Nancy Campbell Cartwright (born October 25, 1957) is an American voice actress. She is best known for providing the voices of Bart Simpson, Nelson Muntz, Todd Flanders and Ralph Wiggum on the animated television show, The Simpsons, and of Chuckie Finster on the children's television series, Rugrats.
Cartwright was born in Dayton, Ohio, the daughter of Miriam and Frank Cartwright. A graduate of Kettering Fairmont High School, Cartwright attended Ohio University before transferring to UCLA, where she earned a degree in theatre. She was a student of Daws Butler (voice of Huckleberry Hound, Snagglepuss, Yogi Bear and many others), and in her autobiography cites Butler as being both her mentor and her friend.
Early voices of Nancy included shows from Fantastic Max, playing the green alien FX.
Cartwright has been the voice of Bart Simpson and various other characters in The Simpsons since 1987. She originally auditioned for the role of Lisa, but was soon told that her voice would be better suited voicing Bart, so Matt Groening let her try out for the part, and upon hearing her read, gave her the job on the spot. Cartwright was the only member of the main cast who had any formal voice actor training. Bart's catchphrase "Eat My Shorts" was an ad-lib by Cartwright in one of the original table readings, harking back to her days in high school marching band. Cartwright also voices several other characters including Nelson Muntz, Todd Flanders, Ralph Wiggum, Kearney and Database.
Up until 1998, Cartwright was paid $30,000 per episode. She and the other five main Simpsons voice actors were then involved in a pay dispute in which Fox threatened to replace them with new actors and went as far as preparing for casting of new voices. However, the issue was soon resolved and from 1998 to 2004, they were given $125,000 per episode. In 2004, the voice actors intentionally skipped several table reads, demanding they be paid $360,000 per episode. The strike was resolved a month later and Cartwright now earns $400,000 per episode.
In addition to her work on The Simpsons, she has lent her voice to characters on various other animated series, including Kim Possible as Rufus, Rugrats as Chuckie Finster, All Grown Up!, The Replacements, Richie Rich, Goof Troop, Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, My Little Pony, The Critic, God, The Devil and Bob, Mike, Lu & Og, Pound Puppies, The Snorks, Galaxy High as well as Chuck Jones' final work, Timberwolf. She also plays four characters on the hit syndicated TV show, Wayside: Mrs. Jewls, Dana, Maurecia, and Sammy the deceased rat.
Cartwright has also appeared on camera in numerous television series and movies, playing roles in Fame, Empty Nest, Cheers, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Twilight Zone: The Movie, Flesh + Blood, and Godzilla as well as the lead in the TV movie Marian Rose White. Cartwright also appeared in a Season 6 episode of 24 as Jeannie Tyler.
Her autobiography, My Life as a Ten-Year-Old Boy, offers a behind-the-scenes look at the phenomenon of The Simpsons. This book was converted into a stage show, which was performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2004. It was not particularly well-received by many reviewers.
For her performances as Bart Simpson, Cartwright received an Emmy Award in 1992 for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance for the episode "Separate Vocations" and an Annie Award in 1995 for "Outstanding Voice Acting in the Field of Animation". Cartwright’s production company, SportsBlast, and partners Turner Sports Interactive hosting Nascar.com were recognized with the Silver Award by the Houston Film Festival for their original series The Kellys.
In 2005, Cartwright was honored with the ceremonial title of "Honorary Mayor" by the Northridge, California Chamber of Commerce. Northridge is a neighborhood of Los Angeles and has no office of mayor.
Cartwright married writer Warren Murphy in 1988. The couple had two children before divorcing in 2005.
She is a member of the Church of Scientology, joining in 1989, becoming a Clear on October 1, 1991. Cartwright was awarded Scientology's Patron Laureate Award after she donated $10 million, almost twice her annual salary, to the organization in 2007.
Cartwright actively supports many nonprofit organizations, including Famous Fone Friends, Make-a-Wish Foundation, and The Way to Happiness Foundation. She is co-founder of "Happy House", a non-profit organization dedicated to building better families and 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 "significant commitment to the mission of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater Los Angeles."
Cartwright is a known stock car driver, and is actively seeking a NASCAR license.
