Celebrity Guest Stars You Forgot Appeared on ‘The Simpsons’: Patrick Stewart, Glenn Close, Paul McCartney, Meryl Streep and More!

Credit: Shutterstock (2)

Celebrity Guest Stars You Forgot Appeared on ‘The Simpsons’: Patrick Stewart, Glenn Close, Paul McCartney, Meryl Streep and More!

D'oh! The Simpsons is nearly 35 years old — but it feels like only yesterday that we met the cartoon family. The Fox show debuted on December 17, 1989 and has aired over 700 episodes since. The Simpsons became the longest running prime-time animated series in 1997, surpassing The Flintstones. It wasn't until nearly 25 years into their run, however, that creator Matt Groening put one mystery about the Simpson family to bed: where they live. “Springfield was named after Springfield, Oregon,” Groening, 65, told Smithsonian magazine in 2012. Over the years Groening, who grew up in Portland, Oregon, kept the show’s location a secret because he didn’t “want to ruin it for people” who thought it might be in Ohio, or Massachusetts. "The only reason is that when I was a kid, the TV show Father Knows Best took place in the town of Springfield, and I was thrilled because I imagined that it was the town next to Portland, my hometown," Groening revealed. "When I grew up, I realized it was just a fictitious name. I also figured out that Springfield was one of the most common names for a city in the U.S. In anticipation of the success of the show, I thought, 'This will be cool; everyone will think it’s their Springfield.' And they do." [jwplayer 5iqXYi7X-zhNYySv2] Throughout its three-decade run there have been a lot of memorable performances and guest stars on The Simpsons — some of which you might not remember. In fact, the show has had hundreds of guest stars, leading it to set the Guinness World Record for “most guest stars featured in a TV series” in 2016. High profile celebrities like Tom Hanks and Justin Bieber are some of the biggest stars to be given the Simpson makeover — but do you remember when Patrick Stewart or Glenn Close were made into animated characters? What about Paul McCartney or Meryl Streep? There are too many guest stars to keep track of, but we do have a list of some of the biggest names that you might’ve forgotten over the years, like the late Johnny Cash or Michael Jackson. Fans tune in week after week to see what the OG family, which is made up of Homer (Dan Castellaneta), Marge (Julie Kavner), Bart (Nancy Cartwright), Lisa (Yeardley Smith) and Maggie, get into, but the guests who stop by Springfield are equally as loved. Keep scrolling to see which high-profile actors and musicians you might’ve missed on The Simpsons over the past 30 plus years. [podcast_block]

Credit: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

Kerry Washington

Washington is taking over Bart's classroom as Ms. Payton, nearly 10 years after the death of actress Marcia Wallace, who played Bart's teacher Mrs. Krabappel for 25 seasons. "She's a great teacher," the Scandal alum told Entertainment Weekly about her character, who will be a permanent addition to the long-running sitcom. "But like all the best teachers, she knows that her students have just as much to teach her as she has to teach them. And teaching Bart is a job filled with growth opportunities."

Credit: Arthur Mola/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

Anne Hathaway

The Princess Diaries actress has played not one, but two characters on the cartoon. First, she voiced Jenny, Bart’s schoolyard crush, in the 2009 episode “The Good, the Sad and the Drugly” — and reprised that role three years later in the season 24 premiere, “Moonshine River.”

In 2010, she was cast as Krusty the Clown’s Disneyesque Princess Penelope in “Once Upon a Time in Springfield.” The season 21 cameo won her an Emmy for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance.

Credit: Grant Pollard/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

Daniel Radcliffe

The Harry Potter star poked a little fun at Twilight when he voiced a teen vampire named Edmund on the 2010 Halloween episode, “Treehouse of Horror XXI.”

Credit: Image Press Agency/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

Zooey Deschanel

The New Girl actress appeared as Bart’s sometimes sweetheart Mary Spuckler in three episodes: season 19's "Apocalypse Cow" and season 24’s "Moonshine River" and "Love Is a Many Splintered Thing.”

Credit: MediaPunch/Shutterstock

Benedict Cumberbatch

In 2020, the Doctor Strange actor played a Morrissey-like pop singer named Quilloughby in the season 32 episode, “Panic on the Streets of Springfield.” Yes, that is Cumberbatch singing the Quilloughby banger “Everyone is Horrid Except Me (And Possibly You)” with the fake musician’s biggest fan, Lisa Simpson.

Seven years earlier, Cumberbatch made his Simpsons debut playing the U.K. Prime Minister and Harry Potter’s Severus Snape in the season 24 episode, “Love Is a Many Splintered Thing.”

Credit: Sara Jaye Weiss/Shutterstock

Sarah Michelle Gellar

The Buffy the Vampire Slayer alum showed up in the season 15 episode, ‘The Wandering Juvie’, as Gina Vendetti, a tween delinquent who was sent to the all-girls' jail for pushing Snow White off her pedestal at Disneyland. No surprise, she was Bart’s kind of young woman. Nine seasons later, Gellar returned to play Gina in the 2012 episode, “Moonshine River.”

Credit: Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

Paul McCartney

The British singer showed up as himself in the 1995 episode, “Lisa the Vegetarian.” His then-wife, Linda McCartney, also made an appearance during the episode as the two helped Lisa navigate her transformation to a vegetarian.

Credit: Matt Baron/Shutterstock

Lisa Kudrow

The Friends alum played Alex Whitney, a cool new girl in school who was very preppy, in the 1998 episode “Lard of the Dance.” She continually told Lisa to “DMY,” which meant “Don’t mess yourself.”

Credit: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

Betty White

The Golden Girls alum played herself in “Missionary Impossible” in 2000 and further cemented herself as a national treasure.

Credit: Suzanne Cordeiro/Shutterstock

Willie Nelson

The “You Were Always on My Mind” singer became an animated character in 2000’s “Behind the Laughter” episode where he sported a fraternity sweater and held beer steins in one scene. In the episode, fans learn that Nelson, 86, used to live in Springfield and his house was later turned into Krusty’s Clown College.

Credit: Joe Tabacca/AP/Shutterstock

Johnny Cash

In 1997, the “Walk the Line” singer voiced Coyote in the “El Viaje Misterioso De Nuestro Jomer” episode. His character was Homer’s spirit coyote who was mystical and a hallucination.

Credit: Gregory Pace/Shutterstock

Meryl Streep

The three-time Oscar-winning actress got the Simpsons treatment when she played Jessica Lovejoy, Reverend Lovejoy’s daughter, in season 6’s “Bart’s Girlfriend.” Bart quickly falls for Jessica in the episode and is surprised when he discovers that she is even more evil than he is.

Credit: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

Patrick Stewart

The Star Trek actor is no stranger to voice work having been on a few episodes of Family Guy and in animated movies like Gnomeo & Juliet and Ice Age: Continental Drift. His work on the Fox animated series came in 1995 when he voiced Number One, the head of the secret society the Stonecutters, which Homer hopes to join, in the "Home the Great" episode.

He later voiced “Vigorous Older Man” in the 2013 episode, “The Fabulous Faker Boy.”

Credit: Gregory Pace/Shutterstock

Dustin Hoffman

The Rain Man star appeared during season 2 of the Fox show. He played Mr. Bergstrom, Lisa’s substitute teacher in “Lisa’s Substitute,” who makes a big impact on her life and future on the show.

Credit: Anthony Harvey/Shutterstock

Mark Hamill

Another actor who played himself on the long-running series was Hamill. He showed up in 1998’s “Mayored to the Mob” and constantly tells Homer to “use the forks!”

Credit: Patrick Lewis/StarPix for Netflix/Shutterstock

Glenn Close

Close has had a long line of successes in her acting career, and a Simpsons veteran might be one of them. The Fatal Attraction star has appeared in 10 episodes of the comedy as Mona Simpson, Homer’s mom. She first appeared in the 1995 episode titled, “Mother Simpson.”

Credit: Rob Latour/Shutterstock

Winona Ryder

The Stranger Things star played Allison Taylor, rival to Lisa, in season 6’s “Lisa’s Rival.” In the episode, Allison comes off as smart or even smarter than Lisa and plays the saxophone just as well as her. They compete in a school diorama display, but both end up losing, which helps them become friends.

Credit: Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock

Susan Sarandon

The Thelma and Louise actress appeared in 1995’s “Homer vs. Patty and Selma” as Bart’s ballet teacher. Although the character didn’t have a name, she resembled the actress in her facial features.

Credit: Maria Laura Antonelli/AGF/Shutterstock

Michelle Pfeiffer

The Oscar-nominated actress arrived in Springfield in 1993’s “The Last Temptation of Homer” where she played Mindy Simmons. In the episode, Homer almost has an affair with Mindy, who is new at the power plant, and loves donuts, TV and napping. Basically, she’s Homer’s soulmate.

Credit: Spencer/Mediapunch/Shutterstock

John Updike

The Pulitzer Prize winner guest-starred as himself in “Insane Clown Poppy” in 2000.

Credit: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

Stephen King

In Season 12’s “Insane Clown Poppy,” the author played himself appearing at a book convention in Springfield where he opened up about writing a biography of Benjamin Franklin, because he didn't feel like writing horror at the moment.

Credit: Kip Rano/Shutterstock

Elizabeth Taylor

The Oscar winner famously voiced Maggie’s first word in “Lisa’s First Word” back in 1992. She then appeared on “Krusty Gets Kancelled” as herself in 1993.

Credit: Globe Photos/Mediapunch/Shutterstock

Michael Jackson

The “Thriller” singer wasn’t credited for his voice in “Stark Raving Dad,” but fans instantly recognized him as mental patient Leon Kompowski.