Julie Deborah Kavner (born September 7, 1950) is an American actress, voice actress and comedian. She first attracted notice for her role as Valerie Harper's character's younger sister Brenda in the sitcom Rhoda for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. She is best known for her voice role as Marge Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons. She also voices other characters for the show, including Jacqueline Bouvier, and Patty and Selma Bouvier.
Known for her improvisation and distinctive "honeyed gravel voice", Kavner was cast in her first professional acting role as Brenda Morgenstern in Rhoda in 1974. She received four Primetime Emmy Award nominations for playing the character, winning the award in 1978. Following Rhoda, Kavner was cast in The Tracey Ullman Show, which debuted in 1987. The Tracey Ullman Show included a series of animated shorts about a dysfunctional family. Voices were needed for the shorts, and the producers decided to ask Kavner to voice Marge. The shorts would eventually be spun off into The Simpsons.