'The Simpsons:' 21 Great Guest Stars

01 of 21

Lady Gaga

THE CHARACTER Lady Gaga (from ''Lisa Goes Gaga,'' 2012)

When Lisa falls into a funk, the pop queen and her egg-bearing mantourage breeze into town to cheer up the middle Simpson. It goes about as smoothly as a meat dress at a PETA benefit, with Lisa reducing Gaga to tiny diamond tears before realizing that the megastar — who tore through 18 animated outfits in 23 or so minutes — might be on to something with her spiel about self-esteem. Say it with us now: You're on the right track, Lisa, you were born this way! —Lanford Beard

02 of 21

Bryan Cranston

THE CHARACTER Stradivarius Cain (from ''The Spy Who Learned Me,'' 2012)

Cranston summons his inner suavity as a James Bond-esque spy-slash-Lothario who comes to life in Homer's concussed head and dispenses tips on how to get out of the doghouse with Marge. An unexpected turn for an actor who's better known for lighting a fire in a meth cookery than one in a lady's heart. —Lanford Beard

03 of 21

Anne Hathaway

THE CHARACTERS Jenny (from ''The Good, the Sad and the Drugly,'' 2009) and Princess Penelope (pictured, from ''Once Upon a Time in Springfield,'' 2010)

In less than a year, the Oscar-nominated actress managed to both tame the prankish Bart Simpson and woo the greasepaint-encrusted heart of his idol, Krusty the Clown. In the latter episode, the show's 450th, she adopts an endearing Lawng Island accent and employs her classically-trained singing chops to play the prickly Punchinello's studio-enforced co-host and eventual fiancée. No word on who'd get Mr. Teeny in a divorce. —Keith Staskiewicz

04 of 21

Ricky Gervais

THE CHARACTER Charles (from ''Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife,'' 2006)

Gervais (who became the first guest star to get a writing credit) played a stuttering, awkward, tie-fidgeting British fellow who makes bad jokes (hmm, where'd they come up with that idea?). Marge went to live with him in a Wife Swap-type deal, and naturally, he fell in love with her, but his British ''yumah'' and ''spot-on'' impersonation of Donald Trump failed to win her over. We kinda liked him, though. —Mike Bruno

05 of 21

Alec Baldwin

THE CHARACTER Caleb Thorn (from ''Bonfire of the Manatees,'' 2007)

Enraged by Homer's ill-advised foray into adult-film production (''Lemony Lickit: A Series of Horny Events''), Marge storms off...and finds solace in the arms of Dr. Thorn, a marine biologist dedicated to the protection of manatees. Marge, of course, ends up back in Homer's doughy embrace, but not before she's subjected to lotsa hilarious sensitive-guy blather — which Baldwin delivers with much briny brio. —Wook Kim

06 of 21

Meryl Streep

THE CHARACTER Jessica Lovejoy (from ''Bart's Girlfriend,'' 1994)

One of Springfield's all-time best hell raisers. Rev. Lovejoy's seemingly angelic daughter returned from boarding school and won Bart's heart, but soon revealed herself to be a naughty little vixen when she stole the church collection plate and let Bart take the fall: ''If you tell, no one will believe you,'' Oscar winner Streep memorably cooed. ''Remember, I'm the sweet, perfect minister's daughter, and you're just yellow trash.'' —Mike Bruno

07 of 21

Dustin Hoffman

THE CHARACTER Mr. Bergstrom (from ''Lisa's Substitute,'' 1991)

Along with Bleeding Gums Murphy, this substitute teacher was probably Lisa's favorite father figure outside of (or perhaps including) her real dad. Also: Best. Jewish cowboy. Ever. —Mike Bruno

08 of 21

Winona Ryder

THE CHARCTER Alison Taylor (from ''Lisa's Rival,'' 1994)

The super-smart new girl in class sent Lisa into hyperventilation fits, jeopardizing her role as teacher's pet. Both girls got shown up at Springfield Elementary's ''Diorama-rama'' competition, though, by Ralph's sweet collection of Star Wars action figures, still in their original display boxes. —Mike Bruno

09 of 21

Glenn Close

THE CHARACTER Mother Simpson (from ''Mother Simpson,'' 1995)

Who'd begrudge Homer another visit from his mom? Especially when the '95 one was so entertaining: She popped up in Springfield after years of Homer thinking she was dead and revealed a big secret — she had been a fugitive on the run since the '60s, when she and a group of hippies used a Spiro Agnew alarm clock to detonate an antibiotic bomb in Mr. Burns' germ warfare lab. D'oh! —Mike Bruno

10 of 21

Harvey Fierstein

THE CHARACTER Karl (from ''Simpson and Delilah,'' 1990)

Homer's assistant was the only man who ever had a crush on him, and the only human (other than Marge) who still believed in him after his Dimoxinil-generated hair fell out. —Mike Bruno

11 of 21

Jack Black

THE CHARACTER Milo (from ''Husbands and Knives,'' 2008)

Wolverine, Philip K. Dick, and Galactus are all name-checked in the first five minutes of this geek-tastic episode, in which Black plays the impossibly cool — and kid-friendly — owner of Springfield's newest comic-book store. (''These books are meant to be read and enjoyed — not hoarded and then sold when you get divorced!'') Bonus vocal contributions come in the form of fanboy gods Alan Moore, Art Speigelman, and Dan Clowes (a.k.a., the League of Extraordinary Freelancers). —Wook Kim

12 of 21

Ellen Page

THE CHARACTER: Alaska Nebraska (from ''Waverly Hills 9-0-2-1-D'oh,'' 2009)

Page plays against her persona of droll indie icon/Cisco salesperson as a Hannah Montana-esque tween-queen — with hits like ''Touch a Star'' and ''Make it Yours (The Star Song)'' — whom Lisa seeks out in a hopeless scheme to achieve elementary school popularity. Imbued by the Juno actress with a blasé cruelty, the stately named singer is so deliciously shallow that she even lip-synchs her inspirational speeches. —KS

13 of 21

Michelle Pfeiffer

THE CHARACTER Mindy Simmons (from ''The Last Temptation of Homer,'' 1993)

Homer knew he was in trouble after meeting a new female coworker whose idea of heaven was eating, drinking beer, and watching TV. They both got sent to a convention in Capital City, and after ordering a room service smorgasbord, Homer actually gave Mindy a little smooch. In the end, though, their brief encounter just proved how much he loved Marge, whom he called to keep him company in his hotel room. —Mike Bruno

14 of 21

Lisa Kudrow

THE CHARACTER Alex (from ''Lard of the Dance,'' 1998)

We loved the vapid, Clueless-like, credit-card wielding Alex, who joined Lisa's class and used her ''maturity'' to befriend all the popular kids (including, apparently, those creepy pink twins — who knew they were cool?). Highlight: Lisa got Alex to lighten up by pelting her with a bacon-filled grease ball at a school dance (it's a long story). —Mike Bruno

15 of 21

Marisa Tomei

THE CHARACTER Sara Sloane (from ''A Star Is Born Again,'' 2003)

This was actually kind of a lame episode, ripping off the sappy Julia Roberts romantic comedy Notting Hill with movie star Sarah falling for Leftorium store-owner Ned. But nearest we can remember, this is the closest ol' Steady Neddy ever came to actually getting some (even when Maude was alive), so Sarah is welcome back any time. —Mike Bruno

16 of 21

Neil Gaiman

THE CHARACTER: Neil Gaiman (from ''The Book Job,'' 2011)

A stylized episode that sent up the children's fantasy book genre as well as the Ocean's Eleven heist flicks (even including a guest spot by Andy Garcia), ''The Book Job'' featured a sharp guest spot from author Neil Gaiman, who joined forces with Homer and Bart as they tried to get rich by penning a tween novel by committee, The Troll Twins of Underbridge Academy. Gaimin may have started off as the crew's food fetcher, but after a little scheming and flash-drive switcherooery, he ends up writing a new chapter of literary victory. —Dan Snierson

17 of 21

Sara Gilbert

THE CHARACTER Laura Powers (from ''New Kid on the Block,'' 1992)

Any girl who can get Bart this upset (see Meryl Streep's Jessica Lovejoy later) is worth revisiting: Poor Bart had such a crush on Laura, his new neighbor's daughter, that he dreamt she literally ripped his heart out. Bart's deviousness won in the end, though, and they shared a romantic prank call to Moe in which Laura asked for ''Ms. Tinkle. First name, Ivana.'' —Mike Bruno

18 of 21

Mandy Patinkin

THE CHARACTER Hugh St. John Alastair Parkerfield (from ''Lisa's Wedding,'' 1995)

The Princess Bride star could reprise his role in a second movie as Lisa's future fiancé. We're thinking a flash-forward scene where Homer has a score to settle with the pompous Brit for his refusal to wear those adorable piggy cufflinks at the wedding: ''Hello, my name is Homer Simpson. You dissed my piggies. Prepare to die.'' —Mike Bruno

19 of 21

John Waters

THE CHARACTER John (from ''Homer's Phobia,'' 1997)

Homer loved this spirited owner of a kitschy collectibles shop — until he learned that he is (gasp!) gay. Things reached a breaking point when he caught Bart dancing in drag to the ''Shoop Shoop'' song — but John ultimately taught Homey a lesson in tolerance after saving him from a herd of angry reindeer with a Japanese Santa robot. —Mike Bruno

20 of 21

Beverly D'Angelo

THE CHARACTER Lurlene Lumpkin (from ''Colonel Homer,'' 1992)

Country singer Lurlene — who fell for ''Colonel Homer'' in his sexy white cowboy suit (made of space-age fabric, specially designed for Elvis) — sparked one of the best Simpsons exchanges ever: ''Oh, Homer, you're just a big sack of sugar,'' she giggled. His reply: ''Hey!...You did say sugar, right?'' —Mike Bruno

21 of 21

Kelsey Grammer and David Hyde Pierce

THE CHARACTERS Sideshow Bob and his brother Cecil

How did they even make a first Simpsons movie without Sideshow Bob? A sequel reuniting the evil megapode with his even more evil brother Cecil would be a real treat for anyone who can't get enough of Grammer and Pierce's pretentious, pseudo-intellectual banter — in animated form. —Mike Bruno