A Guide to the Characters of Family Guy

Here is a guide to the characters of Family Guy for those who are new to the show or those who need a reminder of who is who and what their story is. I'll start with the main characters, The Griffins, and work my way down to the more minor characters. I put all the recurring characters I could think of, though I may have forgotten some.

The Major Characters:

Peter Griffin - Peter is the patriarch of the family, and is the "family guy". He often creates crazy schemes in each episode that are hilariously dimwitted, and tend to do more harm than good. Many may find Peter to be one of the most insulting characters on the show, as he often makes remarks that are sexist, racist, or ignorant, but his idiotic demeanor makes it easy not to take him seriously.

Louis Griffin - Louis is Peter's wife and often acts as a voice of reason. However, she is not the stereotypical TV housewife. Louis is actually a rather sexual character, and tries to keep the romance alive between Peter and her. She also gives blunt advice to her two teenagers that your mother would blush at, and even occasionally enjoys Peter's antics. Louis is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Pewtershmidt, millionaires that find Peter to be too dumb to be with their daughter.

Chris Griffin - Chris is the oldest child and is definitely his father's son. He looks up to his dad like a hero, and shares his elementary sense of humor. Unlike Peter, Chris occasionally shows that he wants to do the right things, has a conscience, and for the most part is rather good-hearted. He gets nervous around girls, and sometimes gets into trouble while trying to impress them.

Meg Griffin - Poor Meg is the outcast of the family. She's incredibly desperate to be popular at school and to be liked by boys, but her unattractiveness and desperation often makes her forgotten about or the butt of mean spirited jokes by both her peers and her family members.

Stewie Griffin - Stewie is an evil baby genius that often obsesses of either being in a position of power or killing his mother. He is arguably one of the funniest characters on the show, due to the combinations of wit and infant mannerisms that he embodies. The only one who seems to understand, or at least listen to, Stewie's rants is Brian the dog. Stewie and Brian often battle against each other, but find themselves in situations where they must team up.

Brian Griffin - Brian is the family dog, and is another voice of reason for Peter. He is Peter's best friend, and can sometimes get dragged into his schemes. Brian is an intellectual when compared to the rest of the family, and interested in things such as opera and politics. He drinks alcohol and attends therapy to deal with the prejudices against him as a dog and to get over the fact that he can't find a woman that matches him intellectually. The fact that he's so smart makes him fun to watch when he has to battle his canine instinct, such as being scared of the vacuum cleaner or getting flattered when called a "good boy". He also is in love with Louis.

The Not-so-Major Characters:

Glenn Quagmire - Quagmire is one of Peter's buddies, an airline pilot, and a complete sex fiend. He's a bachelor that often makes sexual jokes or participates in inappropriate sexual behavior. Quagmire, Cleveland, and Peter have been drinking at the bar, The Drunken Clam, since they were younger. Quagmire also has a crush on Louis and collects various items of hers from the garbage.

Cleveland Brown - Cleveland is another of Peter's friends. He's a completely laid back black man that never seems to get upset about anything. He finds both Peter and Quagmire to be entertaining.

Joe Swanson - Joe is Peter's neighbor. He's handicapped and restrained to a wheelchair, but can get extremely pumped up and ready to take on anything. He's a police officer and often seen as a hero in the neighborhood. Once moving to Quahog, he made friends with Peter and the gang and hangs out at The Drunken Clam.

The Minor Characters:

Bonnie Swanson- Bonnie is Joe's pregnant wife.

Kevin Swanson- Kevin is Joe and Bonnie's teenage son. Meg has a crush on him.

Loretta Brown - Loretta is Cleveland's wife and a strong, black woman that constantly scolds him. She cheated on him with Quagmire causing a fight between the two friends, and resulting in her and Cleveland's divorce.

Cleveland Brown Jr. - Cleveland and Loretta's son. He's the complete opposite of Cleveland in that he's very hyper and can't sit still.

Bertram - Bertram is Stewie's half brother. He was born to a lesbian couple after Peter donated sperm, and became Stewie's nemesis on the playground.

Francis Griffin - Peter's religious Irish Catholic father that is later discovered to not be his real father after his death. He never approves of anything Peter does, even to the point of his death.

Mickey McFinnigan - Peter's biological father that lives in Ireland. Peter challenges him to a drinking competition to earn his respect.

Jasper - Jasper is Brian's homosexual cousin from Los Angeles.

Mort Goldman - Mort is a nerdy, squeamish local pharmacist that is friend's with Peter.

Neil Goldman - Neil is Mort's nerdy son that often mortifies Meg with his crush on her.

Diane Simmons - News anchor on Channel 5.

Tom Tucker - News anchor on Channel 5. He and Diane often make cheap shots at one another.

Jake Tucker - Tom Tucker's son with an upside-down face.

Trisha Takanawa - Asian news reporter.

Ollie Williams - The weather forecast announcer that doesn't say much and always seems to yell.

Mr. Weed - Peter's homosexual boss from the toy factory that he used to work at. He died while having dinner at the Griffin's house.

Angela - Peter's new supervisor at the Pawtucket Brewing Factory.

Connie D'Amico - The most popular girl in school that Meg desperately wants to be like.

Olivia Fuller - Child star that was Stewie's dance partner, and then briefly his pretend wife. She may, or may not, have been killed by Stewie when he set fire to her playhouse in jealousy while she was inside with her playmate.

Death - The grim reaper sometimes helps Peter in difficult situations.

Adam West - The mayor of Quahog. He is delusional and makes mentally unbalanced decisions.

The Evil Monkey - The evil monkey lives in Chris's closet and threatens him by pointing at him menacingly.

Herbert - An old man that is a pedophile and has a crush on Chris. Although he dreams of them being together, he never actually does anything to make Chris suspect his feelings.

Jillian - Brian's dumb blonde girlfriend. Brian often tries to break up with her, but gets lured back in because she's so attractive.

The Giant Chicken - The giant chicken and Peter often get into long, destructive fights at random times. What started the fight is unsure, but it may have begun when the chicken gave Peter an expired coupon for the supermarket.

That concludes my character guide for Family Guy. While not all characters were included, this list should help identify most of the recurring ones. The show may not be for everybody, but remember to watch it with a sense of humor. Enjoy!