Kavner became most famous for her role as Marge Simpson on the animated television show "The Simpsons", a show that continues to the present day. "The Tracey Ullman Show" included a series of animated shorts about the dysfunctional Simpson family. Voices were needed for the shorts, so the producers decided to ask Kavner and fellow cast member Dan Castellaneta to voice Marge and Homer rather than hire more actors. Kavner has what Hilary de Vries of "The New York Times" described as a "honeyed gravel voice". Kavner says her distinctive voice is due to "a bump on vocal cords". Marge's voice has aged considerably throughout the series as Kavner has gotten older.