Maggie Roswell

From the church pews to the elementary school classroom, Maggie Roswell has given some of Springfield’s most recognizable residents their voices. She joined The Simpsons in its first season and went on to voice Helen Lovejoy, Maude Flanders, Elizabeth “Miss” Hoover, and Luann Van Houten. Whether Helen is pleading for someone to think of the children or Miss Hoover is trying to get through another day in Lisa Simpson’s classroom, Roswell gives each character a rhythm and personality of her own.

Her Springfield credits also include Princess Kashmir and Shary Bobbins, the umbrella-toting nanny who arrives to help the Simpson family in the show’s musical spoof of Mary Poppins. Roswell earned a 1997 Annie Award nomination for her performance as Shary and later brought Helen Lovejoy to the big screen in The Simpsons Movie.

Beyond Springfield, Roswell voiced Pearl Pureheart in the 1980s animated series Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures and Teegra in Ralph Bakshi’s animated fantasy film Fire and Ice. Her live-action film credits include Mrs. Dietz, the gym teacher in the 1986 teen classic Pretty in Pink, as well as roles in Albert Brooks’ Lost in America and the comedy Midnight Madness.

Roswell’s career also has deep roots in sketch comedy and improvisation. She performed on The Tim Conway Show alongside Tim Conway and Harvey Korman, spent more than a decade with Harvey Lembeck’s improv group, and worked with improv pioneer Viola Spolin. On Broadway, she performed in Sills & Company under the direction of Paul Sills. That background in character comedy comes through in the voices she created for Springfield, where even a few lines from Helen Lovejoy or Miss Hoover can steal a scene.