A gallery of 20 of the world’s most illustrious personalities, as skewered bySimpsonscreator Matt Groening
Ringo Starr
In the Season 2 episode "Brush with Greatness," the Beatles drummer is still opening fan mail from the group's heyday when he comes across a painting of himself made by a starstruck Marge 30 years earlier.TCFFC / The Simpsons / Fox
Richard Gere
In the Season 13 episode "She of Little Faith," Lisa experiences a crisis in spirituality, during which she discovers a Buddhist temple in Springfield, where she finds Lenny, Carl and Gere inside. She declares herself a Buddhist — and chooses to pay lip service to Christianity to placate her mother.TCFFC / The Simpsons / Fox
John Waters
In an effort to raise some extra cash, the family takes one of its heirlooms to an offbeat collectibles shop run by John, voiced by the director. Homer takes a liking to him until he discovers that John is gay. The Season 8 episode, "Homer's Phobia," earned an Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program.TCFFC / The Simpsons / Fox
Ronaldo
While refereeing one of Lisa's soccer games, Homer allows her to get away with two feigned fouls, until the Brazilian star tells him that she is a "flopper." Homer gives his daughter a yellow card, and when she rips it up, he red-cards her and throws her out of the game. The soccer sequences are a secondary plot line of the Season 18 episode "Marge Gamer," which details Marge's discovery of (and subsequent immersion in) a role-playing computer game.TCFFC / The Simpsons / Fox
Tony Hawk
In Season 14's "Barting Over," Bart sues his parents to be free of their guardianship and moves into a scary downtown loft — where, it turns out, the skateboarding star also has an apartment, though his contains a giant skate park and features performances by Blink-182.TCFFC / The Simpsons / Fox
The Who
After Springfield is split in two and discord breaks out between the two halves, the rock icons are enlisted to restore harmony. The episode (titled "A Tale of Two Springfields," airing in Season 12) includes a performance of "Won't Get Fooled Again."TCFFC / The Simpsons / Fox
Hugh Hefner; Placido Domingo
The Playboy founder appears in Season 4's "Krusty Gets Kancelled" — along with Bette Midler, Johnny Carson and others — as part of the lineup on a Krusty the Clown comeback special; the Spanish tenor appears in Season 19's "Homer of Seville."TCFFC / The Simpsons / Fox
Jay Leno
Krusty unwittingly finds success in the world of stand-up, relying on a new style in which he complains about commercialism. This Season 9 episode, "The Last Temptation of Krust," also includes voice-overs by comedians Bruce Baum, Steven Wright and Janeane Garofalo.TCFFC / The Simpsons / Fox
Michael Chabon, Jonathan Franzen, Tom Wolfe and Gore Vidal
After Lisa gets Moe published in American Poetry Perspectives, he is invited to attend a literary conference, where he joins numerous famed authors in a panel discussion. Airing in Season 18, this episode was titled "Moe'n'a Lisa."TCFFC / The Simpsons / Fox
Rupert Murdoch
Homer and his buddies attend the Super Bowl, where they end up in the skybox of the News Corp. (and Fox Network) boss. This Season 10 episode, "Sunday Cruddy Sunday," aired the same night the network broadcast Super Bowl XXXIII.TCFFC / The Simpsons / Fox
Matt Groening
The Simpsons creator cast himself in the Season 15 episode "My Big Fat Geek Wedding," in which he attends a Springfield sci-fi convention, signing autographs for fans of his other show, Futurama.TCFFC / The Simpsons / Fox
Tony Blair
The family travels across the pond and meets the former British Prime Minister, along with other notable Brits like J.K. Rowling, in the Season 15 episode "The Regina Monologues."TCFFC / The Simpsons / Fox
Julian Assange
Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny
Fox found true broadcasting synergy by combining its cartoon hit with another popular network show, The X-Files. In this Season 8 episode, "The Springfield Files," agents Mulder and Scully come to town to investigate Homer's claim that he met a glowing green alien in the woods.TCFFC / The Simpsons / Fox
50 Cent
In defiance of Marge, Bart sneaks out of the house to attend a rap concert where he meets the famed rapper, who encourages Bart to get involved in community service. This Season 16 episode was titled "Pranksta Rap."TCFFC / The Simpsons / Fox
Terry Bradshaw
In "Survival of the Fattest" (part of Season 17's entry in the annual Halloween feature "Treehouse of Horror"), Homer and his friends learn they are being hunted in The World Series of Manslaughter, a program hosted by the former Pittsburgh Steelers star.TCFFC / The Simpsons / Fox
Elton John
When the chandelier on his plane malfunctions, the pop star makes an emergency landing in Springfield, where the men of the town believe he has come to help Apu patch things up with his wife for Valentine's Day. Sir Elton closed the Season 10 episode (titled "I'm with Cupid") with a modified version of "Your Song."TCFFC / The Simpsons / Fox
Keith Richards and Mick Jagger
Season 14's "How I Spent My Strummer Vacation" sees Homer sign up for rock-'n'-roll fantasy camp, where he gets lessons in how to be a rock star from the two Rolling Stones greats, along with Elvis Costello, Lenny Kravitz and Tom Petty.TCFFC / The Simpsons / Fox
Kim Basinger and Alec Baldwin
At the beginning of the Season 10 episode "When You Dish Upon A Star," Homer befriends the two celebs while he and the family are vacationing at Lake Springfield. Though the couple, along with director Ron Howard and producer Brian Grazer (also playing themselves), embrace Homer as a true friend, he blows it when he reveals their secrets to the public.TCFFC / The Simpsons / Fox
Jeff Bezos and Mark Cuban
Determined to win over Springfield's basketball fans, Montgomery Burns decides to build a state-of-the-art sports arena. But his efforts are thwarted by Lisa, who wants to protect the last remaining bee colony in Springfield, which is located on the proposed stadium site. "The Burns and the Bees" aired in Season 20.TCFFC / The Simpsons / Fox
