# Maggie Roswell
**Maggie Roswell** (born Mary Margaret Nina Roswell in 1952) is an American actress, voice actress, comedian, writer, and producer, best known as a longtime cast member of the animated series *The Simpsons*, where she created the voices of Maude Flanders, Helen Lovejoy, Miss Hoover, Luann Van Houten, and many other [Springfield](https://www.edgepedia.org/springfield) residents[1](https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Maggie_Roswell) • [2](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/maggie-roswell/credits/3030193612/). Born and raised in Los Angeles, she has also co-starred on camera in films such as *Lost in America*, *Pretty in Pink*, and *Midnight Madness*, and she runs a voiceover and audio production business with her husband, the Emmy-nominated actor Hal Rayle[3](https://www.maggieroswell.com/aboutmaggieroswell).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1952, Los Angeles, California[1](https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Maggie_Roswell) • [4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/maggie_roswell) |
| Signature roles | Maude Flanders, Helen Lovejoy, Miss Hoover, Luann Van Houten, Shary Bobbins on *The Simpsons*[3](https://www.maggieroswell.com/aboutmaggieroswell) |
| Simpsons tenure | Seasons 1 through 10, departed in 1999 over a pay dispute, returned in season 14 (2002); roughly 302 episodes credited[1](https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Maggie_Roswell) |
| Awards | Program-level Primetime Emmy Awards for The Simpsons (1989–90 and 1990–91); 1997 Annie Award nomination for voicing Shary Bobbins, and a personal Emmy described in her own biography[5](https://www.maggieroswell.com/maggieroswellbusinessbio) • [9](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-09-17-ca-663-story.html) |
| Live-action film roles | *Midnight Madness* (1980), *Lost in America* (1985), *Pretty in Pink* (1986), *Switchback* (1997), *Silver City*[3](https://www.maggieroswell.com/aboutmaggieroswell) |
| Business | Roswell & Rayle Inc., an audio-entertainment company run with husband Hal Rayle[5](https://www.maggieroswell.com/maggieroswellbusinessbio) |
## The Simpsons
Roswell has been a cast member of *The Simpsons* since the show's first season in 1989[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/maggie_roswell). Her recurring characters include Maude Flanders, Ned Flanders's wife; Helen Lovejoy, the reverend's wife whose catchphrase, "Won't somebody please think of the children?", became a widely quoted satire of moral-panic rhetoric; Miss Hoover, Lisa Simpson's teacher; and Luann Van Houten[3](https://www.maggieroswell.com/aboutmaggieroswell) • [6](https://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/90706/1/WRAP_Theses_Lester_2016.pdf). She also voiced the one-time character Shary Bobbins, the show's *Mary Poppins* parody, a role originally intended for the guest star [Julie Andrews](https://www.edgepedia.org/julie-andrews), who was not available[7](https://simpsons.fandom.com/wiki/Maggie_Roswell).
**Departure and return.** Roswell left the show after season 10, in 1999, over a pay dispute with Fox[1](https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Maggie_Roswell). She had moved to Colorado in 1994 to raise her daughter and was commuting to Los Angeles for recording sessions[5](https://www.maggieroswell.com/maggieroswellbusinessbio). During her absence, her surviving characters were voiced by Marcia Mitzman Gaven, and the character of Maude Flanders was killed off[1](https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Maggie_Roswell). Roswell returned to the program in 2002 (season 14), voicing various characters again and also appearing in the feature film *The Simpsons Movie* (2007) as Helen Lovejoy[1](https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Maggie_Roswell) • [4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/maggie_roswell). Her own website states she is starting her 38th year as a cast member on the series[8](https://www.maggieroswell.com/).
**Recording from Colorado.** After the 1994 move, she and Hal Rayle built a recording facility where all of her Simpsons voiceover work was recorded from 1994 until 2013[5](https://www.maggieroswell.com/maggieroswellbusinessbio). She currently records the show at the AudioRNR studio, where she has recorded episodes for over a decade[8](https://www.maggieroswell.com/).
## Awards
As a contributing member of the cast of *The Simpsons*, Roswell worked on the series when it received [Primetime Emmy Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/primetime-emmy-awards) for the 1989–90 and 1990–91 seasons[5](https://www.maggieroswell.com/maggieroswellbusinessbio) • [9](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-09-17-ca-663-story.html). She received a 1997 Annie Award nomination for Best Individual Achievement: Voice Acting by a Female Performer in a TV Production, for her role as Shary Bobbins in the episode "Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious", and her own biography also describes a personal Emmy for that work[1](https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Maggie_Roswell) • [5](https://www.maggieroswell.com/maggieroswellbusinessbio).
## Other acting work
Roswell's screen career began in the early 1970s with guest appearances on shows such as *M*A*S*H*, *Mork & Mindy*, *Happy Days*, and *Dynasty*, and she has appeared in over 60 episodic television programs[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/maggie_roswell) • [3](https://www.maggieroswell.com/aboutmaggieroswell). Her on-camera film credits include *Midnight Madness* (1980), *Lost in America* (1985), *Pretty in Pink* (1986), *Switchback* (1997), and *Silver City*[3](https://www.maggieroswell.com/aboutmaggieroswell). In animation outside *The Simpsons*, her voice has been heard in [Ralph Bakshi](https://www.edgepedia.org/ralph-bakshi)'s *[Fire and Ice](https://www.edgepedia.org/fire-and-ice-1983-film)* and *Cool World*, and in the television series *Animaniacs*, *Darkwing Duck*, *Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles*, and *Tiny Toon Adventures*; she also sang as a captive penguin in *[The Pebble and the Penguin](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-pebble-and-the-penguin)* (1995)[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/maggie_roswell) • [3](https://www.maggieroswell.com/aboutmaggieroswell).
She starred with [Tim Conway](https://www.edgepedia.org/tim-conway) and [Harvey Korman](https://www.edgepedia.org/harvey-korman) on CBS's *The Tim Conway Show* and in NBC's *Comedy Break*[3](https://www.maggieroswell.com/aboutmaggieroswell). Her stage background includes lead roles in musicals and plays across the country, more than ten years in Harvey Lembeck's improvisation group alongside performers such as [Robin Williams](https://www.edgepedia.org/robin-williams), John Larroquette, and John Ritter, and a role in Paul Sills's improvisation hit *Sills and Company* on Broadway, after she became a protégé of Viola Spolin, widely described as the godmother of improvisation[3](https://www.maggieroswell.com/aboutmaggieroswell).
## Commercials and Roswell & Rayle Inc.
Roswell has done on-camera and voiceover work in hundreds of commercials, and has written radio spots that won Clio and Belding awards[3](https://www.maggieroswell.com/aboutmaggieroswell). As a member of the creative roundtable at Bert Berdis & Company in Los Angeles, she worked on winning ad campaigns for AT&T, Pizza Hut, Freixenet, Bud Light, and others over ten years[5](https://www.maggieroswell.com/maggieroswellbusinessbio).
With her husband she runs Roswell & Rayle Inc., which developed content for Level 3, Starz Encore, Universal Worldwide, and AT&T Digital, among other clients, produced and voiced 13 shows of the PBS series *Animal Tales*, and sold Baboontunes ringtones, alerts, and prompts during the early cell-phone boom on iTunes[5](https://www.maggieroswell.com/maggieroswellbusinessbio). The company received a daytime Emmy nomination for its Denver C470 campaign for local programming in Colorado[5](https://www.maggieroswell.com/maggieroswellbusinessbio).
## Coaching
Roswell offers private coaching in voiceover, presentation skills, virtual interviews, and meet-and-greet skills, and has taught at UCLA, Starz/Encore, the Denver Center Theater, and Thespians International, with more than 20 years of private coaching[3](https://www.maggieroswell.com/aboutmaggieroswell) • [8](https://www.maggieroswell.com/).
## References
1. [Maggie Roswell, Wikisimpsons](https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Maggie_Roswell)
2. [Maggie Roswell, TV Guide credits](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/maggie-roswell/credits/3030193612/)
3. [About Maggie, maggieroswell.com](https://www.maggieroswell.com/aboutmaggieroswell)
4. [Maggie Roswell, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/maggie_roswell)
5. [Maggie Roswell Business Bio, maggieroswell.com](https://www.maggieroswell.com/maggieroswellbusinessbio)
6. [Lester (2016), PhD thesis, University of Warwick](https://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/90706/1/WRAP_Theses_Lester_2016.pdf)
7. [Maggie Roswell, Simpsons Wiki (Fandom)](https://simpsons.fandom.com/wiki/Maggie_Roswell)
8. [Maggie Roswell home page, maggieroswell.com](https://www.maggieroswell.com/)
9. ['The Simpsons' Named Best Animated Series in Early Awards](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-09-17-ca-663-story.html)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Voice performers › American voice performers › Animation and cartoon voice actors › Contemporary animation voice actors*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license