The Simpsons started as a set of short sketches in 1987 and became a half-hour Fox series on December 17, 1989. It has run ever since, and it is the longest-running American animated series and scripted primetime show. Over that time Matt Groening's yellow family has collected a supporting cast so large that Springfield works like a real town: there's a school, a church, a power plant, a bar, a police force and a mayor, all staffed by people you'd recognise from a single line.
This guide starts with the family and works outward through the neighbours, the school, the plant, the bar, the town's officials and its villains. Each character gets a proper description, and the voice cast and a full alphabetical list come at the end. If you're looking for one specific name, the A–Z list is the fastest route.
- Creator
- Matt Groening
- Developed by
- Matt Groening, James L. Brooks, Sam Simon
- Network
- Fox
- Premiere
- December 17, 1989
- Setting
- Springfield, a town in an unspecified US state
- Film
- The Simpsons Movie (2007)
The Simpson family
The family lives at 742 Evergreen Terrace. They fight, they embarrass each other, and they always end up on the same side by the end of the episode. That reliable warmth under the satire is a big part of why the show has lasted.
Homer Simpson
Father · Safety inspector at the nuclear plant
Homer is lazy, impulsive and easily distracted by donuts, Duff beer and television. He holds a safety job at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant that he's spectacularly unqualified for. What keeps him likeable is that his love for his family is real, and every so often it pushes him into doing something selfless. His exasperated "D'oh!" made it into the Oxford English Dictionary.
- Voice
- Dan Castellaneta
Marge Simpson
Mother · The family's anchor
Marge, with her towering blue beehive, keeps the household running on patience. Her frustrations are usually quiet: a disapproving murmur, a sigh, a hobby that gets out of hand. Episodes where she finally does something for herself, from painting to joining the police, are some of the show's best. Her marriage to Homer is improbable, and the show keeps making the case that it works.
- Voice
- Julie Kavner
Bart Simpson
Son · Age 10 · Professional troublemaker
Bart is a skateboarding fourth-grader whose prank calls to Moe's Tavern and chalkboard punishments made him the face of the show in the early 1990s. He's smart in every way school doesn't measure. His prank-war with Principal Skinner, his friendship with Milhouse, and the occasional glimpse of a kid who wants his father's approval keep him from being a one-note brat.
- Voice
- Nancy Cartwright
Lisa Simpson
Daughter · Age 8 · Saxophonist
Lisa is the gifted, principled middle child: a vegetarian, a Buddhist, a jazz saxophone player and very often the only person in Springfield making sense. Her episodes deal with loneliness, ambition and being smarter than the people around you, and they give the show much of its heart. Her relationship with Homer, who doesn't understand her but tries, is especially tender.
- Voice
- Yeardley Smith
Maggie Simpson
Baby · Pacifier enthusiast
Maggie hardly ever speaks and never grows up, but she's sharper than she looks. She has saved her family more than once, and she's the one who shot Mr. Burns in the famous two-part mystery. Her first spoken word, "Daddy," was a guest line from Elizabeth Taylor.
Abe "Grampa" Simpson
Homer's father · Retirement home resident
Grampa lives at the Springfield Retirement Castle and is best known for long, wandering stories that never reach a point. Underneath the rambling he's a World War II veteran with a surprisingly eventful past. He and Homer have a prickly relationship, which makes the moments when they connect land harder.
- Voice
- Dan Castellaneta
Patty and Selma Bouvier
Marge's older twin sisters
The gravel-voiced, chain-smoking twins work at the DMV and agree on one thing: they can't stand Homer. Selma is forever searching for a husband (Sideshow Bob and Troy McClure among them) and later adopts a daughter, Ling. Patty came out as gay in a 2005 episode, one of the show's milestones.
- Voice
- Julie Kavner
Mona Simpson
Homer's mother
Mona left the family when Homer was a boy to live as a fugitive 1960s radical, after sabotaging one of Mr. Burns's schemes. Her brief returns are some of the show's most bittersweet episodes.
Santa's Little Helper and Snowball II
The family pets
The greyhound was a losing racing dog adopted in the very first episode, "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire." The cat, Snowball II, rarely does much, which is part of the joke.
Neighbours, friends and the church
Ned Flanders
Next-door neighbour · Left-handed store owner
Ned is relentlessly kind, devout and cheerful, with a vocabulary full of "okily-dokily." Homer resents him for being better at everything and borrows his things anyway. The show is affectionate toward Ned; his goodness is genuine, and the episodes that test his faith, like losing his wife Maude, are some of its most serious.
- Voice
- Harry Shearer
Rod and Todd Flanders
Ned's sons
Two sheltered, sweet boys raised on strict Christian rules and very little sugar. They are a reliable source of quick, innocent punchlines.
Maude Flanders
Ned's first wife
A gentle, devout woman who was written out in 2000 in an accident at a racetrack. Her death gave Ned one of his strongest storylines.
Reverend Lovejoy
Minister of the First Church of Springfield
Reverend Timothy Lovejoy is a bored, burnt-out pastor who mostly wishes Ned Flanders would stop calling him. His wife Helen is the town gossip, and her cry of "won't somebody please think of the children?" has become a shorthand for moral panic.
- Voice
- Harry Shearer
Springfield Elementary
Bart and Lisa's school is underfunded, poorly run and full of children with strong personalities. Many of the show's most quoted lines come from this group.
Milhouse Van Houten
Bart's best friend
Milhouse is blue-haired, short-sighted and permanently unlucky. He's hopelessly in love with Lisa, devoted to Bart, and caught in the middle of his parents' bitter divorce. He's the show's favourite punching bag, but his loyalty makes him easy to root for.
- Voice
- Pamela Hayden (long-time voice)
Nelson Muntz
School bully
Nelson's pointing, mocking "Ha-ha!" is one of the show's signatures. He's the son of an absent father and a struggling single mother, and the show sometimes lets that sadness show. He even dates Lisa for a short spell, which surprises both of them.
- Voice
- Nancy Cartwright
Ralph Wiggum
Classmate · Chief Wiggum's son
Ralph lives in his own world and reports back from it in cheerful non-sequiturs, several of which have become internet staples. He's guileless rather than stupid. The episode in which Lisa gives him a pity valentine and then has to let him down gently is a much-loved classic.
- Voice
- Nancy Cartwright
Principal Seymour Skinner
Principal · Vietnam veteran
Skinner is a rigid, anxious administrator who still lives with his domineering mother, Agnes. He's locked in a long war with Bart and keeps getting caught out by his boss, Superintendent Chalmers. Their "steamed hams" lunch became one of the internet's most remixed scenes.
- Voice
- Harry Shearer
Edna Krabappel
Bart's fourth-grade teacher
Mrs. Krabappel is a cynical, chain-smoking teacher with a sarcastic "Ha!" and a romantic streak she rarely gets to use. She dated Skinner on and off and later married Ned Flanders. The character was retired after Marcia Wallace died in 2013.
- Voice
- Marcia Wallace
Groundskeeper Willie
School groundskeeper
Willie is a furious, proudly Scottish janitor who lives in a shack on school grounds and is ready to tear his shirt off for any fight. He's mostly rage and insults, but he's also loyal to the school in his own way.
- Voice
- Dan Castellaneta
Martin Prince
Teacher's pet
Lisa's main academic rival and the class's most enthusiastic swot. He's always one step from a wedgie.
Jimbo, Kearney and Dolph
Older bullies
The beanie-wearing trio who hang around Nelson. Kearney is the oldest, and he's already divorced.
Otto Mann
School bus driver
A laid-back metalhead who somehow still has a licence. Bart thinks he's the coolest adult in town.
Superintendent Chalmers
Skinner's boss
A booming, unimpressed administrator who yells "SKINNER!" whenever something goes wrong.
The nuclear plant and Moe's Tavern
Mr. Burns
Owner of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant
Charles Montgomery Burns is an ancient, frail and greedy billionaire who, among other schemes, once tried to block out the sun. He can't remember who Homer is, no matter how often they meet. He's the show's main villain and its sharpest jab at unaccountable wealth, and he's also funny because he's so physically weak. His steepled fingers and "Excellent" are instantly recognisable.
- Voice
- Harry Shearer
Waylon Smithers
Mr. Burns's assistant
Smithers is fiercely competent and devoted to his boss well past the point of reason. For years his feelings for Mr. Burns were a running joke, and the show eventually let him come out openly. He keeps the plant running and keeps Burns alive.
- Voice
- Harry Shearer
Lenny and Carl
Homer's co-workers
Lenny Leonard and Carl Carlson work alongside Homer at the plant and drink alongside him at Moe's. They're so inseparable that Springfield treats them as a unit, and the show loves to poke at what their friendship actually is.
- Voice
- Harry Shearer (Lenny); Hank Azaria, then Alex Désert (Carl)
Moe Szyslak
Bartender and owner of Moe's Tavern
Moe is a grumpy, lonely and frequently desperate bartender who falls for Bart's prank calls every time. He's the saddest man in Springfield and knows it, which turns his rare acts of kindness into real moments.
- Voice
- Hank Azaria
Barney Gumble
Homer's oldest friend
Barney is Moe's most loyal customer, famous for his thunderous belches. Flashbacks show a clean-cut, promising student before Homer introduced him to beer. In later seasons he gets sober, and the show has sometimes let him reveal unexpected talent.
- Voice
- Dan Castellaneta
Frank Grimes
One-episode co-worker
A hard-working man driven to despair by Homer's undeserved good fortune. "Grimey" is a fan favourite despite appearing only once.
Town officials, shopkeepers and locals
Chief Clancy Wiggum
Chief of police
Wiggum is lazy, corruptible and almost never right, and he keeps his job through every disaster. He's partnered with officers Lou and Eddie. His gentle, oblivious affection for his son Ralph is one of the show's sweetest threads.
- Voice
- Hank Azaria
Krusty the Clown
Children's TV host · Bart's idol
Krusty hosts the show Bart and Lisa watch every day, which includes the violent Itchy & Scratchy cartoons. Off camera he's a cynical, burnt-out entertainer who will slap his face on any product for money. His strained relationship with his father, a rabbi, gives him more depth than his act suggests.
- Voice
- Dan Castellaneta
Apu Nahasapeemapetilon
Kwik-E-Mart owner
Apu is a hard-working convenience store owner with a PhD, a wife named Manjula and octuplets. The 2017 documentary The Problem with Apu started a wide debate about how the character had been written and voiced. Hank Azaria stepped back from the role in 2020, and Apu has rarely spoken on the show since.
Mayor Quimby
Mayor of Springfield
"Diamond Joe" Quimby is a corrupt, womanising politician with a heavy Kennedy-style accent. He holds onto power mainly because Springfield doesn't pay attention.
- Voice
- Dan Castellaneta
Comic Book Guy
Owner of the Android's Dungeon
His real name, Jeff Albertson, was revealed years after his debut. He's a sarcastic, gatekeeping fan who judges everything, and "Worst. Episode. Ever." made him a patron saint of online criticism.
- Voice
- Hank Azaria
Dr. Julius Hibbert
Family doctor
Hibbert is a competent, well-paid doctor with an unsettling habit of chuckling at bad news. He's one of the few professionals in town who actually knows what he's doing.
- Voice
- Harry Shearer, then Kevin Michael Richardson
Kent Brockman
Channel 6 news anchor
Kent is vain, self-serving and ready to welcome any new overlord on air. His instant surrender to a supposed threat of giant ants became one of the internet's most durable memes.
- Voice
- Harry Shearer
Professor Frink
Local scientist
A nasal, flailing inventor whose gadgets nearly work. He's a Jerry Lewis parody with a wild vocabulary of noises.
Troy McClure
Washed-up actor
He introduces himself by listing obscure educational films. He was retired after Phil Hartman's death in 1998.
Lionel Hutz
Lawyer
An incompetent ambulance-chaser who works from a mall. He was also voiced by Phil Hartman and retired with him.
Hans Moleman
Unlucky elderly local
A tiny, wizened man whom the show keeps injuring and occasionally killing, with no lasting effect.
Cletus Spuckler
"Slack-jawed yokel"
A rural Springfield resident with a huge number of children and his partner, Brandine.
Disco Stu
Local character
He still dresses for 1977 and talks about himself in the third person.
Springfield's villains
Mr. Burns is the town's everyday menace. These are the others who come back to cause trouble.
Sideshow Bob
Krusty's former sidekick · Would-be murderer
Robert Terwilliger is a cultured, Gilbert-and-Sullivan-loving genius who was framed out of his job by Bart and has wanted revenge ever since. His elaborate plots always collapse. The rakes he keeps stepping on are one of the show's best-loved running gags. Kelsey Grammer's booming performance made him the show's favourite recurring villain.
- Voice
- Kelsey Grammer
Fat Tony
Mob boss
Fat Tony runs Springfield's organised crime with soft-spoken menace and impeccable manners. He's always willing to do business with the town's officials. Joe Mantegna has voiced him from the start.
- Voice
- Joe Mantegna
Snake Jailbird
Career criminal
Snake is a tattooed thief who robs the Kwik-E-Mart with remarkable regularity and gets caught almost as often. He's a minor villain, but he's always around.
- Voice
- Hank Azaria
Kang and Kodos
Alien invaders
These two drooling, one-eyed aliens from Rigel VII turn up in nearly every Treehouse of Horror Halloween special. They usually try to conquer or eat Earth, and they usually fail.
The Simpsons voice cast
A small core cast voices most of Springfield, with each actor playing dozens of characters. That's why so many residents share a particular rhythm or vocal tic. Some roles have been recast over the years, most notably after the show decided in 2020 that white actors would no longer voice characters of colour.
| Actor | Main roles |
|---|---|
| Dan Castellaneta | Homer, Grampa, Krusty, Barney, Groundskeeper Willie, Mayor Quimby, Sideshow Mel, Hans Moleman |
| Julie Kavner | Marge, Patty, Selma, Jacqueline Bouvier |
| Nancy Cartwright | Bart, Nelson, Ralph, Todd Flanders, Kearney |
| Yeardley Smith | Lisa |
| Hank Azaria | Moe, Chief Wiggum, Comic Book Guy, Professor Frink, Superintendent Chalmers, Snake, Cletus, Apu (until 2020) |
| Harry Shearer | Mr. Burns, Smithers, Ned Flanders, Principal Skinner, Lenny, Kent Brockman, Reverend Lovejoy, Otto |
| Pamela Hayden | Milhouse, Jimbo Jones, Rod Flanders |
| Tress MacNeille | Agnes Skinner, the Crazy Cat Lady, Dolph, Brandine |
| Kelsey Grammer | Sideshow Bob |
| Joe Mantegna | Fat Tony |
| Marcia Wallace | Edna Krabappel (until 2013) |
| Phil Hartman | Troy McClure, Lionel Hutz (until 1998) |
For more on the people behind cartoon voices, see our voice actors guide.
Why Springfield's cast works
Most sitcoms have a handful of regulars. The Simpsons built a whole town, and nearly every resident is drawn from a sharp, specific idea: the pastor who's tired of his flock, the cop who would rather eat, the TV clown who hates children. Because the writers can call on any of them, an episode can wander from the school to the plant to the church without introducing anyone new. That's a big reason the show has stayed in production for so long.
The family itself is a lesson in character archetypes used well: the foolish father, the patient mother, the rebel son and the gifted daughter. Each of them gets enough contradictions to stay surprising. Homer can be cruel and then heartbreakingly loving in the same scene, and Lisa can be right and still insufferable. The show's influence runs through almost every adult cartoon that followed, from Family Guy to Bob's Burgers and South Park.
Where to start
With more than 35 seasons, you don't need to watch in order. Most episodes stand alone. A common recommendation is to start with seasons 3 through 8, which many fans consider the show's peak, and then dip into later seasons by premise. The 2007 film is a good self-contained taster. If you want to explore other animated families afterwards, our cartoon characters hub covers the rest of the genre.
- For the family: "Lisa's Substitute" and "And Maggie Makes Three" show the show's warmth at its best.
- For Springfield: "Marge vs. the Monorail" and "Homer at the Bat" put the whole town on screen.
- For the villains: "Who Shot Mr. Burns?" and "Cape Feare" feature Burns and Sideshow Bob at their peak.
All Simpsons character names A–Z
More than 100 recurring Springfield residents, from the family to one-scene favourites.
A
- Abraham "Grampa" Simpson — Homer's father
- Agnes Skinner — Skinner's mother
- Akira — Restaurant owner
- Allison Taylor — Lisa's rival
- Apu Nahasapeemapetilon — Kwik-E-Mart
- Arnie Pye — Traffic reporter
- Artie Ziff — Marge's prom date
B
- Barney Gumble — Moe's regular
- Bart Simpson — Family
- Bernice Hibbert — Dr. Hibbert's wife
- Bleeding Gums Murphy — Jazz musician
- Blinky — Three-eyed fish
- Brandine Spuckler — Cletus's partner
- Bumblebee Man — TV performer
C
- Captain McCallister — Sea captain
- Carl Carlson — Plant worker
- Cecil Terwilliger — Sideshow Bob's brother
- Chief Clancy Wiggum — Police
- Cletus Spuckler — Local
- Comic Book Guy (Jeff Albertson) — Shop owner
- Crazy Cat Lady (Eleanor Abernathy) — Local
D
- Database — Student
- Dewey Largo — Music teacher
- Disco Stu — Local
- Dolph Starbeam — Bully
- Dr. Julius Hibbert — Doctor
- Dr. Marvin Monroe — Therapist
- Dr. Nick Riviera — Questionable doctor
- Drederick Tatum — Boxer
- Duffman — Beer mascot
E–F
- Eddie — Police officer
- Edna Krabappel — Teacher
- Elizabeth Hoover — Lisa's teacher
- Fat Tony — Mob boss
- Frank Grimes — Plant worker
G–H
- Gil Gunderson — Unlucky salesman
- Groundskeeper Willie — School
- Hans Moleman — Local
- Helen Lovejoy — Reverend's wife
- Herb Powell — Homer's half-brother
- Herman — Military antiques dealer
- Homer Simpson — Family
I–J
- Itchy — Cartoon mouse
- Jacqueline Bouvier — Marge's mother
- Janey Powell — Lisa's friend
- Jasper Beardly — Retirement home
- Jessica Lovejoy — Reverend's daughter
- Jimbo Jones — Bully
- Judge Snyder — Judge
K
- Kang — Alien
- Kearney Zzyzwicz — Bully
- Kent Brockman — News anchor
- Kirk Van Houten — Milhouse's father
- Kodos — Alien
- Krusty the Clown — TV host
L
- Lenny Leonard — Plant worker
- Ling Bouvier — Selma's daughter
- Lionel Hutz — Lawyer
- Lisa Simpson — Family
- Lou — Police officer
- Louie — Fat Tony's crew
- Luann Van Houten — Milhouse's mother
- Luigi Risotto — Restaurant owner
- Lunchlady Doris — School
- Lurleen Lumpkin — Country singer
M
- Maggie Simpson — Family
- Manjula Nahasapeemapetilon — Apu's wife
- Marge Simpson — Family
- Martin Prince — Student
- Maude Flanders — Ned's wife
- Mayor Quimby — Mayor
- Milhouse Van Houten — Student
- Moe Szyslak — Bartender
- Mona Simpson — Homer's mother
- Mr. Burns — Plant owner
- Mr. Teeny — Krusty's monkey
N–O
- Ned Flanders — Neighbour
- Nelson Muntz — Bully
- Otto Mann — Bus driver
P
- Patty Bouvier — Marge's sister
- Plopper (Spider-Pig) — Homer's pig
- Principal Seymour Skinner — School
- Professor Frink — Scientist
R
- Rainier Wolfcastle — Action star
- Ralph Wiggum — Student
- Reverend Timothy Lovejoy — Minister
- Rod Flanders — Ned's son
- Ruth Powers — Neighbour
S
- Sanjay Nahasapeemapetilon — Apu's brother
- Santa's Little Helper — Family dog
- Sarah Wiggum — Chief's wife
- Scratchy — Cartoon cat
- Selma Bouvier — Marge's sister
- Sherri and Terri — Twins
- Sideshow Bob — Villain
- Sideshow Mel — Krusty's sidekick
- Snake Jailbird — Criminal
- Snowball II — Family cat
- Squeaky-Voiced Teen — Part-time worker
- Stampy — Bart's elephant
- Superintendent Chalmers — School
T–W
- Todd Flanders — Ned's son
- Troy McClure — Actor
- Üter — Exchange student
- Waylon Smithers — Burns's assistant
- Wendell Borton — Student
Frequently asked questions
Who are the main characters in The Simpsons?
The five members of the Simpson family: Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and baby Maggie. Their dog Santa's Little Helper and cat Snowball II live with them, and Grampa Abe Simpson and Marge's twin sisters Patty and Selma round out the extended family.
How many characters are in The Simpsons?
Far more than anyone has managed to count precisely. After more than 35 seasons, the show has introduced well over a thousand named characters, most of them one-offs. Around 100 Springfield residents recur often enough to be recognisable, and those are the ones in the A–Z list on this page.
Who are the villains in The Simpsons?
The main recurring villains are Mr. Burns, the ancient owner of the nuclear plant; Sideshow Bob, Krusty's former sidekick who keeps trying to kill Bart; mob boss Fat Tony; and petty criminal Snake. Aliens Kang and Kodos menace the town in most Treehouse of Horror Halloween episodes.
Who voices Homer Simpson?
Dan Castellaneta has voiced Homer since the family first appeared in short sketches on The Tracey Ullman Show in 1987. He also voices Grampa, Krusty, Barney, Groundskeeper Willie, Mayor Quimby and many others.
What are the Simpsons' pets called?
The family dog is Santa's Little Helper, a greyhound Homer and Bart adopt in the very first episode after he loses a race. The cat is Snowball II, who replaced the original Snowball. Bart also briefly owned an elephant called Stampy.
Why don't the Simpsons ever get older?
The show uses a floating timeline. Bart is always 10, Lisa always 8 and Maggie always a baby, while the family's backstory quietly shifts forward so that Homer and Marge's teenage years move from the 1970s to the 1990s and beyond. It's a cartoon convention, and the show occasionally jokes about it.