Allison Taylor

Allison Taylor is a student at Springfield Elementary who is one of Lisa Simpson’s classmates. Allison is just as smart as Lisa, if not even smarter, and is also a year younger (having skipped a grade). Also like Lisa, she too is a talented saxophone player.
==Personality==
In terms of personality, Allison is shown to be bright and intelligent. She is also an excellent saxophone player and has won enough trophies and awards to fill a room. She has proven to be as smart as, or perhaps even smarter than, Lisa, but in a diorama contest both girls easily lost to Ralph (due to Principal Skinner being a fan of Ralph's Star Wars figurine display). After the contest, both girls invite Ralph to play with them. She's also very friendly to others. Like Lisa, she isn't afraid to sometimes break the rules, as she was among the kids who broke curfew to watch "The Bloodening", though she was not among those caught by the police.
==History==
thumb|left|100px|Official Artwork
When Allison Taylor first comes to Springfield Elementary, Lisa is happy to have a friend as smart as her. 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, the other girls bully her instead of Lisa, 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 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 (Lisa hopes they will be the best).Lisa's Rival
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", where she has an actual role in those episodes.
==Friends?==
It appears that sometime after "Lisa's Rival", she and Lisa have an on-off friendship similar to Lisa and Janey's. She is usually seen hanging out with Janey, Valley Mercer, Sherri and Terri, or Alex Whitney (during her brief cameos). She is also usually seen among those laughing at Lisa whenever she is ridiculed. She was also part of the mob that initially wanted to kill Homer but ended up attacking the entire family after Homer caused the town to be trapped under a giant dome.
In addition to her underrated friendship with Lisa, her genius intellect and talent appear to be underrated as well, as she is rarely seen competing with Lisa or sharing a close friendship with her, in stark contrast to Lisa's various and wide achievements throughout the series. It isn't even known if she has actually succumbed to being the rest of the mindless majority of Springfield. It could be likely, as her recent appearances show her with the "popular" girls who aren't concerned about intellectual subjects.
This may be because, having seen the ridicule and ostracizing Lisa suffers from by promoting her activism and her penchant for pushing her opinions on an un-receptive audience, Allison prefers to keep a low-profile and socialize more with others, earning her the friendship that Lisa misses out on. Whether she still considers Lisa a true friend is unknown, as it has been shown in some episodes that even she gets annoyed sometimes at Lisa's actions.
==Behind the Laughter==
Allison was voiced by Winona Ryder in her guest appearance in "Lisa's Rival". In subsequent minor speaking roles, she was voiced by Maggie Roswell in "Lard of the Dance" and Pamela Hayden in later episodes.
She has appeared in different issues of The Simpsons Comics but is sometimes miscolored to make her look a bit like Jessica Lovejoy.
==Relationship==
===Lisa Simpson===
Allison and Lisa are both at the top of their class and are expert level players of the saxophone. She did show concern for Lisa when she was hyperventilating in her lunch bag (when her excuse was "I just like to smell my lunch"). After both Allison and Lisa lost the diorama contest they finally accepted themselves as equals and started a true friendship.
When Lisa was introducing Alex Whitney to her friends and they took off, Lisa thought that Allison and the others had ditched Lisa for Alex. When Lisa, Alex, Sherri, Terri, Janey and Allison were shopping for dresses for the school dance, when Lisa discovered that each of them had dates, Allison said "Don't worry Lisa, there's still plenty of time. You'll get a date", hinting that she was the only one who'd hope that Lisa would go to the dance.
===Mr. Taylor===
Mr. Taylor is Allison's father, and they seem to have a healthy relationship. In contrast with Bart and Lisa's relationship with Homer, Mr. Taylor and Allison don't argue or get into fights. They both seem to be smart and have a lot in common with each other. This is likely a contributing factor to Allison's superior intelligence.
===Ralph Wiggum===
Ralph Wiggum is friends with her. Ralph looks up to her and asks her for answers on a test. Also, Allison invited Ralph over to her house to play games at the end of the episode.
== Physical appearance ==
* Allison has long, auburn colored hair and normally wears a white top, red skirt, a gold necklace, and black flats.
** In "The Heartbroke Kid", Allison is seen on the school stairway with miscolored light brown hair, red top, and her skirt is a brighter red color.
** In "Holidays of Future Passed", Allison is age 37 and her physical appearance is relatively unchanged, but she is wearing lipstick, a low-cut top, and no longer wears her necklace (this episode is non-canon).
** In "Once Upon a Time in Springfield", Allison is dressed as a princess at a Krusty the Clown show and during Ms. Hoover's class, wearing a crown and a green dress.
* Allison's facial symmetry is extremely similar to that of Laura Powers and Ruth Powers. Though, presumably coincidental, it has been a subject of many fan-made works most of which depict her as being Ruth's long-lost Daughter.
**In "A Tree Grows in Springfield", she is seen walking alongside Ruth Powers at the fundraiser as a possible nod to those fan works.
==Appearances==
Note: Many of her appearances are brief background roles. Episodes where she has an actual role are in bold.
==Gallery==
==Citations==
es:Allison Taylor
fr:Allison Taylor
pl:Allison Taylor
pt:Allison Taylor
ru:Эллисон Тейлор
Category:Female characters
Category:Springfield Elementary School students
Category:Characters voiced by Pamela Hayden
Category:Children
Category:Recurring characters
Category:American Characters
Category:2nd Grade Students
Category:Citizens of Springfield
Category:Characters voiced by guest stars
Category:People that get bullied
Category:Lisa Simpson's Friends
Category:Nerds
Category:Taylor Family
Category:Brown haired Characters
Category:Characters who swap voices
Category:Season 6 appearances
Category:Christians
Category:Season 6 first appearances
Category:Ralph Wiggum's Friends
Category:Tapped Out Characters
Category:Jazz Musicians
Category:Females
Category:Daughters
Category:Lisa's enemies
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Category:Minor Characters
Category:Sherri and Terri's Friends