Alex Borstein

Alex Borstein Bio

Alexandrea Borstein (born February 15, 1971) is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer. She is best known as the voice of Lois Griffin on the animated sitcom Family Guy, a role she has held since the show’s debut in 1999, and as Susie Myerson on the Prime Video historical comedy-drama series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, which aired from 2017 to 2023. Her portrayal of Susie earned her two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.

Over the course of her career, Borstein has also built a reputation as a sketch performer, a staff writer on several television shows, and a producer through her company, Crackerpants, Inc. Her work spans voice acting, live-action comedy, and dramatic supporting roles in major studio films.

Early Life and Background

Borstein was born on February 15, 1971, in Highland Park Illinois, and was raised in a Jewish family. Her parents are Irv Borstein and Judy Borstein, both of whom work in mental health. She has two older brothers, and her family later relocated from Deerfield, Illinois, to Northridge, a community in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California.

Her father, Irving Borstein, comes from an Orthodox Jewish family with roots tracing back to Polish immigrants and has described his family as also having Russian heritage. Her mother, Judy, and maternal grandmother are Holocaust survivors who were born and raised in Budapest, Hungary, before immigrating to the United States after the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. Borstein has spoken publicly about the importance of these family traditions in shaping her identity and her approach to raising her own children.

She graduated from Chatsworth High School in 1989 and went on to attend San Francisco State University, where she studied rhetoric and earned her bachelor’s degree. After college, she moved into comedy training and ad copywriting, laying the groundwork for her eventual transition into television writing and performing.

Path to Acting

Borstein began her professional path working at an advertising agency, where she wrote print ads for Barbie, while also studying improvisational comedy at the ACME Comedy Theater near Hollywood. It was there that she met actor and writer Jackson Douglas, who would later become her writing partner and husband.

Her first major television job came when the pair began writing together on animated series including The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper and Pinky and the Brain. She left her ad agency position to write full time and also voiced the character Queen Machina on Power Rangers Zeo in 1996. That same year she was discovered by a casting agent while performing with her ACME troupe at the Big Stinkin’ International Improv and Sketch Comedy Festival in Austin, Texas, leading to her breakthrough in sketch comedy.

Alex Borstein Career

Early Career (1993–1998)

In 1997, Borstein joined the cast of the Fox sketch comedy series MADtv during its third season. She quickly became known for her recurring character Ms. Swan, the owner of the Gorgeous Pretty Beauty Nail Salon, along with a roster of other comedic personas including Eracist Anne, Stick Chick Echo, singer Jasmine Wayne-Wayne, and news reporter Sue Napersville.

Her years on MADtv established her as a sharp comedic voice and opened the door to larger opportunities in animation and primetime television. During this period she also continued writing for animated shows and developed the relationships that would shape her next big break.

Breakthrough (1999–2009)

While working on MADtv, Borstein met Seth MacFarlane, who was preparing to launch the animated sitcom Family Guy on the Fox network. MacFarlane cast her as the voice of Lois Griffin when the show debuted in January 1999, and she has voiced the character ever since. She also serves as a producer and staff writer on the series. Family Guy was cancelled by the network in 2000 and again in 2002, but returned to air in 2005 and has remained a flagship animated comedy.

In 2000, she was originally cast as Sookie St. James in the WB drama Gilmore Girls, but her MADtv contract prevented her from continuing the role. She instead made recurring appearances throughout the show’s run, first as harpist Drella and later as stylist Miss Celine. She also appeared in films including The Lizzie McGuire Movie (2003), Catwoman (2004), Bad Santa (2003), and Good Night, and Good Luck (2005), and had a small role as an obnoxious coffee shop patron in Kicking & Screaming (2005). In 2004, she co-hosted GSN’s Celebrity Blackjack and continued voicing commercial characters such as Olive Oyl and Betty Boop.

Notable Works and Milestones

Borstein’s signature work is her long-running voice performance as Lois Griffin on Family Guy, which has cemented her place in American animated television. Her vocal range and willingness to take on additional supporting characters on the show have made her one of the most recognizable voice actors in primetime animation.

Breakthrough (2010–2023)

In 2010, Borstein joined the staff of the Showtime comedy-drama series Shameless as a writer and supervising producer. She also guest-starred as Lou Deckner in multiple episodes of the show beginning in its first season. Around the same time, she took on supporting film roles in comedies including Killers (2010), Ted (2012), and A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014).

From 2013 to 2015, she starred as nurse Dawn Forchette on the HBO medical comedy series Getting On, a remake of a British series of the same name. The show earned positive reviews and multiple Primetime Emmy nominations. In 2017, she took on the role of Susie Myerson on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, a character that would become her most celebrated dramatic-comedic performance and earn her two Primetime Emmy Awards.

Alex Borstein Award Nominations

Borstein has earned recognition from the Television Academy across her career, including nominations for her voice work on animated series and her supporting performances in comedy television. Her most prominent nominations from verified records include recognition at the Primetime Emmy Awards for her voice-over performance on Family Guy.

Alex Borstein Awards Won

Borstein has won multiple Primetime Emmy Awards for her television work, with her wins concentrated in the period surrounding her run on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. She has also been recognized with earlier Emmy honors tied to her voice performance on Family Guy.

Alex Borstein Family

Borstein’s parents are Irv Borstein and Judy Borstein, both of whom work in the mental health field. Her mother and maternal grandmother are Holocaust survivors from Budapest, Hungary, who immigrated to the United States after the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. She has two older brothers and grew up in a Jewish household with strong cultural traditions.

Personal Life

Borstein married actor and writer Jackson Douglas in 1999 after meeting him while studying improv at the ACME Comedy Theatre. Douglas proposed during the taping of a MADtv sketch, and the couple had two children, a son and a daughter. Jackson Douglas filed for divorce in October 2014, and the divorce was finalized in 2017.

Borstein is a carrier of hemophilia and has long been an advocate for the National Hemophilia Foundation. She has spoken openly about her family history and her Jewish identity, noting that she observes Shabbat each Friday and instills Jewish traditions in her children while balancing her professional life in Los Angeles.