Homer Jay Simpson is the father of the Simpson family and the main character in The Simpsons. He is an overweight, lazy, and not too bright individual. His behaviour is often absurd, selfish, dangerous, clumsy, idiotic, and insensitive. Despite this, he has shown moments of great intellect, and can be a caring parent and husband at times. Over the years, he has evolved into an iconic symbol, recognized and understood by millions of misunderstood fathers across the globe.

Homer works as a low level safety inspector at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, in Sector 7G, although "working" in this case refers largely to dozing and eating doughnuts or not even going to work at all. He spends a great deal of his time at Moe's Tavern with his lifelong friends Barney, Carl, Lenny and bartender Moe. At home he can often be found sitting on the sofa mindlessly watching TV while snacking on food and drinking Duff.