Matt Groening, the creator of "The Simpsons", did not have much interest in academics; he was truly driven towards the arts. Although he always did well in school, he found himself extremely bored. In order to keep himself amused, he would draw during class. In fact, he got so good at drawing that he could sketch without looking, so that the teacher would think he was paying attention. Matt found his true inspiration in the work of other artists whose drawings combined art with storytelling.

Matt’s teachers and parents suggested that he go to college and find a solid profession. He found only one teacher that truly inspired him and that was his first grade teacher Elizabeth Hoover, whom he later named a character on "The Simpsons" after. Matt was surprised to find out many years after leaving school that Mrs. Hoover had saved the paintings that Matt did in class.

Shortly after graduating, Matt moved to L.A. It was there that he created a comic strip called "Life in Hell" which featured in the Los Angeles Reader.

The comic strip caught the eye of Hollywood writer-producer James Brooks, who wanted Matt to adapt his characters for a series of short animated skits for television. Matt, fearing the loss of ownership rights, decided to create something new and came up with a cartoon family called "The Simpsons."

Calling on all of his creative talents, Matt designed the five members of "The Simpson" family in only 15 minutes.

The popularity of "The Simpsons" soon soared. After three seasons the sketch was developed into half-hour prime time shows. Matt said “Nobody thought The Simpsons was going to be a big hit, it sneaked up on everybody.”

"The Simpsons" has taken the world by storm and has won dozens of awards since its debut. Time magazine named it the 20th century’s best television series and in January 2000 the Simpsons family was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Today, Matt Groening serves at "The Simpsons" as an executive producer and creative consultant. He exceeded his own expectations when he challenged his creativity all those years ago to produce a dysfunctional family cartoon that we can all relate to!


We find ourselves at our creative best when we are challenged to overcome limitations.