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Nancy Cartwright

"The Simpsons"

By Nancy Basile, About.com

After returning from a trip to Italy, Nancy Cartwright was called in to audition for some yellow cartoon characters on The Tracey Ullman Show. Specifically, Nancy was asked to audition for Lisa Simpson. But as Nancy says in her book, "I couldn't wrap my wits around her. She just wasn't challenging enough for me. It wasn't coming from an inspiration. I just couldn't create with her. But the boy... Bart... now that was someone I could really do a number with. I went in... met Matt [Groening] and Bonnie and told him what I felt. No problemo. I picked up the sides for Bart and 'blah blah blah' did the "Bart-thing" and that was it... I was hired on the spot!"

"I love the show. And I love the talent that's involved with the show in so many areas. It's the best job. I love going to work and being a fan of the other actors that I get to work with, and seeing them do what it is that they do best. I feel really blessed."

After a couple of seasons on The Tracey Ullman Show, The Simpsons went primetime. Nancy Cartwright married and had children in the first seasons. Her Simpsons work schedule allowed to her raise a family and pursue other interests. Nancy Cartwright became a spokesperson for The Way to Happiness, a non-profit organization that coordinates youth, family and community activities as well as a wide variety of social improvement projects in cities and countries around the world. She has also volunteered her time with another volunteer organization called Famous Fone Friends. This group was designed to help kids who are terminally ill or who have been in a tragic accident.

The fall of 1995 saw the world premiere of Nancy Cartwright's one-woman play, In Search of Fellini. It ran for six weeks at Theatre Geo in Hollywood. It was well received, bestowing Nancy with a couple of Drama-Logue Awards and good reviews.

Nancy Cartwright now runs her own production company, Happy House Productions. The company develops and produces commercially successful entertainment for features, television and the Web.

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