Lois Griffin is a character from the
animated television series
Family GuyFamily Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
. She is voiced by writer
Alex BorsteinAlexandrea "Alex" Borstein is an American actress, singer, voice actress, writer and comedian. She is best known for her long-running role as Lois Griffin on the animated television series Family Guy, and as a cast member on the sketch comedy series MADtv.A native of Highland Park, Illinois,...
and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the family in the 15-minute short on December 20, 1998. Lois was created and designed by series creator
Seth MacFarlaneSeth Woodbury MacFarlane is an American animator, writer, comedian, producer, actor, singer, voice actor, and director best known for creating the animated sitcoms Family Guy, American Dad! and The Cleveland Show, for which he also voices many of the shows' various characters.A native of Kent,...
. MacFarlane was asked to pitch a pilot to the
Fox Broadcasting CompanyFox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
based on
Larry and Steve, a short made by MacFarlane which featured a middle-aged character named Larry and an intellectual dog, Steve. After the pilot was given the green light, the Griffin family appeared on the episode "
Death Has a Shadow"Death Has a Shadow" is the first episode of the animated series Family Guy. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States after Super Bowl XXXIII on January 31, 1999. The episode is based on series creator Seth MacFarlane's original pitch to Fox, The Life of Larry, and is a remake of...
".
Lois is the mother of the Griffin family. With her husband
PeterPeter Griffin is a fictional character and the protagonist of the animated comedy series Family Guy and the patriarch of the Griffin family. He is voiced by cartoonist Seth MacFarlane and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the family in the 15-minute short on December 20, 1998....
, she has had three children:
MegMeg Griffin is a character from the animated television series Family Guy. She is the eldest child of Lois and Peter and elder sister of Chris and Stewie. Meg is considered as the black sheep of the series due to the lack of attention she receives....
,
ChrisChris Griffin is a character from the animated television series Family Guy. He is the son and middle child of Peter and Lois Griffin, brother of Stewie and Meg Griffin. Chris is voiced by Seth Green.-Personality:...
, and
StewieStewie Griffin is a fictional character from the animated television series Family Guy. Once obsessed with world domination and matricide, Stewie is the youngest child of Peter and Lois Griffin, and the brother of Chris and Meg....
. Lois is often portrayed as a stereotypical television mother, despite her admitted drug use, meth addiction, prior gambling addiction and obvious
kleptomaniaKleptomania is an irresistible urge to steal items of trivial value. People with this disorder are compelled to steal things, generally, but not limited to, objects of little or no significant value, such as pens, paper clips, paper and tape...
. She has appeared in other media relating to
Family Guy—including a video game, commercials and books—and inspired an entire line of merchandise. Lois's distinctive New York accent originated from a character in a stage show that Alex Borstein had performed in, which was largely inspired by a relative who grew up in Long Island,
New YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
Role in Family Guy
Lois Griffin was born to affluent
WASPWhite Anglo-Saxon Protestant or WASP is an informal term, often derogatory or disparaging, for a closed group of high-status Americans mostly of British Protestant ancestry. The group supposedly wields disproportionate financial and social power. When it appears in writing, it is usually used to...
parents, Carter and Barbara Pewterschmidt. It is revealed in the episode "
Family Goy"Family Goy" is the second episode of the eighth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on October 4, 2009. The episode features Irish Catholic Peter after his wife, Lois, discovers that her mother is Jewish, and begins her struggle to adapt...
" that her mother is actually a Holocaust survivor who concealed her Judaism,
retconRetroactive continuity is the alteration of previously established facts in a fictional work. Retcons are done for many reasons, including the accommodation of sequels or further derivative works in a series, wherein newer authors or creators want to revise the in-story history to allow a course...
ing her apparently Jewish
Long IslandLong Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
and New York accent, even though she was raised Christian. Lois is the wife of
Peter GriffinPeter Griffin is a fictional character and the protagonist of the animated comedy series Family Guy and the patriarch of the Griffin family. He is voiced by cartoonist Seth MacFarlane and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the family in the 15-minute short on December 20, 1998....
and the mother of
MegMeg Griffin is a character from the animated television series Family Guy. She is the eldest child of Lois and Peter and elder sister of Chris and Stewie. Meg is considered as the black sheep of the series due to the lack of attention she receives....
,
ChrisChris Griffin is a character from the animated television series Family Guy. He is the son and middle child of Peter and Lois Griffin, brother of Stewie and Meg Griffin. Chris is voiced by Seth Green.-Personality:...
and
StewieStewie Griffin is a fictional character from the animated television series Family Guy. Once obsessed with world domination and matricide, Stewie is the youngest child of Peter and Lois Griffin, and the brother of Chris and Meg....
Griffin. Lois and the rest of the Griffins live in the fictional town of Quahog, Rhode Island which is modeled after
Cranston, Rhode IslandCranston, once known as Pawtuxet, is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. With a population of 80,387 at the 2010 census, it is the third largest city in the state. The center of population of Rhode Island is located in Cranston...
. Lois primarily works as a
housewifeHousewife is a term used to describe a married woman with household responsibilities who is not employed outside the home. Merriam Webster describes a housewife as a married woman who is in charge of her household...
throughout the series, though she did give piano lessons in early episodes of the series. Lois has also had various jobs in single episodes such as in "
FOX-y Lady"FOX-y Lady" is the tenth episode of the seventh season of the animated television series Family Guy. It premiered on Fox in the United States on March 22, 2009. The episode is centered around housewife Lois Griffin's employment at Fox News Channel, despite the warnings of anthropomorphic dog Brian...
", were she becomes the new reporter for
Fox News ChannelFox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
and in "It Takes a Village Idiot, and I Married One", Lois is elected the mayor of Quahog.
Family Guy uses a
floating timelineA Floating timeline is a device used in fiction, particularly in comics and animation, to explain why characters age little or not at all over a period of time - despite real-world markers like notable events, people and technology appearing in the works and correlating with the real world.A...
in which the characters do not age much, so the show is always assumed to be set in the current year. However, several of the characters, such as
Meg GriffinMeg Griffin is a character from the animated television series Family Guy. She is the eldest child of Lois and Peter and elder sister of Chris and Stewie. Meg is considered as the black sheep of the series due to the lack of attention she receives....
, have aged two to three years since the show's
pilot episode"Death Has a Shadow" is the first episode of the animated series Family Guy. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States after Super Bowl XXXIII on January 31, 1999. The episode is based on series creator Seth MacFarlane's original pitch to Fox, The Life of Larry, and is a remake of...
, while others, such as
StewieStewie Griffin is a fictional character from the animated television series Family Guy. Once obsessed with world domination and matricide, Stewie is the youngest child of Peter and Lois Griffin, and the brother of Chris and Meg....
, have remained the same age. In several episodes, events have been linked to specific times, although this timeline has been contradicted in subsequent episodes.
Creation
When he was still in college,
Family Guy creator
Seth MacFarlaneSeth Woodbury MacFarlane is an American animator, writer, comedian, producer, actor, singer, voice actor, and director best known for creating the animated sitcoms Family Guy, American Dad! and The Cleveland Show, for which he also voices many of the shows' various characters.A native of Kent,...
created a cartoon short called
The Life of Larry. The short centered around a middle-aged man named Larry and his anthropomorphic dog Steve. He made a sequel called
Larry & Steve, which
Cartoon NetworkCartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
broadcast in 1997. In 1999, MacFarlane was working for Hanna-Barbara Studios, writing for shows such as
Johnny BravoJohnny Bravo is an American animated television series created by Van Partible for Cartoon Network. The series stars a muscular beefcake young man named Johnny Bravo who dons a pompadour hairstyle and an Elvis Presley-like voice and has a forward, woman-chasing personality...
,
Dexter's LaboratoryDexter's Laboratory is an American animated television series created by Genndy Tartakovsky and produced by Cartoon Network Studios . The show is about a boy named Dexter who has an enormous secret laboratory filled with an endless collection of his inventions...
, and
Cow and ChickenCow and Chicken is an American animated series, created by David Feiss. The series shows the surreal adventures of a cow, named Cow, and her chicken brother, named Chicken. They are often antagonized by "The Red Guy", who poses as various characters to scam or hurt them...
. The short caught the eye of
20th Century FoxTwentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
representatives, who asked him to create a TV series revolving around the characters. MacFarlane received a US$50,000 budget to develop a pilot for the show, which was about one twentieth of what most pilots cost. MacFarlane claims to have drawn inspiration from several sitcoms, namely
The SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
and
All in the FamilyAll in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...
. Several premises were also carried over from several 1980s Saturday morning cartoons he watched as a child, namely
The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang, and
Rubik, the Amazing CubeRubik, the Amazing Cube was a Saturday morning cartoon that aired from 10 September 1983–1 September 1984 in the United States, produced by Ruby-Spears Productions. The program, broadcast as part of The Pac-Man/Rubik, the Amazing Cube Hour block on ABC, featured a magic Rubik’s Cube named Rubik...
.
In three months, MacFarlane created the Griffin family and developed a pilot for the show he called
Family Guy. Brian's character was largely based on Steve from the
Larry and Steve cartoon, with Larry serving as the primary basis of the Peter character. The character's personality was also partially inspired by a friend of his father who rudely fell asleep while watching the 1993 film
PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia is a 1993 American drama film that was one of the first mainstream Hollywood films to acknowledge HIV/AIDS, homosexuality and homophobia. It was written by Ron Nyswaner and directed by Jonathan Demme. The film stars Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington...
. The network executives were impressed with the pilot and ordered thirteen episodes, giving MacFarlane a 2 million dollar per-season contract.
Voice
Lois Griffin is voiced by
producerThe primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
and staff writer,
Alex BorsteinAlexandrea "Alex" Borstein is an American actress, singer, voice actress, writer and comedian. She is best known for her long-running role as Lois Griffin on the animated television series Family Guy, and as a cast member on the sketch comedy series MADtv.A native of Highland Park, Illinois,...
, who also voices recurring characters such as
AsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
n reporter Tricia Takanawa, Loretta Brown and Lois' mother Barbara Pewterschmidt. Borstein has been part of the main voice cast from the beginning of the series including the pilot, as well she has been voicing Lois from the start.
At the time
Family Guy was being developed, Borstein was working in the
sketch comedyA sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
,
MADtvMADtv is an American sketch comedy television series. It licensed the name and logo of Mad, but otherwise had no connection with the humor magazine outside the animated Spy vs. Spy and Don Martin cartoon shorts and images of Alfred E. Neuman that the show featured during the late 1990s. Its first...
. She was asked to audition by a member of the MADtv staff who was helping MacFarlane develop the show. She had not met MacFarlane or seen any artwork and said it was "really sight unseen". At the time, she was doing a stage show in
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, in which she played a redhead mother, whose voice she had based on one of her cousins from Rhode Island. She took the voice of the character to the set and use it for Lois. The voice was originally slower, when MacFarlane heard it, he asked her to make it faster and higher. Borstein has noted that the voice of Lois has been changing from the slower original voice to the quicker up tempo voice of the present episodes.
There have been occasions were Borstein does not voice Lois, such as in the episode "
Road to the Multiverse"Road to the Multiverse" is the first episode of the eighth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy. Directed by Greg Colton and written by Wellesley Wild, the episode originally aired on Fox in the United States on September 27, 2009...
", where Lois is not voiced by Borstein in a scene and instead was voiced by Japanese actress Kei Ogawa, who was required for a scene where everything in the world was Japanese (she also did the voice of Meg for the scene).
Personality
Lois's personality has evolved throughout the episodes. Lois is commonly the voice of reason to Peter's shenanigans. But in some episodes she can act darker than normal and sometimes shows a taste for sadomasochism. In the episode "
The Son Also Draws"The Son Also Draws" is the sixth episode of the first season of the animated comedy series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on May 9, 1999. The episode follows Chris as he is ejected from the Youth Scouts, and his father Peter drives the family to Scout...
", Lois showed a
gamblingGambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
addiction when the family went to an
IndianNative Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
casinoIn modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
and lost the family car. In the episode "
Model Misbehavior", Lois becomes a bulimic model. "
Stuck Together, Torn Apart" shows Peter and Lois splitting up because of Peter's jealousy, only to discover that Lois has the same character flaw of jealousy and the two decide to live with their mutually jealous nature. She has also hinted at or been shown using drugs. In the most recent episodes, Lois has been known to have more of a cold-hearted personality, such as laughing at people during serious moments, usually towards Brian or Meg.
Lois is somewhat promiscuous: she had an extramarital affair with former President
Bill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
, which resulted in a temporary separation from Peter, although the relationship was later rekindled after Peter himself engaged in a sexual liaison with Clinton. She has also been shown to have a large number of ex-boyfriends, including
Gene SimmonsGene Simmons is an Israeli-American entrepreneur, singer-songwriter, actor, and rock bassist. Known as "The Demon", he is the bassist/vocalist of Kiss, a hard rock band he co-founded in the early 1970s.-Early life:...
of the band
KISSKiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
and a friend of Peter's named Jerome — both of whom have given her the nickname "Loose Lois". In the episode
And I'm Joyce Kinney"And I'm Joyce Kinney" is the ninth episode of the ninth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on January 16, 2011. The episode follows housewife Lois after she becomes close friends with the local news anchor Joyce Kinney. In an attempt to...
, it was revealed that Lois had participated in a pornographic film called "Quest For Fur" to pay for her cocaine addiction which further cemented her being promiscuous. In one episode, it's implied that her treatment by both her father and Peter has left her mildly sexist: when Peter reveals that his boss molested him, Lois refuses to believe it, saying only men are capable of molesting, not the other way around. In one episode, she shows a violent personality after learning martial arts, which leads to the whole family fighting.
Many episodes have hinted that Lois is bisexual. In an interview, Borstein stated that Lois became "a little more snarky and sassy and sexual" since the first season to challenge "those sitcom rules that a woman is supposed to be a total wet blanket and not like sex and is no fun". In the first straight-to-DVD feature,
Stewie Griffin, The Untold Story, Lois also states, "Women are such teases. That's why I went back to men."
Commendations
Lois ranked number twelve spot on "IGN's Top 25 Family Guy Characters". In "IGN's top 10 musical moments in Family Guy" ranked number three spot with the song,
This House Is Freakin' Sweet from the episode,
Peter, Peter, Caviar Eater"Peter, Peter, Caviar Eater" is the first episode of season two of Family Guy, originally aired on Fox on September 23, 1999. It guest-stars Robin Leach as himself, and Fairuza Balk as Connie D'Amico...
, (season 2, 1999). In "IGN's Family Guy: Top 10 Fights", Lois ranked on two places, in number seven and number 6 for Lois's fight with Stewie in "Lois Kills Stewie" and in the Griffin Family Fight from "
Barely Legal"Barely Legal" is the eighth episode of season five of Family Guy. The episode originally broadcast on December 17, 2006. The plot sees Meg developing an obsession with Brian after he accompanies her as her date for the Junior Prom, eventually leading to her kidnapping Brian in order to engage in...
", respectively.
Appearances in other media
Lois has had several television appearances outside Family Guy. In the Family Guy parodies of the
Star WarsStar Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
original trilogy titled
Blue Harvest"Blue Harvest" is the hour-long premiere to the sixth season of the FOX series Family Guy and the first part of the series' trilogy Laugh It Up, Fuzzball. It originally aired on September 23, 2007. The episode is a retelling and parody of the 1977 blockbuster film, Star Wars Episode IV: A New...
,
Something, Something, Something, Dark Side"Something, Something, Something, Dark Side" is the season finale of the eighth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy and part of the series's trilogy Laugh It Up, Fuzzball. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on May 23, 2010...
and It's A Trap which are parodies of
IV: A New HopeStar Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, originally released as Star Wars, is a 1977 American epic space opera film, written and directed by George Lucas. It is the first of six films released in the Star Wars saga: two subsequent films complete the original trilogy, while a prequel trilogy completes the...
,
V: The Empire Strikes BackStar Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is a 1980 American epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner. The screenplay, based on a story by George Lucas, was written by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan...
and
VI: Return of the JediStar Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand and written by George Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan. It is the third film released in the Star Wars saga, and the sixth in terms of the series' internal chronology...
respectively. Lois appears as
Princess Leia OrganaPrincess Leia Organa of Alderaan is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe...
in these films. Lois, and most of the central characters on
Family Guy, also appeared in the
pilot episode"Pilot" is the first episode of the first season of the animated comedy series The Cleveland Show. Directed by Anthony Lioi and written by series creators Seth MacFarlane, Mike Henry and Richard Appel, the episode originally aired on Fox in the United States on September 27, 2009...
of the show's spin-off
The Cleveland ShowThe Cleveland Show is an American animated television series that premiered on September 27, 2009, as a part of the "Animation Domination" lineup on Fox in the United States...
.
Merchandise
Lois is also featured on the
Family Guy: Live in Vegas-Reception:The album received positive reviews from music sources and critics. Rob Theakston of Allmusic said that "[Family Guy is] back and raunchier than ever, sparing no expense and leaving no pop culture stone unturned" and "without the constraints of network censors, the profanity and heat are...
CD, and plays a significant part in
Family Guy Video Game!, the first
Family Guy video game, which was released by
2K Games2K is a global developer, marketer, distributor and publisher of interactive entertainment software games. 2K Games is a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive, which also owns Rockstar Games notable for the Grand Theft Auto series...
in 2006. Borstein recorded exclusive material of Lois for a 2007
pinball machine of the showFamily Guy is a Stern pinball machine released in 2007. It is based on the animated series of the same name. Some of the table's main features include a "TV Challenge" drop hole, a beer can giant target, an Evil Monkey's Lair ramp, and Stewie's Mini Pinball.- Gameplay :TV modes: TV modes start by...
by Stern Pinball. In 2004, the first series of
Family Guy toy figurines was released by
Mezco ToyzMezco Toyz is a toy company that makes action figures and other collectibles based on original and licensed properties. Its most popular product is the cult hit toy line Living Dead Dolls. Other popular licensed properties include Family Guy, South Park and Hellboy...
, each member of the Griffin family had their own toy, with the exception of Stewie, of whom two different figures were made. Over the course of two years, four more series of toy figures have been released, with various forms of Peter.
As of 2009, six books have been released about the
Family Guy universe, all published by
HarperCollinsHarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...
since 2005. These include
Family Guy: It Takes a Village Idiot, and I Married OneFamily Guy: It Takes a Village Idiot, and I Married One is an American humor book about Family Guy written by executive story editor Cherry Chevapravatdumrong and writer/voice actress Alex Borstein. The book was first published on 8 May 2007...
(ISBN 978-0-7528-7593-4), which covers the entire events of the episode "It Takes a Village Idiot, and I Married One", and
Family Guy and Philosophy: A Cure for the Petarded (ISBN 978-1-4051-6316-3), a collection of seventeen essays exploring the connections between the series and historical philosophers which include Lois as a character.
External links