Allison Taylor

Allison Taylor is a student at Springfield Elementary. Allison is as smart as (or smarter than) Lisa, younger (having skipped a grade), and, like Lisa, a young master of the saxophone.

Role on The Simpsons
When Allison Taylor first comes to Springfield Elementary, Lisa is happy to have a friend as brilliant as she, but eventually Lisa becomes jealous of having a true rival in school. Regardless, Lisa tries to be her friend. To Lisa's chagrin, Allison wins first chair saxophone in the school band, Ralph starts asking her for answers, and Allison's father thinks Lisa is juvenile in comparison.Tensions climax during Springfield Elementary's annual "Diorama-rama" competition. Allison makes a diorama of The Telltale Heart, by Edgar Allan Poe, showing the protagonist going insane while a section of the floor "beats" mechanically. With Bart's help and prodding, Lisa sabotages Allison's entry by switching Allison's diorama with one containing a cow's bloody heart. When Principal Skinner sees the result, he criticizes the diorama and questions Allison's overall qualifications. Lisa, overcome with guilt, confesses to the switch. However, Lisa and Allison's true diorama still lose the competition to Ralph Wiggum, whose diorama consists of a box of Star Wars action figures still in their packaging, objects of sentimental value to Principal Skinner. In the end, Lisa and Allison put aside their differences and become friends.

Allison can be later seen as a background character in many episodes revolving around the Springfield children, particularly Lard of the Dance, Wild Barts Can't Be Broken, Last Tap Dance in Springfield, and Little Orphan Millie. It appears that sometime after "Lisa's Rival", she and Lisa have an on-off friendship (similar to Lisa's and Janey's), as she can commonly been seen among those laughing at Lisa whenever she is ridiculed.

Behind the Laughter
Originally voiced by Winona Ryder, Allison Taylor has subsequently had a few small speaking parts, with her voice provided by Pamela Hayden.

She has appeared in different issues of The Simpsons Comics but is sometimes mis-colored to make her look a bit like Jessica Lovejoy.

Appearances


Allison Taylor