Eleanor Abernathy

Eleanor Abernathy, known as the Crazy Cat Lady and voiced by Tress MacNeille, is a woman with the appearance and behavior of a stereotypical mentally ill person. She is an animal hoarder and is always surrounded by a large number of cats. In nearly every appearance she screams gibberish or throws live cats at passers-by. Kent Brockman revealed the Crazy Cat Lady’s true name, Eleanor Abernathy, during an interview in the episode “See Homer Run.”

Biography
She first appeared in the ninth-season episode "Girly Edition," in which she pelted Lisa with cats during Lisa's news segment at Kidz Newz. In the episode "I, (Annoyed Grunt)-Bot," the Simpsons' family cat Snowball II dies and after adopting two more short-lived cats, the Crazy Cat Lady appears and gives Lisa a cat that looks exactly like Snowball II. In the episode "Homer and Ned's Hail Mary Pass", the Cat Lady enjoys "brief moments of lucidity" after taking psychoactive medication. She abruptly resumes her usual bizarre behavior when Marge mentions that the "pills" are actually Reese’s Pieces.

Intelligence
Even without medication, she appears to be very intelligent. In an episode in which Mayor "Diamond" Joe Quimby is recalled, she runs for the mayor's office. During a candidate debate, she is asked what public-policy issues are important to her; unlike the other candidates (who act as stereotypical dishonest politicians), Abernathy discusses issues such as health care, economy, and public education in between her screams and gibberish (and a call for cats "in everyone's pants").

Past
In "Springfield Up," it is revealed that Eleanor earned an MD from Harvard Medical School and a JD from Yale Law School- both by age 24. In one scene, Eleanor is representing a client in open court and asks to be excused to deliver a baby. However, eight years later, she exhibits signs of alcoholism due to stress, and she has become very attached to her pet cat; she suggests that she might get another one. After an additional eight years, she has assumed her present appearance and behavior.