Nancy Jean Cartwright (born October 25, 1957) is an American actress. She has served as the long-time voice of Bart Simpson on The Simpsons, which won her a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance and an Annie Award for Best Voice Acting in the Field of Animation. Cartwright also voices other characters for the show, including Maggie Simpson, Ralph Wiggum, Todd Flanders, and Nelson Muntz. She is also the voice of Chuckie Finster in the Nickelodeon series Rugrats and its spin-off All Grown Up!, succeeding Christine Cavanaugh.
Cartwright was born in Dayton, Ohio. She moved to Hollywood in 1978 and trained under voice actor Daws Butler. Her first professional role was voicing Gloria in the animated series Richie Rich, which she followed with a starring role in the television movie Marian Rose White (1982) and her first feature film, Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983). In 1987, Cartwright auditioned for a role in a series of animated shorts about a dysfunctional family that was to appear on The Tracey Ullman Show. Cartwright intended to audition for the role of Lisa Simpson, the middle child; when she arrived at the audition, she found the role of Bart—Lisa's brother—to be more interesting. Series creator Matt Groening allowed her to audition for Bart and offered her the role on the spot. She voiced Bart for three seasons on The Tracey Ullman Show, and in 1989, the shorts were spun off into a half-hour show called The Simpsons.
Besides The Simpsons, Cartwright has also voiced numerous other animated characters, including Daffney Gillfin in Snorks, Mellissa Screetch in Toonsylvania, Rufus in Kim Possible, Mindy in Animaniacs, Pistol in Goof Troop, the Robots in Crashbox, Margo Sherman in The Critic and Todd Daring in The Replacements. In 2000, she published her autobiography, My Life as a 10-Year-Old Boy, and four years later, adapted it into a one-woman play. In 2017, she wrote and produced the film In Search of Fellini.
Early life
Nancy Jean Cartwright was born on October 25, 1957, in Dayton, Ohio. She grew up in Kettering, Ohio, Cartwright attended Fairmont West High School, and participated in the school's theater and marching band. She regularly entered public speaking competitions, placing first in the "Humorous Interpretation" category at the National District Tournament two years running. The judges often suggested to her that she should perform cartoon voices. Cartwright graduated from high school in 1976 and accepted a scholarship from Ohio University. She continued to compete in public speaking competitions; during her sophomore year, she placed fifth in the National Speech Tournament's exposition category with her speech "The Art of Animation".
In 1976, Cartwright landed a part-time job doing voice-overs for commercials on WING radio in Dayton. A representative from Warner Bros. Records visited WING and later sent Cartwright a list of contacts in the animation industry. One of these was Daws Butler, known for voicing characters such as Huckleberry Hound, Snagglepuss, Elroy Jetson, Spike the Bulldog, and Yogi Bear. Cartwright called him and left a message in a Cockney accent on his answering machine.
Cartwright returned to Ohio University for her sophomore year, but transferred to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) so she could be closer to Hollywood and Butler. Cartwright nearly changed her relocation plans but, on September 17, 1978, "joylessly" left for Westwood, Los Angeles.
Career
Early career
right|thumb|upright|[[Daws Butler was Cartwright's mentor and helped her become a voice actress. Cartwright continued training as a voice actress with Butler. She recalled, "every Sunday I'd take a 20-minute bus ride to his house in Beverly Hills for a one-hour lesson and be there for four hours ... They had four sons, they didn't have a daughter and I kind of fitted in as the baby of the family." Butler introduced her to many of the voice actors and directors at Hanna-Barbera. After she met the director Gordon Hunt, he asked her to audition for a recurring role as Gloria in Richie Rich. She received the part, and later worked with Hunt on several other projects. At the end of 1980, Cartwright signed with a talent agency and landed a lead role in a pilot for a sitcom called In Trouble. Cartwright described the show as "forgettable, but it jump-started my on-camera career". She graduated from UCLA in 1981 with a degree in theater. During the summer, Cartwright worked with Jonathan Winters as part of an improvisation troupe at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. Cartwright replied by sending Maslin a letter insisting she was not cross-eyed, and included a photograph. Later, Cartwright auditioned for the role of Ethel, a girl who becomes trapped in a cartoon world in the third segment of Twilight Zone: The Movie. She met with director Joe Dante and later described him as "a total cartoon buff, and once he took a look at my resume and noticed Daws Butler's name on it, we were off and running, sharing anecdotes about Daws and animation. After about twenty minutes, he said, 'considering your background, I don't see how I could cast anyone but you in this part! The segment was based on The Twilight Zone television series episode "It's a Good Life", which was later parodied in The Simpsons episode "Treehouse of Horror II" (1991).
Cartwright continued to do voice work for projects including Pound Puppies, Popeye and Son, Snorks, My Little Pony and Saturday Supercade. She joined a "loop group", and recorded vocals for characters in the background of films, although in most cases the sound was turned down so that very little of her voice was heard. She did minor voice-over work for several films, including The Clan of the Cave Bear (1986), Silverado (1985), Sixteen Candles (1984), Back to the Future Part II, and The Color Purple (1985). Cartwright also voiced a shoe that was "dipped" in acid in Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), describing it as her first "off-screen death scene", The play was co-written by Peter Kjenaas, and Cartwright won a Drama-Logue Award after performing it in Los Angeles in 1995. In a 1998 interview, she stated her intention to make it into a feature film, which she succeeded in doing in 2017. Creator Matt Groening let her try out for Bart and gave her the job on the spot. Bart's voice came naturally to Cartwright, as she had previously used elements of it in My Little Pony, Snorks, and Pound Puppies.
In 1989, the shorts were spun off into a half-hour show on the Fox network called The Simpsons. Bart quickly became the show's breakout personality and one of the most celebrated characters on television—his popularity in 1990 and 1991 was known as "Bartmania". Bart was described as "television's brightest new star" by Mike Boone of The Gazette and was named 1990's "entertainer of the year" by Entertainment Weekly. Despite Bart's fame, however, Cartwright remained relatively unknown. During the first season of The Simpsons, Fox ordered Cartwright not to give interviews, because they did not want to publicize the fact that Bart was voiced by a woman. Cartwright's normal speaking voice is said to have "no obvious traces of Bart", and she believes her role is "the best acting job in the world"
thumb|left|In 2000, Bart, along with the rest of the Simpson family, was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Cartwright voices several other characters on the show, including Nelson Muntz, Ralph Wiggum, Todd Flanders, Kearney, and Database. She first voiced Nelson in the episode "Bart the General" (season one, 1990). The character was to be voiced by Dana Hill, but Hill missed the recording session and Cartwright was given the role. She developed Nelson's voice on the spot and describes him as "a throat-ripper". Ralph Wiggum had originally been voiced by Jo Ann Harris, but Cartwright was assigned to voice the character in "Bart the Murderer" (season three, 1991). Todd Flanders, the only voice for which Cartwright used another source, is based on Sherman (voiced by Walter Tetley), the boy from Peabody's Improbable History, a series of shorts aired on The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show. and an Annie Award in 1995 for Best Voice Acting in the Field of Animation. Bart was named one of the 100 most important people of the 20th century by Time, and in 2000, Bart and the rest of the Simpson family were awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard.
Until 1998, Cartwright was paid $30,000 per episode. During a pay dispute in 1998, Fox threatened to replace the six main voice actors and made preparations for casting new actors. A compromise was reached after a month, and Cartwright's pay rose to $250,000 per episode. Salaries were re-negotiated in 2008 with the voice actors receiving approximately $400,000 per episode. Three years later, with Fox threatening to cancel the series unless production costs were cut, Cartwright and the other cast members accepted a 25 percent pay cut, down to just over $300,000 per episode.
Further career
In addition to her work on The Simpsons, Cartwright has voiced many other characters on several animated series, including Chuckie Finster in Rugrats and All Grown Up!, Margo Sherman in The Critic, Mindy in Animaniacs, and Rufus the naked mole-rat in Kim Possible. For the role of Rufus, Cartwright researched mole-rats extensively, and became "a font of useless trivia". She was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program in 2004 for her work on the show. Laura A. Bischoff of the Dayton Daily News commented that the book was the "ultimate insider's guide to The Simpsons". Critics complained that the book lacked interesting stories and was aimed mostly at fans of The Simpsons rather than a general audience.
Cartwright adapted My Life as a 10-Year-Old Boy into a one-woman play in 2004. Cartwright has performed it at a variety of venues, including the August 2004 Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland. The play received modest reviews, including criticism for a lack of inside stories about The Simpsons, and its "overweeningly upbeat" tone. David Chatterton of The British Theatre Guide described the show as "interesting and entertaining, but not really a 'must see' even for Simpsons fans".
Cartwright has shown an interest in stock car racing and as of 2007 was seeking a NASCAR license. In 2001, she founded a production company called SportsBlast and created an online animated series called The Kellys. The series is focused on racing; Cartwright voices a seven-year-old named Chip Kelly.
In 2016, Cartwright launched Spotted Cow Entertainment, her own film and television production company, with Peter Kjenaas, Monica Gil and Kevin Burke. With a focus on international audiences, Spotted Cow is seeking "to finance, produce and acquire live action and animated films, television series, as well as entertainment for digital platforms with budgets up to $15M." With Spotted Cow, Cartwright made her first film as a screenwriter and producer, In Search of Fellini, which was released on September 15, 2017. Based on her own journey to Italy in 1985 in a bid to meet the famed director Federico Fellini, the film fulfilled Cartwright's longtime vision of turning her 1995 one-woman play In Search of Fellini into a film.
Personal life
Cartwright met real-estate agent Warren Murphy, 24 years her senior, on her birthday in 1988 and married him two months later. In her book, she describes Murphy as her "personal laugh track". The couple had two children, before divorcing in 2002.
Cartwright was raised a Roman Catholic but joined the Church of Scientology in 1991.<!-- becoming a Clear on October 1, 1991. --> In 2007, Cartwright, then making about $400,000 per episode, was awarded Scientology's Patron Laureate Award after donating $10,000,000 to the Church.
Cartwright is a contributor to ASIFA-Hollywood's Animation Archive Project. In September 2007, Cartwright received the Make-A-Wish Foundation's Wish Icon Award "for her tremendous dedication to the Foundation's fundraising and wish-fulfillment efforts." In 2005, Cartwright created a scholarship at Fairmont High School "designed to aid Fairmont [graduates] who dream of following in her footsteps and studying speech, debate, drama or music" at Ohio University. In 2005, Cartwright was given the title of Honorary Mayor of Northridge, California (a neighborhood of Los Angeles) by the Northridge Chamber of Commerce.
In 2007, Cartwright was in a romantic relationship with contractor Stephen Brackett, a fellow member of Scientology. Before his May 2009 death by suicide, the couple had made plans during early 2008 to marry.
In 2012, Cartwright received an honorary doctorate degree in communication from Ohio University, where she was a student from 1976 to 1977 before transferring to UCLA.
Cartwright is also a painter, sculptor and philanthropist. She co-founded the Know More About Drugs alliance. Her stepbrother David Carpenter is the father of singer and actress Sabrina Carpenter.
Filmography
Live-action
Film
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
|+ List of acting performances in feature films
|-
! scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Title
! scope="col" | Role
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| scope="row" | 1983
| Twilight Zone: The Movie
| Ethel
| Segment: "It's a Good Life"
|-
| rowspan="2" scope="row" | 1985
| Heaven Help Us
| Girl at dance
| Uncredited
|-
| Flesh and Blood
| Kathleen
|
|-
| scope="row" | 1988
| Yellow Pages
| Stephanie
| Titled Going Underground in US
|-
| scope="row" | 1992
| Petal to the Metal
| Fawn Deer
| Short film
|-
| scope="row" | 1998
| Godzilla
| Caiman's secretary
|
|-
| scope="row" | 2008
| Struck
| Nurse
| Short film
|-
| scope="row" | 2013
| I Know That Voice
| Herself
| Documentary
|-
| scope="row" | 2017
| In Search of Fellini
| Cosima
| Also writer
|-
| scope="row" | 2022
| Borrego
| Deserie
|
|}
Television
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
|+ List of acting performances in television shows
|-
! scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Title
! scope="col" | Role
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| scope="row" | 1981
| Skokie
| Unnamed character
| TV film; uncredited
|-
| rowspan="3" scope="row" | 1982
| Marian Rose White
| Marian Rose White
| TV film
|-
| The Rules of Marriage
| Jill Murray
| TV film
|-
| Tucker's Witch
| Holly
| Episode: "Terminal Case"
|-
| scope="row" | 1983
| Deadly Lessons
| Libby Dean
| TV film
|-
| scope="row" | 1983–84
| Fame
| Muffin
| 2 episodes
|-
| rowspan="2" scope="row" | 1985
| Not My Kid
| Jean
| TV film
|-
| Cheers
| Cynthia
| Episode: "Diane's Nightmare"
|-
| scope="row" | 1986
| Bridges to Cross
| Unnamed character
| Episode: "Memories of Molly"
|-
| rowspan="2" scope="row" | 1987
| Our House
| Unnamed character
| Episode: "Growing Up, Growing Old"
|-
| Mr. Belvedere
| Gwen
| Episode: "The Initiation"
|-
| rowspan="2" scope="row" | 1989
| TV 101
| Melinda
| Episode: "On the Road"
|-
| Empty Nest
| Ann
| Episode: "Tears of a Clown"
|-
| scope="row" | 1993
| Precious Victims
| Ruth Potter
| TV film
|-
| rowspan="2" scope="row" | 1995
| The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
| Ruby Jillette
| Episode: "Save the Last Trance for Me"
|-
| Baywatch Nights
| Frances O'Reilly
| Episode: "976 Ways to Say I Love You"
|-
| rowspan="2" scope="row" | 1996
| Vows of Deception
| Terry
| TV film
|-
| Suddenly
| Dell
| TV film
|-
| scope="row" | 2007
| 24
| Jeannie Tyler
| Episode: "Day 6: 4:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m"
|-
| scope="row" | 2010
| The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special – In 3-D! On Ice!
| Herself<br>Bart Simpson (voice)
| TV special
|-
| scope="row" | 2012
| FOX 25th Anniversary Special
| Bart Simpson (voice)
| TV special
|}
Voice roles
Film
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
|+ List of voice performances in feature and direct-to-video films
|-
! scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Title
! scope="col" | Role
! scope="col" class="unsortable"| Notes
|-
| scope="row" | 1986
| My Little Pony: The Movie
| Gusty, Bushwoolie #4
|
|-
| scope="row" | 1987
| The Chipmunk Adventure
| Arabian Prince, Additional voices
|
|-
| rowspan="2" scope="row" | 1988
| Pound Puppies and the Legend of Big Paw
| Bright Eyes
|
|-
| Who Framed Roger Rabbit
| Dipped Toon Shoe
| Uncredited
|-
| rowspan="2" scope="row" | 1989
| Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland
| Page
|
|-
| scope="row" | 2021–24
| Rugrats
| Chuckie Finster
| Main cast
|}
Video games
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
|+ List of voice performances in video games
|-
! scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Title
! scope="col" | Voice role
|-
| rowspan="2" scope="row" | 1991
| The Simpsons Arcade Game
|rowspan="2"| Bart Simpson, Maggie Simpson
|-
| The Simpsons: Bart vs. the Space Mutants
|-
| scope="row" | 1992
| The Simpsons: Bart's Nightmare
|rowspan="2"| Bart Simpson
|-
| scope="row" | 1994
| Virtual Bart
|-
| scope="row" | 1995
| TerraTopia
| Piper
|-
| scope="row" | 1996
| The Simpsons: Cartoon Studio
|rowspan="2"| Bart Simpson, Maggie Simpson, various characters
|-
| scope="row" | 1997
| The Simpsons: Virtual Springfield
|-
| rowspan="2" scope="row" | 1998
| Putt-Putt Enters the Race
| Putt-Putt
|}
Music videos
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
|+ List of voice performances in music videos
|-
! scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Title
! scope="col" | Role
! scope="col" | Artist
|-
| scope="row" | 1990
| "Do the Bartman"
|rowspan="3"| Bart Simpson
|Herself
|-
| scope="row" rowspan="2" | 1991
| "Deep, Deep Trouble"
| Herself, Dan Castellaneta
|-
| "Black or White"
| Michael Jackson
|}
Theme parks
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
|+ List of voice performances in theme parks
|-
! scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Title
! scope="col" | Role
! scope="col" | Venue
|-
| rowspan="2" scope="row" | 2008
| rowspan="2" | The Simpsons Ride
| rowspan="2" | Bart Simpson, Maggie Simpson, various characters
| Universal Studios Florida<br><small>Orlando, FL</small>
|-
| Universal Studios Hollywood<br><small>Los Angeles, CA</small>
|}
Web series
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
|+ List of voice performances in web series
|-
! scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Title
! scope="col" | Role
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| scope="row" | 2001
| Timberwolf
| Earl Squirrel
|
|-
| 2017
| rowspan=2|Primetime Emmy Award
| rowspan=2|Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance
| rowspan=2| Bart Simpson
| The Simpsons: "Looking for Mr. Goodbart"
|
|align=center|
|-
| 2020
| The Simpsons: "Better Off Ned"
|
|align=center|
|}
References
Bibliography