Lois Griffin
The matriarch of the Griffin family, voiced by Alex Borstein since the pilot.
Lois Patrice Griffin (née Pewterschmidt) is a fictional character from the American animated television series Family Guy. She is voiced by Alex Borstein and first appeared in the show's pilot episode, "Death Has a Shadow," on January 31, 1999. Writer Seth MacFarlane created and designed Lois after his 1995 student film, The Life of Larry, was picked up by 20th Century Fox for a series order. Lois is the matriarch of the Griffin family. She and her husband Peter have three children: Meg, Chris, and Stewie. Lois was born to affluent WASP multibillionaire parents, Carter and Barbara Pewterschmidt. It is revealed in the episode "Family Goy" that her mother Barbara is actually Jewish, and Lois was raised Protestant. Lois and the rest of the Griffins live in the fictional city of Quahog, Rhode Island, which is modeled after Providence, Rhode Island. Lois speaks with a distinctive nasal New England accent. In the episode "A Lot Going on Upstairs," Lois’s drivers license reveals that her height is 5 feet 8 inches (1.73 m). Lois primarily works as a housewife throughout the series, though she did give piano lessons in early episodes.
Quick Facts
- Series
- Family Guy
- First
- "Death Has a Shadow" (1999)
- Creator
- Seth MacFarlane
- Voice
- Alex Borstein
- Full name
- Lois Patrice Griffin ( Pewterschmidt)
- Occupation
- Housewife
- Piano Instructor
- Flight Attendant
- Model
- Former Mayor
- Journalist
- Boxer
- Retail Worker
- Spouse
- Peter Griffin
- Children
- Meg Griffin (daughter)
- Chris Griffin (son)
- Stewie Griffin (son)
Lore & Background
Lois Griffin was born to affluent WASP multibillionaire parents, Carter and Barbara Pewterschmidt. The episode "Family Goy" reveals that her mother Barbara is actually Jewish, and Lois was raised Protestant. In "A Lot Going on Upstairs," Lois’s drivers license reveals her height is 5 feet 8 inches (1.73 m). She has also had various jobs in single episodes: in "FOX-y Lady," she becomes the new reporter for Fox News Channel; in "It Takes a Village Idiot, and I Married One," Lois is elected the mayor of Quahog; in "Call Girl," Lois gets a job doing phone sex; in "Take a Letter," Lois works at the Post Office; and in "Dammit Janet!" Lois gets a job as a flight attendant. Lois is a championship boxer who retires after losing her final match to Thelma Griffin in the episode "Baby, You Knock Me Out," ending with a record of 17–1. Lois is also a Black belt in Tae Kwon Do, which she quickly achieved in the episode "Lethal Weapons." In "The Fat Guy Strangler," Lois is revealed to have a brother named Patrick Pewterschmidt, a mentally unstable man who was institutionalized.
Reader's Guide
Lois's personality has evolved throughout the episodes. She is commonly the voice of reason to Peter's tomfoolery and 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," Lois had a gambling addiction when the family went to a Native American casino and lost the family car. In the episode "Model Misbehavior," Lois becomes a bulimic model. However, in "Sibling Rivalry," just the opposite happens where Lois gains a ton of weight after Peter has a vasectomy and loses his sex drive. After outgrowing Peter's size, she discovers she enjoys being fat, leading to a new sex life where she lets Peter force feed her junk food so she can continue to grow bigger and fatter. "Stuck Together, Torn Apart" shows Peter and Lois splitting up because of Peter's jealousy, only to discover that Lois has the same jealousy. The two then decide to live together again despite their mutually jealous nature. Several episodes have suggested that Lois is bisexual or, at least, bi-curious. 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." She reveals in "Partial Terms of Endearment" that she had a lesbian affair with Naomi while they were students at Salve Regina University, and she passionately kisses Meg's lesbian classmate Sarah in "Brian Sings and Swings." Lois fantasizes about running away with Target cashier Esparanza in "Prescription Heroine." In the pilot episode for The Cleveland Show, she and Bonnie make out to fulfill Cleveland, Peter, Quagmire, and Brian's wishes.
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