List of characters in the Family Guy franchise
Family Guy is an American animated comedy multimedia franchise originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company, primarily based on the animated series Family Guy, its spin-off series The Cleveland Show, and the film Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story, based on his 1995–1997 thesis films The Life of Larry and Larry & Steve.
Set in the fictional towns of Quahog, Rhode Island, and Stoolbend, Virginia, the show exhibits much of its humor in the form of metafictional cutaway gags often lampooning American culture. The following is an abridged list of characters consisting of the starring families and supporting characters from all three. Characters are only listed once, normally under the first applicable subsection in the list; very minor characters are listed with a more regular character with whom they are associated.
Appearances
The Griffin Family
Peter Griffin
Peter Löwenbräu Griffin Sr. is the boisterous patriarch of the Griffin family and the titular "family guy" of the series. A 45-year-old Irish-American of blue-collar stock, he works at the Pawtucket Brewery and is most often portrayed as an obese, dim-witted, lazy yet energetic, outspoken, immature, and endearingly eccentric alcoholic whose antics drive much of the show's chaotic humor.Lois Griffin
Lois Patrice Griffin , is the volatile matriarch of the Griffin family and wife of Peter Griffin, serving as the mother of Meg, Chris, and Stewie. Born into the wealthy Pewterschmidt family, Lois rebelled against her privileged upbringing by marrying Peter, much to her father Carter’s disapproval. A 43-year-old housewife and former piano teacher, Lois is typically portrayed as warm, nurturing, sharp-witted, and the family’s voice of reason, but she sometimes displays moral ambiguity, impulsive behavior, hot-headedness, emotional detachment and a darker edge that can out rival Peter’s recklessness. Despite her outwardly composed demeanor, she has shown a taste for sadomasochism, gambling, and kleptomania, and has admitted to occasional bisexual experiences. Over the series, Lois has also been depicted pursuing various careers and hobbies—including theatre director, flight attendant, school board, modeling, church organist, teacher, professional boxing, journalism, and politics —and holds a black belt in Karate. Her relationships with her children, particularly Meg, oscillate between affection and coldness, underscoring her complex, satirical role as both caregiver and enabler within the show’s dysfunctional dynamic.Meg Griffin
Megan "Meg" Griffin is the Griffins’ 18-year-old daughter and eldest child. She is portrayed as a socially awkward and insecure teenager who attends Adam West High School. Throughout the series, Meg is frequently ridiculed and mistreated by her family and peers—particularly by her father Peter, and school bully Connie D’Amico. Her character is often used to satirize teenage insecurity and social alienation. Despite her negative treatment, Meg occasionally displays moments of confidence, assertiveness and talents that contrast with her usual portrayal.Chris Griffin
Christopher Cross "Chris" Griffin is the Griffins' 16-year-old son. He is a friendly, laid-back and slow-witted teenage boy who is a younger version of Peter physically, but intellectually, he often shows more potential, as demonstrated from moments of coherence and articulation within his speech.Stewie Griffin
Stewart “Stewie” Gilligan Griffin is the Griffins’ one-year-old youngest child, portrayed as an intelligent, intellectually gifted, sharp-witted, and articulate infant with an upper-class British accent and adult mannerisms. Originally depicted as a diabolical genius bent on world domination and matricide, Stewie has since evolved into a more complex character whose storylines often center on his scientific inventions, time-travel and multiverse adventures, and his close, sometimes adversarial friendship with the family dog, Brian. His ambiguous sexuality is a recurring theme, with creator Seth MacFarlane describing him as “almost certainly gay” but later clarifying that his orientation remains fluid and undefined. A recurring gag involves whether other characters can understand Stewie’s speech, as family members alternately appear to comprehend or ignore him depending on the episode. Stewie has become one of the series’ most recognizable and critically discussed characters.Brian Griffin
Brian Edward Griffin is the Griffins’ anthropomorphic white Labrador retriever and the family's 10-year-old pet. Known for his sardonic wit and trademark martini, Brian exhibits humanlike intelligence and mannerisms, including the ability to speak, drive, and engage in complex reasoning. Brian is characterized as a cultured, intellectual figure with a fondness for literature, music, and philosophy, and is portrayed as an aspiring writer who once attended Brown University. He is also depicted as a drinker and smoker who occasionally struggles with substance abuse and romantic failures. A self-proclaimed atheist and political liberal, Brian often serves as the show’s voice of reason, contrasting with Peter’s impulsive nature, though his hypocrisy and insecurities are frequent comedic targets. His close friendship with Stewie is a central focus of the series, explored in numerous "Road to…" episodes. Despite his anthropomorphism, Brian retains several canine traits, such as fear of vacuums and attraction to female dogs.Extended Griffin family members
The characters listed below are the extended family of the Griffin family that come from either Peter's side of the family, Lois's side of the family, and the occasional members of Brian's family:- Francis Griffin is Peter's grouchy, stubborn and abusive 82-year-old Irish surrogate father, Lois's surrogate father-in-law and the surrogate paternal grandfather of Meg, Chris and Stewie. He was married to Peter's biological mother Thelma Griffin. An obsessively devout Irish American Catholic, he hates Lois because she is not a Catholic, and often calls her a "Protestant whore", disapproves of his stepson's family's lifestyle, and frequently attempts to force his religious views on them. In "Peter's Two Dads", Francis attends Meg's 17th birthday party, and is crushed by a drunk Peter while attempting a unicycle trick to entertain the party guests as "Pee-Pants the Inebriated Hobo Clown". The injuries prove fatal, and as Francis is dying in the hospital, his last words to Peter before his death are, "Peter… you're a fat, stinking drunk." Shortly after, while Peter partakes in a hypnotherapy session, he realizes Francis was not his biological father when he recalls a childhood memory of him being explicitly told so by Francis. He appears once more as a vision of Peter's in "Family Goy".
- Mickey McFinnigan is Peter's biological father, Lois' father-in-law and the biological paternal grandfather of Meg, Chris and Stewie. He lives in Ireland and is regarded as the town drunk in his neighborhood. Peter travels to meet him after he learns that Francis, who had just died, was not his biological father. He looks just like Peter, albeit he also wears a green vest and has a red beard, and has a talking sheep named O'Brian, with similar mannerisms to Brian. Despite that, he refuses to believe Peter is his son, so Peter then challenges him to a drinking contest and wins, which convinces him he is Peter's father.
- Thelma Griffin is the wife of Francis, mother of Peter, mother-in-law of Lois and paternal grandmother of Meg, Chris and Stewie. She is an 85-year-old Irish American Catholic. "Mom's the Word" reveals that Thelma has died of a stroke.
- Aunt Helen is Peter Griffin and Karen Griffin's aunt and Thelma Griffin's sister, the aunt-in-law of Lois Griffin and paternal great-aunt of Meg Griffin, Chris Griffin and Stewie Griffin. The Griffin family call her up in "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph".
- Chip Griffin is Peter's vestigial twin brother, who appears in "Vestigial Peter". After he is surgically separated from the side of Peter's neck, Chip lives in the Griffin household for a short while before leaving, eventually landing a role on The Middle.
- Karen "Heavy Flo" Griffin is Peter's abusive older sister, who only appears in "Peter's Sister". She is the paternal aunt of Meg, Chris and Stewie and the sister-in-law of Lois. She is a professional wrestler and a catalyst for Peter’s behavior toward Meg. She ends up in a coma after Meg knocks her out in a match with a real chair instead of a fake one and it is implied that she dies when Peter refuses to check if he is the same blood type for a blood transfusion.
- Carter Pewterschmidt is Lois, Carol and Patrick's father, Babs's husband, Peter's father-in-law and the maternal grandfather of Meg, Chris and Stewie. He is a cruel, selfish, petty, and prejudiced WASP old money multibillionaire industrialist, shipping mogul, and owner of several major companies. Though he generally despises Peter and disapproves of his marriage to Lois, he has occasionally teamed up with him to achieve some common purpose.
- Barbara "Babs" Pewterschmidt is Carter's wife, the mother of Lois, Carol and Patrick, the maternal grandmother of Meg, Chris and Stewie and the mother-in-law of Peter. She is a Jewish American Holocaust survivor who concealed her identity to marry Carter.
- Carol Pewterschmidt-West is Lois and Patrick's sister, Peter's sister-in-law and the maternal aunt of Meg, Chris and Stewie. She has been married and divorced nine times. Due to all of her marriages and divorces, her full formal name is Carol Pewterschmidt-Johnson-Carrington-Stone-O'Craggity-Canseco-Shteinholtz-Washington-Proudfoot-Fong-West.
- Patrick Pewterschmidt is the 46-year-old older brother of Lois and Carol, the maternal uncle of Meg, Chris and Stewie and Peter's brother-in-law. His mother and father kept him secret from Lois as he was committed to a mental institution as a result of trauma from witnessing his mother having an affair with Jackie Gleason. After Peter unintentionally causes him to snap, he begins murdering fat men by strangling them and becomes known as "The Fat Guy Strangler". In the episode "Killer Queen", Patrick helps the Griffins track down an assailant who is trying to strangle Chris to death.
- Marguerite Pewterschmidt was Lois’s wealthy, aristocratic great-aunt and Carter’s aunt. She was responsible for introducing Lois to Peter, whom she hired as one of her towel boys. Marguerite visited the Griffin family in the episode “Peter, Peter, Caviar Eater.” Upon her arrival, she passed out and died, presumably from old age. In her will, she left Lois her Cherrywood Manor estate in Newport, allowing her to experience the Pewterschmidt lifestyle she had been missing out on.
- Lillian is Lois’s great-aunt. In the episode “I Am Peter, Hear Me Roar”, Lois mentions that she had sent her wedding video cassette to Great-Aunt Lil, after Peter revealed that he had taped over it with soft-core cable porn. Not much is known about Lillian, other than the fact she lives in a nursing home. it’s unclear whether she is related to Lois’s father or mother.
- Jasper is Brian's stereotypical flamboyantly homosexual 4-year-old cousin. Brian stays with him in Hollywood in "Brian Does Hollywood". Jasper's partner is a Filipino man named Ricardo, whom he marries in "You May Now Kiss the... Uh... Guy Who Receives".
- Bertram is the infant son of a gym teacher and her partner through artificial insemination. Bertram's biological father is Peter Griffin, and he holds a grudge against his half-brother Stewie. Bertram appears in "Emission Impossible", "Sibling Rivalry" and "The Big Bang Theory", the latter of which sees him traveling back in time to attempt to kill Stewie's ancestor, Leonardo da Vinci; although he succeeds, Stewie kills him and saves his own existence, as well as the entire universe.
- "Boston Stewie" is the result of an egg donation Lois made in 1997. He had been abandoned by his birth mother. Stewie tracked him down in Boston and tried to bring him into the family, without success. Boston Stewie ends up being adopted by Mark Wahlberg's sisters. His real name is never given.
- Dylan Flannigan is Brian's human son. He first appears in "The Former Life of Brian". His mother Tracy was devastated when Brian left her. After Brian apologizes to Dylan for not being there for him, Brian turns his son's life around, making him into a charming, polite young man. Dylan then decides to leave the Griffin house and change his mother like Brian changed him. In "Brian's a Bad Father", Dylan returns as the star of a Disney Channel show.
- Biscuit is Brian's deceased mother, who appears in a flashback of "Road to Rhode Island". She was stuffed by her owners after her death. Brian went on to give her a proper burial. Biscuit is also in a flashback in "Chris Cross".
- Coco is Brian's deceased father who has never appeared on screen, but has been mentioned several times by Brian. According to Brian, Coco was racist towards African-Americans, and died after being run over by a milk truck.