List of characters in the Family Guy franchise explained

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 (1999–present), its spin-off series The Cleveland Show (2009–2013), and the film (2005), 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 (Griffin; Brown/Tubbs) 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

CharacterVoice actorFamily GuyThe Cleveland Show2005 Film
123456789101112131415161718192021221234
Main characters
Peter GriffinSeth MacFarlane
Stewie Griffin
Brian Griffin
Lois GriffinAlex Borstein
Chris GriffinSeth Green
Meg GriffinLacey Chabertcolspan="16"
Cleveland Brown
colspan="5"
Glenn QuagmireSeth MacFarlane
Joe SwansonPatrick Warburton
Donna Tubbs-BrownSanaa Lathan
Cleveland Brown, Jr.Mike Henry rowspan="2"
Kevin Michael Richardsoncolspan="4"
Rallo TubbsMike Henry
Roberta TubbsReagan Gomez-Preston
Recurring characters
Tom TuckerSeth MacFarlane
Diane SimmonsLori Alan
Jonathan WeedCarlos Alazraquicolspan="8"
Loretta BrownAlex Borsteincolspan="4"
Bonnie SwansonJennifer Tilly
RupertDavid Boatcolspan="5"
Kevin SwansonScott Grimescolspan="6"
BruceMike Henrycolspan="2"
Jake TuckerSeth MacFarlanecolspan="12"
Judge Dignified Q. BlackmanPhil LaMarrcolspan="8"
GodSeth MacFarlanecolspan="8"
Jesusrowspan="2" colspan="6"
Alec Sulkin
Carter PewterschmidtSeth MacFarlanecolspan="5"
Babs PewterschmidtAlex Borsteincolspan="5"
Mayor Adam WestAdam Westcolspan="8"
Tricia TakanawaAlex Borstein
DeathAdam Carollacolspan="14"
Elmer HartmanSeth MacFarlanecolspan="5"
Evil MonkeyDanny Smithcolspan="3"
HoraceJohn G. Brennan
Jim KaplanDanny Smith
Neil GoldmanSeth Greencolspan="5"
Ernie The Giant ChickenDanny Smithcolspan="5"
Connie D'AmicoLisa Wilhoitcolspan="8"
JasperSeth MacFarlanecolspan="7"
Principal John ShepherdGary Colecolspan="5"
Francis GriffinCharles Durningcolspan="8"
Thelma GriffinPhyllis Dillercolspan="8"
John HerbertMike Henry
Mort GoldmanJohn Brennancolspan="5"
Muriel GoldmanNicole Sullivancolspan="6"
Seamus LevineSeth MacFarlanecolspan="5"
Ollie WilliamsPhil LaMarr
Carol WestJulie Hagertycolspan="6"
Greased-Up Deaf GuyMike Henrycolspan="7"
AngelaCarrie Fishercolspan="8"
EstherChristina Miliancolspan="7"
PattyMartha MacIsaaccolspan="5"
Ruth CochamerEmily Osmentcolspan="6"
OpieMark Hentemanncolspan="5"
James William Bottomtooth IIIChris Sheridancolspan="17"
JesseMike Henrycolspan="9"
Al HarringtonDanny Smith
James WoodsJames Woodscolspan="11"
Elle HitlerAlex Borsteincolspan="5"
CarlH. John Benjamincolspan="6"
Jillian Russell-WilcoxDrew Barrymorecolspan="10"
FouadMike Henrycolspan="6"
R.J.colspan="10"
Consuela
Tomik & Bellgarderowspan="2" colspan="10"
Alec Sulkin
Susie SwansonPatrick Stewartcolspan="5"
Ida DavisSeth MacFarlanecolspan="5"
JeromeKevin Michael Richardsoncolspan="5"
Joyce KinneyChristine Lakincolspan="7"
StellaMarlee Matlincolspan="6"
VinnyTony Siricocolspan="11"
Miss TammyRachael MacFarlanecolspan="6"
Bert & Sheilarowspan="2" colspan="7"
Niecy Nash
DougChris Parnellcolspan="5"
Wild Wild WestSam Elliottcolspan="5"
Preston LloydPeter Macon

The Griffin Family

See main article: Griffin family.

Peter Griffin

See main article: Peter Griffin. Peter Löwenbräu Griffin (voiced by Seth MacFarlane) is the patriarch of the Griffin household, a 46-year-old Irish-American blue-collar worker and the "family guy" of the show's title. For most of the series, Peter is shown as an obese, unintelligent, lazy, outspoken, childish, and eccentric alcoholic.

Lois Griffin

See main article: Lois Griffin. Lois Patrice Griffin (née Pewterschmidt) (voiced by Alex Borstein) is the matriarch of the Griffin household, Peter's wife, and the mother of Meg, Chris, and Stewie. She is 45-years-old, and is of German and Jewish descent.

Meg Griffin

See main article: Meg Griffin. Megan "Meg" Griffin (voiced by Lacey Chabert in seasons 1 & 2, Mila Kunis from season 2 onwards) is the Griffins' 18-year-old daughter. She is a self-conscious, insecure, and sensitive teenager who is more often than not ridiculed and ignored by the people around her.

Chris Griffin

See main article: Chris Griffin. Christopher Cross "Chris" Griffin (voiced by Seth Green) is the Griffins' 15-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

See main article: Stewie Griffin. Stewart Gilligan "Stewie" Griffin (voiced by Seth MacFarlane) is the Griffins' 1-year-old child, but often behaves in adult ways such as speaking in an exaggerated upper-class English accent.

Brian Griffin

See main article: Brian Griffin. Brian Griffin (voiced by Seth MacFarlane) is the family's 10-year-old (70 in dog years) anthropomorphic talking white Labrador Retriever and the best friend of both Stewie and his father, Peter.

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' side of the family, and the occasional members of Brian's family:

Throughout the series, mainly during the first seasons, Peter often mentions various ancestors of the Griffin family, which are shown in cutaway gags.

The Brown/Tubbs family

Cleveland Brown

See main article: Cleveland Brown. Cleveland Orenthal Brown Sr. (voiced by Mike Henry from 1999 to 2021, Arif Zahir from 2021–present[1]) is a portly 42-year-old African-American man who is very polite to everyone and has a unique laugh. He was one of Peter Griffin's best friends in Family Guy and also owned and ran a deli. In the "Pilot" of The Cleveland Show, he moves to the town of Stoolbend, Virginia to show his son where he grew up, unintentionally meeting up with his old friend Donna, whom he was in love with despite her being unaware. Eventually re-sparking his relationship with her, they get married and he and his son move in with her and her two children. Cleveland is usually depicted as exceedingly gentle and patient, and it is only on rare occasions that he has been known to lose his temper and resort to violence. However, Cleveland gets visibly annoyed with racist behavior. He often acts as the voice of caution when other characters hatch harebrained schemes. Cleveland's speech is slow and almost elongated in Family Guy, but in The Cleveland Show his voice has a wide variety. Various flashbacks give conflicting histories of his speech patterns. He is shown as a more sexual, obnoxious, unintelligent, selfish, and violent character in his new form than he was originally. After the show was not renewed for a fifth season, Cleveland would move back to Quahog (and Family Guy) in the twelfth season, now working as a mailman.

Loretta Brown

Loretta Marie Callender Brown (voiced by Alex Borstein) is Cleveland's late ex-wife and the mother of Cleveland Brown Jr. in Family Guy. In early episodes, Loretta had a minimal quantity of lines, the bulk of which were "Mm-hmm!". She treated Cleveland harshly, and eventually cheated on him with Glenn Quagmire, leading them to divorce. She had a liking for cricket and the television program Friends. In The Cleveland Show episode "Gone With the Wind", she dies in a freak accident back in Quahog when in her 40s because Peter accidentally swings a Brontosaurus skeleton found by Brian from a mobile crane into her house, destroying it and causing her to fall from the second floor in her bathtub (in a similar manner to Cleveland in a running gag on Family Guy), only for her neck to snap. She was buried in Stoolbend, and left her fortune to Cleveland Jr. in her will.

Donna Tubbs-Brown

Donna Lou Retten Tubbs-Brown (née Tubbs) (voiced by Sanaa Lathan), is the second and current wife of Cleveland Brown and the stepmother of Cleveland Brown Jr.. She is 42 years old and works as the principal's secretary at Stoolbend High School. She has two biological children from her previous marriage with Robert Unknown (His last name is literally "Unknown", which is a joke later in the series), Roberta and Rallo, and she has kept her maiden name (seen in "Pilot", Cleveland says, "Back in high school, I would have given anything to spend the night at Donna Tubbs' house."). While one of the main characters of The Cleveland Show, as of "He's Bla-ack!", she has now taken on the former role of the late Loretta as a recurring character of Family Guy.

Cleveland Brown Jr.

Cleveland Brown, Jr.
Series:Family Guy / The Cleveland Show
First:"Love Thy Trophy" (2000; Family Guy)
"Pilot" (2009; The Cleveland Show)
Creator:Mike Baker
Matt Weitzman
Seth MacFarlane
Designer:Seth MacFarlane
Voice:Mike Henry (2000–2008; 2013)
Kevin Michael Richardson (2009–present)
Full Name:Cleveland Raj Rerun Dwayne Brown Jr.[2]
Alias:Agent 14
Nicknames:Junior, Chubster Dumbdumb
Spouse:Cecilia Brown (née Moreno)(m. 2012)
Home:Quahog, Rhode Island
Nationality:American
Lbl21:Age
Data21:14

Cleveland Orenthal Brown Jr., (also referred to as Cleveland Raj Rerun Dwayne Brown)[3] better known simply as Junior, (voiced by Mike Henry in early appearances in Family Guy, and Kevin Michael Richardson in The Cleveland Show and later appearances in Family Guy), is the obese 14-year-old biological son of Cleveland Brown and his late ex-wife Loretta. He debuted in the second-season episode "Love Thy Trophy" on the animated TV show Family Guy. During his time in Family Guy before The Cleveland Show he was shown to be skinny, hyperactive, and athletic. He was presumably taken into Loretta's custody after she and Cleveland divorced in "The Cleveland-Loretta Quagmire" and has since become severely obese. He suffers from mild seizure-like episodes which he refers to as "brainstorms" and takes medication to control them. It was revealed in the episode "The Hurricane!" that he "doesn't believe in God", although he claims he is not an atheist either, which he calls "another religion". Junior is one of the main characters of The Cleveland Show and returns to the Family Guy cast as of "He's Bla-ack!" as a recurring minor character.

At 14 years old, Junior is the only child of Cleveland, the stepson of Donna Tubbs, and the stepbrother of Roberta and Rallo Tubbs. Upon his parents' divorce, Loretta gave custody of Cleveland Jr. to Cleveland and forced him to move. Cleveland and Junior left for California. However, en route, they decided to live in Stoolbend, Virginia, instead, where Cleveland married Donna Tubbs, and Rallo and Roberta became his stepsiblings. Junior's most prominent character traits are his laziness, obesity, and low social intelligence (although there are occasional references to him being academically bright).

Role in The Cleveland Show

Cleveland Jr. is a frequent target of weight-related jokes from a variety of characters in the series, in particular his stepbrother Rallo. When Rallo met Cleveland Jr. and his father, he would often call them "fat". In the second episode, Cleveland Jr. served as a door in the bathroom so that he could earn his classmates' respect, which angered Cleveland. He also exhibits a nervous and overly sensitive nature.

While Junior is not as active as he was in Family Guy, he has other hobbies and interests; he enjoys science, playing the tuba in the Stoolbend High School band, and is the leader of a troop of Freedom Scouts, Stoolbend's version of the Boy Scouts.

Cleveland Brown Jr. is married to Cecilia, as shown in "Y Tu Junior También", to prevent her deportation.

Character

Creation

Cleveland Jr. debuted in the season 2 Family Guy episode "Love Thy Trophy", but only made minor appearances thereafter. He was presumably taken into Loretta's custody after she cheated on Cleveland in "The Cleveland–Loretta Quagmire" and had since undergone a major character reinvention upon becoming a leading character in The Cleveland Show. After Cleveland and Loretta's divorce is finalized in the pilot episode of The Cleveland Show, a now-overweight Junior is placed in Cleveland's custody, and they move out of Quahog, Rhode Island to Stoolbend, Virginia where Cleveland rekindles a relationship with, and subsequently marries, his high school sweetheart, Donna Tubbs.

Design

In Family Guy, Cleveland Jr. was a hyperactive child of average size, but in The Cleveland Show, he had aged, gained weight, appeared potentially smarter, and wore glasses. In Family Guy, he wore a pink/light purple T-shirt, blue jeans and white sneakers, but in The Cleveland Show, he wears a red T-shirt, blue shorts, sneakers and glasses. He is also notably shorter, as Family Guy shows him to be of average height for his age, while in The Cleveland Show, he appears to be no more than 5 ft. at the age of 14.

Cleveland Jr. was a minor character who had a short time with Peter Griffin in the episode, "Fore Father", where he showed a talent for playing golf. After that episode, he made short appearances later in the show, with his last on Family Guy, until 2010 at his father's supposed funeral, along with Loretta.

Voice

Junior's voice is provided by Kevin Michael Richardson, who voiced other characters on The Cleveland Show, including Lester Krinklesac, Julius, and P-Hound. Prior to The Cleveland Show, Junior's voice was initially provided by Mike Henry in early Family Guy episodes.

Richardson stated that he describes voicing Cleveland Jr. as "a character he did on ER named Patrick, who was mentally impaired and wore a football helmet."[4] Before the show aired in 2009, the show's panel appeared at the 2009 Comic Con International, and held a discussion about the show. When describing Junior's change in physical appearance and age, Mike Henry said "Cleveland Jr. really didn't have much to him and so he didn't appear for a while and so we sort of aged him up and made room for Rallo to be the younger one for a while."[5] The show's creators later gave an explanation of Junior's altered look in "A Rodent Like This".

Roberta Tubbs

Roberta Coretta Tubbs (sometimes Roberta Benigni Tubbs) (voiced by Nia Long and later Reagan Gomez-Preston) is the 15-year-old biological daughter of Donna and her ex-husband, Robert, Rallo's sister, Cleveland's stepdaughter and Cleveland Jr.'s stepsister. She looks up to Tyra Banks, hoping to one day become her co-hostess. A relatively popular girl in school, Roberta is often seen socializing with her friends, both in person, and using phones/social networking websites. She has been dating a less-than-respectable boy named Gabriel "Federline Jones" Friedman. Donna does not approve of Federline, though Cleveland has since managed to bully him into submission. As with many popular students, Roberta often acts as a bully and a self-centered character, even towards her own family members. She is also revealed to be a genius in The Cleveland Show Season 3 episode "B.M.O.C.", when she went on a college tour to Cleveland's alma mater, State.

Neither Roberta nor her brother Rallo are initially pleased with the arrival of Cleveland and Cleveland Brown Jr., though both appear to accept their mother marrying Cleveland without much issue. In fact, Roberta and Cleveland seem to fall into a rather stereotypical stepfather/stepdaughter relationship, with Roberta being embarrassed by her stepfather's behavior when he attends social functions at her school. Eventually she accepts Cleveland as her father. While one of the main characters of The Cleveland Show, as of "He's Bla-ack!", she is now occasionally referred to and less frequently seen on Family Guy. She's also the only member of the Tubbs family that has yet to speak in Family Guy (the video game is not considered a speaking role).[6]

Rallo Tubbs

Montclair "Rallo" Tubbs (voiced by Mike Henry) is the 5-year-old biological son of Donna and her ex-husband, Robert, Roberta's brother, Cleveland's stepson and Cleveland Jr.'s stepbrother. Despite his age, and the fact his father has been mostly absent most of his life, Rallo acts much like Robert, behaving at times very articulate, yet hormonally charged. He seems to get along fairly well with his mother, Donna and has a normal love/hate relationship with Roberta, who at times seems to neglect him, yet at other times speaks to him as an intellectual equal.

In The Cleveland Show Season 3 episode "American Prankster", Cleveland asks Donna why his name is Rallo. Donna replies to that question by stating it was from "that guy from Sanford and Son." (referring to Rollo Lawson). One of the main characters of The Cleveland Show, as of "He's Bla-ack!", he is now an infrequently-appearing cast member of Family Guy.

Extended Brown family members

Neighbors and their relatives

Spooner Street

Quagmire family

Swanson family

Goldman family

Grace Street

In The Cleveland Show, a number of characters live on the same street as the Brown family. All were seen attending the wedding of Cleveland and Donna Brown.

Bear family

Krinklesac family

Richter family

Choni's family

Co-workers

The following characters have worked with Peter and Cleveland at different jobs:

Happy-Go-Lucky Toy Factory

Peter's ship

Pawtucket Brewery

Waterman Cable

Students and teachers

Adam West High School

The following characters make up the school body of Adam West High School (previously named James Woods Regional High School):

Stoolbend High School

Harper Elementary School

Other recurring characters

Quahog Channel 5 News

West family

Quahog residents

Stoolbend residents

Gag characters

Deaths

Seven actors who voiced semi-regular Family Guy characters have died:

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Swift . Andy . September 25, 2020 . Family Guy Reveals New Actor Voicing Cleveland Brown in Season 19 . September 25, 2020 . TVLine.
  2. Skip Day. The Cleveland Show. Dave Jeser, Matt Silverstein (writers) & Jack Perkins (director). . November 20, 2011. 3. 4.
  3. Skip Day . The Cleveland Show . . November 20, 2011 . 3 . 4 . Dave Jeser, Matt Silverstein (writers) & Jack Perkins (director).
  4. The Voices Behind 'Cleveland'. 2 October 2009. Entertainment Weekly. 24 January 2010. 21 October 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20121021095706/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20309493,00.html. dead.
  5. Web site: CCI: The Cleveland Show. Cronan. Mark. Comic Book Resources . 5 August 2009. 24 January 2010.
  6. Web site: Lydia Loves Timelines . 1 April 2023 . Family Guy's Most Wasted Character: Roberta . 7 August 2023 . www.youtube.com.
  7. News: Kraus . Leah . Venkateswaren . Nandini . September 11, 2008 . Mike Henry of "Family Guy" talks voices, gags and instinct . January 8, 2010 . Campus Times.
  8. Meg and Quagmire
  9. No Giggity, No Doubt
  10. . Family Guy . . September 5, 2001 . 3 . 9 . Steve Callaghan (writer).
  11. Nolfi . Joey . December 28, 2016 . Carrie Fisher to appear on two new Family Guy episodes . September 1, 2021 . Entertainment Weekly.
  12. Scammed Yankees . Scammed Yankees . Family Guy . Family Guy . Fox . January 17, 2016 . 14 . 12.
  13. Friends of Peter G. . Friends of Peter G. . Family Guy . Family Guy . Fox . February 13, 2011 . 9 . 10 . 12:13 . "This poor gentleman used to speak in long, eloquent sentences. But after years of drinking, he can only speak in short, choppy utterances.".
  14. Valentine's Day in Quahog
  15. Web site: Cannon . William . November 25, 2013 . Brian Griffin Dies: 4 Things To Know About 'Family Guy' Newcomer Vinny . November 25, 2013 . Latin Times.
  16. Web site: April 21, 2003 . Seth MacFarlane Interview . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070824231737/http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/articles/seth.cfm . August 24, 2007 . December 17, 2009 . TVShowsOnDVD.com.
  17. Diller's last episode was in season 6, episode 6, "Padre de Familia"
  18. Francis Griffin died in season 5, episode 10, "Peter's Two Dads", but then came back as a vision of Peter's in season 8, episode 2, "Family Goy"
  19. Sinatra's last appearance was in season 15, episode 2, "Bookie of the Year"
  20. Fisher's last appearance was in season 15, episode 17, "Peter's Lost Youth"
  21. West's last appearance was in the season 17, episode 5, "Three Directors", which aired on November 5, 2017