Béatrice Picard, the French-Canadian actress whose voice became iconic as Marge Simpson for generations of Quebec The Simpsons fans, has died at 96.
According to The Wrap, her family confirmed her passing on Tuesday, December 9, in a statement shared by Montreal’s Théâtre Duceppe, where Picard had been a beloved presence onstage for decades.
In a message shared on Facebook, Picard’s children — François, Stéphane, Sylvain, and Frédéric — announced her passing and reflected on her lifelong devotion to her craft.
“Throughout her life, Béatrice was able to combine her family life with her passion for the performing arts and the causes that were dear to her,” they wrote, adding that she continued thinking about her audience “until the very end.”
Picard was best known internationally as the voice of Marge Simpson in the Quebec French dub of The Simpsons, a role she held for 33 years. She started voicing Marge early in the show’s run and continued through its first 34 seasons, also returning for The Simpsons Movie in 2007.
While Julie Kavner voices Marge in the original English version, Picard’s take on the character became just as iconic for French-speaking fans across Canada.
Her career, though, stretched far beyond the world of Springfield. Picard was a pioneer of Quebec television long before The Simpsons became a cultural fixture.
Early in her career, she starred in Le survenant, one of the first French-Canadian télé-romans, where she played Angelina Desmarais. She later embraced comedy in beloved series like Cré Basil and Symphorien, helping define the tone of Quebec TV humor.
Picard also stayed active on stage well into her later years, performing in more than 40 productions at Théâtre Duceppe alone. Her theater résumé included French-language productions of classics such as Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Death of a Salesman.
In 2017, she reached a new generation of filmgoers with Marguerite, a short film written and directed by Marianne Farley. The project earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Live Action Short Film and featured Picard as an elderly woman confronting unexpected emotional truths after moving into an elder care home.
