Lisa Simpson

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The Simpsons character

Lisa Marie Simpson
Age	8 (7 in the first Arcade Game)
Gender	Female
Hair color	Yellow
Job	Student at Springfield Elementary School
Relatives	Parents: Homer and Marge Siblings: Bart and Maggie Grandparents: Abraham, Mona, Jackie and Clancy Aunts: Patty and Selma Cousin: Ling Bouvier (See also Simpson family)
First appearance	The Tracey Ullman Show: 'Good Night'
Voice actor	Yeardley Smith

Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional character on the animated television series The Simpsons, and is voiced by Yeardley Smith. Matt Groening, the creator of the series, named her after his sister. Lisa is an extremely intelligent girl, one of the brightest characters on the show, with an I.Q. of 159 or so. She plays the saxophone. Lisa is also a Buddhist and often serves as a mouthpiece for the show's writers, many of whom are postgraduates, to voice their knowledge of philosophy, science and history. Both Lisa and Bart ranked #11 in TV Guide's "Top 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time".^[1]

1 Biography
- 1.1 Age
- 1.2 Future
2 Personality
3 References
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Biography

[edit] Age

Lisa is 8 years old (despite the fact that there have been 3 separate episodes which focused on her 8th birthday), two years younger than her brother Bart. Lisa's mother Marge insisted on choosing her name because her father Homer wanted to call her "Bartzina" (due to his already having a son named "Bart" and being too inept to think of anything else).

In The Simpsons Arcade Game, she is 7 years old.

[edit] Future

It should be noted that specific dates should be treated as very loose canon, given the general "timelessness" of the series.

US President Lisa Simpson.

Eight years from "now": Depicted in "Future-Drama". Professor Frink shows that she is to take Milhouse to her prom after he saved her from a housefire, which she later learned he started. She almost loses her chance to attend an Ivy League college on scholarship, which prompts Bart (in that time) to use Frink's machine to see what Lisa's life will be if she does not attend university. It is revealed that she would be unhappily married to Milhouse, which spurs Bart to save her from this fate.
Fifteen years from "now": Depicted in "Lisa's Wedding". A fortune teller in a medieval carnival reveals that Lisa will fall in love with a British man who matches her intellectually, but her wedding will be cancelled because of his intense dislike for her family. It is also stated that Lisa will lose her virginity to Milhouse (although, in Marge's words, "Milhouse doesn't count!").
Thirty years from "now": Depicted in "Bart to the Future". An American Indian reveals that Lisa will become the "first straight female US President", having defeated Chastity Bono. A balding middle-aged Milhouse works as a Cabinet Secretary for the Lisa Simpson Administration. Her administration's main issue is the massive foreign debt. She appoints Bart as the "Secretary of Keeping it Real" as a way to keep him out of the way at Camp David, but he later buys her some time to sort out the debt problem.
In "Lisa the Greek", Lisa pictures herself as a future gambling addict.
In "Bart Gets Famous" Lisa imagines she has done heroic things like curing all disease while Bart just cleans her trophies.
As seen in "Future-Drama", Lisa is married to Milhouse and wants to join a poetry class at the local community college. Note, though, that this is an "Alternate-Reality" scene, and it is hinted that it is not true.
In "Lisa the Simpson", Lisa imagines herself very overweight, with children, and married to Ralph. This is also a fantasy scene.

[edit] Personality

Lisa is quite eclectic in her knowledge and is notably more concerned with world affairs than her cohorts. Critics have also pointed out that Lisa's situation alludes to the plight of real children, who are often underestimated by adults. Lisa shares her intellect and overachieving personality traits with other female members of the Simpson family. (It has been revealed that Simpson males inherit a gene on the Y chromosome that prevents them from channeling their intellect). Lisa also possesses a lot of integrity, as demonstrated when she cheats on a test on The Wind in the Willows to attain her highest grade of A+++, but later admits her dishonesty to an unreceptive Principal Skinner. (She later re-grades the test as an F). Despite her intellect, Lisa has received detention, like her brother Bart, quite a number of times, often because of her rebellious and sometimes bitter attitude and anti-social behaviour. Lisa also has Aspergers syndrome, which probably is a factor in her intelligence.

Although her rebellion against social norms is often constructive, Lisa can be whiny, cruel and self-righteous at times, similar to Bart. Notably, in "Lisa the Vegetarian", her increasing sense of moral righteousness regarding her vegetarianism leads her to proselytize, culminating in her spiteful disruption of a "meat-based" barbeque prepared by Homer (an act she comes to rue). At times, Lisa appears to resist certain situations merely for the sake of resisting them, not because of any genuine ideological opposition. This trait was most notably spoofed in the episode "Bart Star", when Lisa tries to stir controversy by joining the Pee Wee football team (originally) coached by Ned Flanders. When Flanders gladly welcomes her to the team (as there are several female players), a clearly disheartened Lisa tries another tactic, decrying the sport for using balls made from animal skins. This too turns out to be a non-issue as Lisa is told that the balls are synthetic, and that a donation is made to Amnesty International for each ball purchased. At this point, Lisa leaves, on the verge of tears. On occasion, her anti-social behaviors and points of view have annoyed teachers and fellow students. In one episode, her teacher (Miss Hoover) called her a "PC thug" (Lisa the Iconoclast).

Lisa has gone through periods of rebellion. In "Separate Vocations" she briefly hung out with older girls who smoked in the school bathroom (although she never did smoke), and told her teacher, Elizabeth Hoover, to "shove it" after refusing to add glitter to her art assignment (a parody of the 1953 film The Wild One). Despite her intelligence, Lisa does have a childlike impressionability common to eight-year old girls. For example, she dreams of having a pony, loves collecting Malibu Stacey dolls, and enjoys her mother's homemade waffles (and is disappointed when they turn out to be square pancakes). Though morally opposed to violence, Lisa regularly watches the ultraviolent 'Itchy and Scratchy' cartoon with Bart. Her favorite movie is The Little Mermaid, and her favorite book is The Secret Garden.

She also has a rivalry with Bart, arising from a mutual sense of superiority (age-wise for Bart and intelligence-wise for Lisa), which has escalated to physical confrontations and revenge plots. When these situations escalate, both sides become heavily remorseful and make up with loving embraces. In some episodes like Bart of Darkness she loves glamour and let others work for her while she lies in a floating chair and look at her naked toes. But at other times, she has solved various problems around Springfield, often in tandem with her brother. She even had a brief rivalry with baby sister Maggie when it was believed that she had a higher IQ than Lisa, who jealously attempted to foil Maggie's intellectual performance. It was revealed later in the episode that Maggie was not actually smarter than Lisa, but that Maggie was performing so well because Lisa was subconsciously helping her. In "Blood Feud", Lisa was shown trying to foster Maggie's (brain) development.

Despite her high IQ, Lisa does have typical childhood issues sometimes requiring adult intervention. In "Lost Our Lisa", she tricks Homer into allowing her to ride the bus alone, only to become hopelessly lost. After his coworkers Lenny and Carl point out that he allowed his 8 year old daughter on a bus, Homer comes to her rescue. Moreover, Lisa reveals a flawed knowledge base by not knowing Joan of Arc's ultimate fate, but can create complex devices like 'Linguo, the grammar robot'. She also has a Jewish imaginary friend named Rachel Cohen who "just got into Brandeis". (Rachel was mentioned in only one episode). In The Girl Who Slept Too Little, Lisa showed a fear of the dark when a cemetery was built near her home, but overcame that fear when the beasts from Maurice Sendak's popular book, Where the Wild Things Are, showed her that it was okay to be afraid of things but she shouldn't let those fears rule her life. She also fears the "boogie man" and sharp needles.

Lisa generally wears the same outfit, typical of Simpsons characters. Her outfit consists of a red-orange dress and shoes, as well as a string of pearls. (When Homer and Lisa were on the run, her dress was referred to as a "red lamp shade"). At bedtime Lisa usually wears a light blue nightgown and slippers, although she sometimes goes to bed barefoot. Lisa also loves to walk barefoot. For church attendance and other special occasions, Lisa wears a pink sundress with matching shoes and white socks (and sometimes a matching hat). In "The President Wore Pearls", Lisa was shown in two different outfits, and her hair looked quite different in a ponytail. Lisa thought of this as a grown-up outfit.

In "Home Away From Homer," it is revealed that Lisa is a fan of National Public Radio and David Sedaris. Her favorite song is "The Broken Neck Blues". Her favorite album is Miles Davis' The Birth of the Cool.

In Japan, the broadcasters of the series found they were able to turn the apparent viewer dislike of the series around by focusing marketing attention on Lisa. Apparently, her often well-intended but ill-fated struggles to be a voice of reason and a force of good in her family and her city struck a chord with the Japanese.^{[citation needed]}

Because Homer is her father, she has emulated his expresions "D'oh!" and "woo-hoo" on occasion. In "Dog of Death", Miss Hoover assigns an essay about Copernicus. Lisa cries "D'oh!" when she realises that her household lacks literature about Copernicus. She also cries "woo-hoo" in "Lisa the Simpson" after solving a brain-teaser before catching herself and saying "splendid". She also once said Nelson's catchphrase, "ha-ha!" in "The Haw-Hawed Couple". Lisa also shares, along with her mother, aunts and grandmother, the habit of groaning whenever she is upset.

[edit] Intelligence

Lisa is an extremely bright, with an I.Q. of 159, and is a member of Mensa Springfield. Lisa demonstrates an early intelligence by changing her own diaper as an infant. Her other precocious achievements include constructing an elaborate Lego castle, spelling the word "star" on her letter blocks, and completing a Taj Mahal jigsaw puzzle. When unable to attend school due to a teachers' strike (in The PTA Disbands!), she suffered a sort of "school withdrawal" and invents a perpetual motion machine, for which Homer chastises her, saying, "In this house, we obey the laws of thermodynamics!" She also organized a student strike upon learning that Principal Skinner was exploiting her, when she was the student body president.

[edit] Activities

"As intelligence goes up, happiness goes down. See, I made a graph. I make a lot of graphs."

Lisa charts intelligence vs. happiness

Her musical abilities are extensive: she sings with a powerful voice, and has been seen playing the acoustic six-string (in Last Exit to Springfield), electric bass guitar, accordion and piano proficiently. She also taught herself to play the oboe in one Simpsons Comic. But her great love is playing jazz on her baritone saxophone (which sometimes sounds like a tenor saxophone). She uses a 4½ reed, a highly stiff reed even for high level players, especially on the baritone. In reality, a baritone saxophone is longer than an average-sized 8 year old is tall. Her musical inclinations were nurtured by her relationship with the late jazz musician Bleeding Gums Murphy. Lisa's favorite jazz album is Miles Davis' Birth of the Cool. It is possible her musical abilities are hereditary. Lisa's father Homer, while technically functionally retarded, has displayed innate musical abilities. He is a Grammy award winning singer/songwriter and apparently an accomplished pianist.

She is fluent in Italian (learned from Milhouse Van Houten before going to Italy), as well as some French and German verbs (with the help of a German verbwheel in "The Canine Mutiny"). She seems to understand Chinese when Yao Ming speaks to her in the language (though she cannot read it), as well as Spanish. In "Treehouse of Horror XIV", she seems fluent in Swedish(with questionable pronunciation), but this may be considered non-canon.

Though not known for her athletic abilities, Lisa plays soccer and excelled as a goaltender in Pee Wee hockey. She is also an excellent gymnast, as her large head provides perfect balance. She proves utterly devoid of dancing talent, however. Lisa Simpson is more intelligent than a vast majority of her elders. The only people Lisa's age who may rival or surpass her intellectual achievement are Allison Taylor and Martin Prince. Allison, in the episode "Lisa's Rival", frustrates Lisa with her ability to do anagrams, to play a superb saxophone, and to build exceptional dioramas. From an early age, Lisa has displayed prodigious abilities, which helps explain her tendency to be an outcast as most people cannot relate to her advanced intellect. Her current unpopularity is a far cry from when she actually had a sleepover with friends who helped her torment Bart. Lisa currently has few close friends; one exception may be Janey.

[edit] Diet and activism

Lisa's convictions are strongly leftist. She is a vegetarian, and has expressed a desire to become a vegan. (She inadvertently ate meat in "Mommie Beerest", when Bart mischievously shot a pancake-wrapped sausage into her mouth). Unbeknownst to Lisa, Marge often sneaks a little meat juice into her vegetables. Despite being a vegetarian for ethical reasons, she claims to enjoy the smell of lobster. Lisa's favourite food is couscous as quoted by Becky, who was formerly engaged to Otto.

In the episode G.I. (Annoyed Grunt) it is revealed that Lisa joined the animal rights group PETA. According to Marge (who let her join) all she does is answer the phone, though we later see her dumping blood/red paint on Krusty's fur coat and then asking when the Krusty The Klown movie comes out before being hauled away by cops.

[edit] Religion

Lisa was initially a Christian who enjoyed going to church. In the Simpsons short, "The Pagans", she converted to paganism in hopes of getting her parents to take her, Bart, and Maggie back home since Pagans despise going to church. Lisa is now a practicing Buddhist following her decision to follow the Noble Eightfold Path in the 13th season episode She of Little Faith, although she pays lip service to her family's Christian denomination.^[2] Moreover, she is a supporter of the Free Tibet movement.^[3] She has also mentioned Wicca as "empowering," but does not seem to practice it. In her initial search for the ideal religion, she saw a fleeting reference to the popular media references to the Bahá'í faith while considering however briefly Judaism (when Bart tells her to join because "when you turn 13...cha ching!", referring to a Jewish Bat Mitzvah, although in reality a Bat Mitzvah takes place when a girl turns 12. Bar Mitzvahs, for boys are at age 13.) and Christianity though Islam and Hinduism aren't mentioned.

Lisa's sense of faith is complex, as she can be very spiritual despite her skepticism of the supernatural. Her spiritual wariness contrasts juxtaposed with her more conformist mother, Marge. But Lisa thoroughly demonstrates her spirituality when she goes on a quest leading to her embrace of Buddhism. It could be said that Lisa has a nontraditional, more introspective approach to spirituality, while others often have more traditional beliefs. In the episode "She Used To Be My Girl" Lisa mentioned praying to Buddha, Jesus and Spongebob Squarepants saying "there's no time to be picky".