Lois Patrice Griffin ("née" Pewterschmidt) is a fictional character from the animated television series "Family Guy". She is voiced by writer Alex Borstein and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the Griffin family, in a 15-minute short on December 20, 1998. Lois was created and designed by series creator Seth MacFarlane. MacFarlane was asked to pitch a pilot to the Fox Broadcasting Company based on "Larry and Steve", a short he made 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 in the episode "Death Has a Shadow".