Biography
When the decision was made in 1974 to transform Rhoda Morgenstern (
Valerie Harper) from frumpy kvetcher to desirable bachelorette on the TV series
Rhoda, somebody had to inherit all those self-deprecating jokes told by Rhoda on
The Mary Tyler Moore Show. The decision was made to create a new character: Rhoda's pudgy, insecure younger sister, Brenda. The actress chosen for the role sounded as though she'd been a New Yorker since the womb, but in fact Julie Kavner was born and raised in California. A theatre student at USC-San Francisco, Kavner came to
Rhoda with no professional experience, but before the series ran its course, she had won an Emmy for her portrayal. With her performance in the 1986 film
Hannah and Her Sisters, Kavner became one of the most prominent members of director
Woody Allen's stock company, essaying very un-Brendalike roles in
Radio Days (1987), the "Oedipus Wrecks" segment of
New York Stories (1989),
Alice (1990) and
Shadows and Fog (1992). Kavner's regular stint as an ensemble player on the Fox TV network's Tracy Ullman Show led to her long-running assignment as the gravelly voice of Marge Simpson on the weekly animated series
The Simpsons. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide