Maureen Murphy is the youngest child and daughter of Frank and Sue Murphy whom Frank always refers to as "princess". Maureen is normally a sweet little girl, though she often does bad things and causes problematic events, being smart enough to hide it. She is voiced by Debi Derryberry.
Biography
Maureen is the youngest of three children, three years younger than Bill. Mr. Holtenwasser tells her that he drove Sue to the hospital for her birth.
Maureen's closest friends are two neighbourhood boys, Ben and Kenny. She enjoys playing all kinds of dangerous, unsanitary, and poorly thought out games with them.
In F is For Halloween, Maureen finds it difficult to decide on a Halloween costume. She thinks the girl costumes are lame and Frank won't let her wear a boys costume. He does eventually allow her to dress as Mr. Coconut.
She has an interest in computers and is gifted in mathematics, though she is often discouraged by her school, Frank, and the Honeybee's from indulging in these activities because she is a girl. Once it's proven she got the highest mark of any girl on her math test, her parents let her sign up for computer club.
Personality
Although Maureen is shown as a sweet and innocent girl, she tends to be manipulative towards people. Her tomboyish personality comes to light frequently, especially when she decides to dress up in boy's costumes for Halloween.
Given that Maureen is the only daughter in the family and is known as "Daddy's little girl", it's obvious that she has the best relationship with her father, Frank, compared to her brothers. Though, on the other hand, Frank does not often notice her bad behaviour leading to her being defiant and putting herself in dangerous situations. Ultimately, it was Bill who had to teach her the consequences of these actions.
She often takes advantage of her older brother, Bill. Most notably in Bill Murphy's Day Off, where she repeatedly bosses him around and rubs salt in his wounds because she knows about his suspension.
Maureen is the closest with the family dog, Major. She tried to dress him up for Halloween, but he wouldn't cooperate. Major follows her as she goes after Bill in Bill Murphy's Day Off. The fireworks explosion causes the dog to run off, and in the next episode Maureen is distraught over his disappearance and is determined to find him.
Maureen doesn't get along well with many of her peers, especially other little girls, who tease her and call her ugly or boring. Ben and Ken seem to be the only kids her age she gets along with, who also happen to be outcasts (for entirely different reasons, mind you.)
Family and Relationships
Frank Murphy
Frank is Maureen's father. He see's her as his perfect little princess, which she uses to her advantage quite often. She is always getting into trouble, or picking on her brother Bill, which Frank never catches on to. In F is For Halloween, Frank tells Maureen he's taking her to trick or treat in a better neighbourhood. Maureen is crushed when she realizes he's lied to her, and is really looking for Sue. By the end of the episode, however, they apologize to one another and Frank tells her he'll make some cereal. Though Frank loves her dearly, he wants her to act more lady-like, and often disapproves of her tomboyish personality with rockets and computers. When Maureen suffered a severe black eye, he was in shock and demanded the nurse to see her without waiting line.
In Season 2, Frank eventually gets used to Maureen's personality and comes to accept her as an independent female, like Sue. Frank then says that Maureen can grow up to be anything or anyone she wants to, as long as she's not like Kevin.
Sue Murphy
Sue is Maureen's mother. Maureen finds most of the activities Sue enjoys to be boring, such as shopping, selling Plast-a-Ware, and macramé. Because of this, and the fact that Sue is more likely to discipline her, she gravitates more towards Frank in general. She may have inherited her mathematic abilities in part from her, as this was what Sue was studying in college before becoming pregnant with Kevin.
Kevin Murphy
Maureen seems to get along well with her oldest brother, Kevin. She enjoys hanging out in his bedroom and listening to him play guitar. She also seems to take after him in some ways, such as when she stole coins from a fountain at the mall. He even complied when she told him about Bill getting in trouble with Jimmy Fitzsimmons, despite the fact that he was with Claire at that moment. She does see her older brother as a bit of an idiot, however, and is doubtful he would be able to take care of her and Bill while their parents were away.
Bill Murphy
Bill and Maureen are close in age, and spend more time with each other than with the other family members. When Maureen is left under Bill's supervision, she takes advantage of this and refuses to listen to him. Though, she did learn her lesson about this in Saturday, Bloody Saturday when she got hurt after Bill had warned her. At home, Bill and Maureen fight and squabble often. She tried to protect Bill from Jimmy during their fight in Bill Murphy's Day Off, but later in that episode she also blackmails him with the threat of telling their parents he was suspended.
Trivia
- In one episode, some of Maureen's grunts and exclamations were recycled grunts from the video game Crash Tag Team Racing in which Debi Derryberry provided the voice of the character Coco Bandicoot.
- According to "Fight Night", Maureen has an exceptionally high I.Q. considering her high SAT score.
- She would be 52 today in 2017.
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