Groening, Matt (1954- ), American cartoonist, creator of the comic strip "Life in Hell" and the cartoon family "The Simpsons." He was born in Portland, Oregon, and educated at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. Moving to Los Angeles in 1977 with the intention of becoming a writer, Groening instead began to record his reactions to the city and to life in a comic strip, "Life in Hell." The strip appeared for the first time in 1980 in the weekly Los Angeles Reader, of which he was then circulation manager. A year later, the comic went into syndication, appearing in 20 newspapers by 1983. Beginning with Love Is Hell (1984), several collections of his cartoon strips were published.

In 1987 Groening was asked to supply animated segments to appear between skits of television's "The Tracey Ullman Show"; for these, Groening created the Simpsons, a cartoon family that became so popular that the Fox Broadcasting Company gave them their own half-hour show, which premiered in early 1990. "The Simpsons," featuring the outspoken son Bart, was characterized as combining satire with consideration of serious issues. The show proved intensely popular, winning the 1990 Emmy Award for best animated series.