylor and says "Daddy" in an empty room.^[3] Elizabeth Taylor's performance as Maggie was later named the 13th greatest guest spot in the history of the show.^[8] James Earl Jones, who voiced Maggie in Treehouse of Horror V, was in seventh place.^[9] She would later have brief dialogue in Treehouse of Horror IX and was voiced by Harry Shearer, who used his Kang voice.^[10]