From the Wiggums to chain-smoking aunt Patty: the real-life Groening family behind The Simpsons revealed in obituary of creator's mum
A newspaper tribute to Matt Groening's mother Margaret, who died aged 94, reads like a Who's Who of the cartoonist's famous TV creation
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.While the name Margaret Ruth Groening, who died at the end of April at the age of 94, might not ring immediate bells, her namesake Marge Simpson is one of the world’s most famous mothers.
Margaret was the mother of Matt Groening, the creator of hugely successful animated TV show, The Simpsons. And the obituary he wrote for her, which was published in The Oregonian this week, gave a number of hints as to the derivation for the names of characters on the show.
When he came to first pitch the programme in 1987, Matt says he drew upon his “idyllic” upbringing for inspiration.
Click here or on "View Images" for a gallery of Simpsons characters and their inspirations
“I basically drew my own family,” he told the Smithsonian magazine last year. “My father’s name is Homer. My mother’s name is Margaret. I have a sister Lisa and another sister Maggie, so I drew all of them. I was going to name the main character Matt, but I didn’t think it would go over well in a pitch meeting, so I changed the name to Bart.”
Matt has said he named the Simpson’s hometown of Springfield, after Springfield, Oregon (he grew up in Portland, Oregon) and even lived on Evergreen Terrace, the address of the TV family.
Before anyone gets too carried away with the similarities, however, Margaret was firm that they were similar in name alone.
“Well, we’re not alter egos,” Margaret was quoted as saying. “It’s just the family names.”
Obituary: Margaret Ruth Groening, 94, Born 23 March 1919 died 22 April 2013:
"Born Margaret Wiggum on March 23, 1919, in Chisolm, Minnesota, Margaret was 94 years old. Margaret's parents, Matt and Ingeborg Wiggum, met on the boat coming to America from Norway. They settled in Everett, Washington, where the paper mill "smelled like money," and Matt worked as a machinist. As high school valedictorian and Miss Everett, Margaret's highest honour was being named May Queen of Linfield College. She graduated from Linfield in 1941 and married classmate Homer Groening, whom she chose because he made her laugh the most. Margaret taught high school English before starting a family, and her love of language was apparent in the many Double-Crostics she completed (in ink). Margaret and Homer supported the Oregon Symphony, the Portland Trail Blazers and many local yarn shops (Margaret was a talented needlework artist). Besides Homer, Margaret was preceded in death by her oldest daughter, Patty, who died in January, 2013. She is survived by her brother, Arnold; her children, Mark, Matt, Lisa and Maggie; eight grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. The family thanks the wonderful caregivers from Visiting Angels and the hospice nurses from Housecall Providers. Special appreciation also goes to loyal friend, Grace Clark."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments