Simpsons Wiki
Register
Advertisement

Will somebody please think of the children!?
―Helen Lovejoy
Helen Lovejoy-0

Helen Lovejoy going downstairs to the basement to seduce Timothy.

Download-2

Helen Lovejoy leading the Investorettes.

Holy Rollers-0

Helen Lovejoy being a member of the Holy Rollers.

Lovejoy Family s29e05-0

The Lovejoy Family.

Helen Lovejoy (née Schwartzbaum)[1] is Reverend Timothy Lovejoy's judgmental and gossipy wife and the mother of Jessica Lovejoy. It is hinted that she is the godmother of Lisa and Bart Simpson. Though she can be rude at times, she is very kind to the people she loves and is almost always seen when we see the people of Springfield doing charity or community service. Helen can behave mean and gossipy and is part of a bowling team called The Holly Rollers with members Ned Flanders and Timothy Lovejoy Jr. and ex-member Maude Flanders (deceased) and (most likely) the leader of the Fleet-a-Pita club called the Investorettes with members Agnes Skinner, Luann Van Houten and ex-members Edna Krabappel (deceased), Maude Flanders (deceased) and Marge Simpson, whom the club kicked out in "The Twisted World Of Marge Simpson". Helen was often partnered with Maude Flanders as they protested against the "evils" in Springfield. Her first line was in "Life on The Fast Lane" and it was "Marge? Marge Simpson. You remember me, don't you? I'm Helen Lovejoy the gossipy wife of the Minister." Her catchphrase, "Won't somebody please think of the children?" is used quite often but sometimes, they replace the word "children" with a different word like in "Thanksgiving of Horror", she says "The Pilgrims! Won't somebody please think of the Pilgrims?". Also, in "Pulpit Friction", she says "Why won't somebody blame the children?".

Helen's most prominent season is in Season 8, appearing and having a role in every single episode, most notably, "The Twisted World Of Marge Simpson". Maggie Roswell, her voice actress, did have a role in every single episode that season.

Early life[]

Growing up in a little house on the prairie, where the only pastimes a young woman had were baling hay and fixing the hay baling machine, Helen fought off boredom by keeping herself up to date on the personal affairs of her neighbors. When a dashing young bible salesman from Springfield named Timothy Lovejoy showed up at her door, she found herself entranced by his Protestant good looks and his thrilling stories of the big city. By force of habit, Helen accidentally spread a rumor about herself and Timothy Lovejoy, and they were forced to marry.[2] Thankfully, it was just what they wanted.

In addition, Helen once attended a camp with Marge when she was 10. She was punished by having a fork stuck in her hand because she could not remember which out of 34 forks was an olive fork. It is hinted that she was punished in this manner many times. She used to sell cosmetics, but her husband asked her to quit because she was making more money than he was.

Appearance[]

Helen Lovejoy has large eyes with long lashes. She usually wears a pink sweater with a light blue shirt underneath that sticks out at her collar and makes a neat knot, a teal-colored long skirt and either plain black low-heeled shoes or shoes the same color as her skirt. She used to have brown hair, then changed it to red, and then, permanently gray. In some episodes her pink sweater is long-sleeved. In many winter episodes such as "Wedding for Disaster", it is revealed that during the winter, she wears a coat that is pink, long-sleeved and has a thick collar and also wears a necklace with something silver in the shape of a diamond. In "Moe Letter Blues" it is revealed that what she wears to bed is a light pink and purple gown and her brown cross necklace.

Personality[]

Helen is the wife of Reverend Timothy Lovejoy and the mother of Jessica Lovejoy. She is a fair-weathered, judgmental, moralistic person and the typical town gossip. She thinks she can win by finding out secrets, and people joining her alliance so that she won't reveal their secrets. She introduces herself as "the gossipy wife of the minister"; when she has nothing else to gossip about, she resorts to telling secrets about her own personal life. She is part of a group of local women known as the Springfield Investorettes, containing herself, Luann, Agnes and ex-members Marge, Maude and Edna, in which they sponsor and invest in companies and boxers.

Her moral convictions look to always defend the interests of the minors, which explains her famous catchphrase, delivered in times of civic crisis (moral or otherwise): "Will someone please think of the children?". Often unaware that the kids of Springfield actually like most of the stuff she deems unsuitable.

Helen is also openly conservative and was seen at the Republican Headquarters located at a haunting location.

In "Marge in Chains", despite stating that she will use her gossip for good instead of evil, she continues to spread gossip at the expense of the Simpson Family throughout the series. In the episode "The Frying Game" she is in the court that decides over Homer and Marge's fates after supposedly killing a valuable insect. In "The Fabulous Faker Boy", Helen goes out of her way to give a backhanded compliment to Bart to spite Lisa, It's also implied she is a drinker when she 'rewards' herself for causing the Simpsons trouble by picking up a huge case of wine. She is particularly vindictive towards Marge.

Although she is very religious and conservative, she is seen cheering when Seymour Skinner suggested that they should trade a giant check given to the school in a liquor store nearby, meaning she could be a hypocrite.[3]

Her closest friend was supposedly Maude Flanders and many think that is why she became more bitter after Season 11 when Maude passed on. This came in spite of the fact that her husband regarded the Flanders family to be annoying.

Marge-Helen conflict[]

Marge and Helen have a frenemy relationship. Helen is known to share gossip with Marge but spreads gossip about Marge as Helen is Lisa's godmother. This, however, is said during a Halloween special and is therefore considered non-canon, therefore it is unknown if this true. A possible reason why Marge dislikes Helen could be because Homer has said several times that he thinks that Helen is hot and attractive.

Hands across America

Helen seen with pink hair

Marriage[]

Helen and Timothy have a stronger marriage than many other Springfieldians (save for Ned and Maude, and probably Dr. Hibbert). Many couples turned to divorce (Kirk and Luann Van Houten[4]) or consistently argue, bear many kids, and have trouble with money (Cletus and Brandine Spuckler); however, Helen is somewhat patient of Timothy. Once Timothy spends more time on his own and slowly loses his mind, but Helen remains patient, however worried.[5] In "In Marge We Trust" we see the bravery it took Helen, who doesn't like showing vulnerability, to be able to swallow her pride, push through the awkwardness and ask her greatest rival, Marge Simpson, for help about her husband's mental health. This shows just how much Helen loves her husband. Helen once mentions her mother is going to visit them and Timothy makes an insult saying that after Helen's father died, her mother visits them too much. However, once when her daughter, Jessica Lovejoy was running down the field to shoot a soccer goal. Helen yelled? "Get it in, sweetie, and save our troubled marriage!"[6]

Non-Canon Appearances[]

Ssi 5 The contents of this article or section are considered to be non-canon and therefore may not have actually happened/existed.

"Treehouse of Horror VIII"[]

In Part 3, First Toil, Then the Grave, Helen Lovejoy can be seen gasping at the survival of Marge Simpson and also later, giving out candy.

"Treehouse of Horror X"[]

In Part 3, Life's a Glitch, then you Die, Helen Lovejoy is seen Drinking refreshments and talking to her husband at the millennium party.

"Treehouse of Horror XI"[]

In Part 3, Night of the Dolphin, Helen Lovejoy is seen sitting in the front row of the Town Hall meeting with her husband and they are both seen again when the people of Springfield tried to drive the Dolphins back to the ocean.

"Treehouse of Horror XIII"[]

In Part 2, The Fright to Creep and Scare Harms, Helen Lovejoy is seen in the crowd of people watching Future Homer be shot by Moe Syzlack.

"Treehouse of Horror XIV"[]

In Part 1, Reaper Madness, Homer Simpson wanted a better seat to the show so he killed people in front of him until he had the best seat. Unfortunately, Reverend Timothy Lovejoy Jr. is one of those people and we see Helen gasp in agony and reach down to mourn his death.

"Treehouse of Horror XV"[]

In Part 2, Four Beheading and a Funeral, we actually see a close up of just Helen Lovejoy and her husband wearing a very old fashioned clothing style. We see them gasping when the Chief of police is about to pull the lever to hang "The Muttonchop Murderer".

"Treehouse of Horror XVII"[]

In Part 3, The Day the Earth Looked Stupid, Helen Lovejoy can be seen with her husband in practically every scene where there is panic over what to do about the "aliens".

"Treehouse of Horror XVIII"[]

In Part 3, Heck House, Helen Lovejoy is seen with her husband as part of a crowd that is angry at the group of kids wrecking the town on Halloween.

"Treehouse of Horror XX"[]

In Part 2, Helen Lovejoy is seen as a zombie and soon it comes to the point where Marge Simpson has to shoot her and Marge says that she can't because Helen is Lisa and Bart's godmother but after a couple of seconds she comes tot he decision to shoot her and apologize in Hell.

"Treehouse of Horror XXIII"[]

In Part 1, The Greatest Story Ever Holed, Helen Lovejoy can be seen in the crowd of people watching the Simpsons house get sucked up by a black hole.

"Treehouse of Horror XXIV"[]

In the intro, Helen Lovejoy can be seen in the crowd of people running away from monsters.

"Treehouse of Horror XXVII"[]

In Part 1, Dry Hard, Helen Lovejoy can be seen with her husband in the crowd of people during the drought. Also, in Part 3, Moefinger, Helen Lovejoy is part of the angry mob and is seen being brutally killed or injured by Bart Simpson by being burned by a hot pan of sauce thrown by Bart.

"Treehouse of Horror XXVIII"[]

In Part 1, The Exor-sis, Helen Lovejoy can be seen saying, "She's a demon from hell! Also, generic cola? Really? Cocktail Fail." Then, Maggie (as a demon) levitates the fireplace poker and stabs her and the head as people watch with stunned expressions.

"Thanksgiving of Horror"[]

In Part 1, A-Gobble-Ypto, Helen Lovejoy is seen as the person beheading the Turkeys and saying a modified version of her famous line by saying "The Pilgrims! Won't somebody please think of the Pilgrims?".

Friends[]

Gallery[]

Image helen
The full image gallery for Helen Lovejoy may be viewed at Helen Lovejoy/Gallery.

Appearances[]

Note: Helen is mainly a background character. Episodes in which she has a role are bolded.

Joystick Video gameThe Simpsons: Tapped Out

Citations[]

Characters voiced by Maggie Roswell
Maude Flanders | Helen Lovejoy | Elizabeth Hoover | Luann Van Houten | Princess Kashmir | Mary Bailey | Shary Bobbins | Barbara Bush | Mona Simpson | Martha Quimby
Advertisement