Alex Borstein

Alex Borstein

Active - 2001 - 2022  |   Born - Feb 15, 1973 in Highland Park, Illinois, United States  |   Genres - Comedy, Drama, Romance

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Biography by AllMovie

Best known for her roles as the outrageous Mrs. Swan on MADtv and devoted wife Lois on the hit Fox series Family Guy, comedic female talent Alex Borstein has been keeping busy on screens both large and small ever since appearing in a handful of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers in the mid-'90s. Born in Highland Park, Chicago, and raised in the nearby suburb of Deerfield, Borstein moved to Los Angeles with her family in 1980 and eventually enrolled in San Francisco State University. It was there that the aspiring comic began trying her talent at improvisational theater, and shortly after graduation she would begin performing at the ACME Comedy Theatre. Small roles in The Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers and a short-lived spin-off were quick to follow, with her stint on MADtv beginning in 1997.

While many fans cited her as a highlight of MADtv thanks to her outlandish characters and quick wit, Borstein was also eager to launch a film career and could frequently be seen in features such as Showtime, Bad Santa, and Catwoman. With a distinctive voice that seemed to lend itself well to animated performances, Borstein was cast as levelheaded housewife Lois on Family Guy in 1999. It was around this time that she also continued her small-screen trajectory with a handful appearances on the wildly popular family drama Gilmore Girls.

In 2005, Borstein took a turn for the dramatic in the monochromatic period drama Good Night, and Good Luck, with subsequent television roles on Drawn Together and Robot Chicken serving well to balance out the seriousness of the critically acclaimed Edward R. Murrow drama. The following year, Borstein brought her popular stage show to viewers across the nation with the release of Drop Dead Gorgeous (In a Down to Earth Bombshell Sort of Way) on home video. In 2007, Borstein was paired with Good Night, and Good Luck star Jeff Daniels once again in the tense crime thriller The Lookout. As the years rolled on, Borstein would continue to remain a force on screen, appearing in movies like Killers, Dinner for Schmucks, and Ted.

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Factsheet

  • First performed stand-up comedy at age 16 at a nightclub in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley.
  • Was a member of a sketch-comedy troupe while a student at San Francisco State.
  • Worked as an advertising copywriter after college, and one of her firm's clients was Barbie.
  • Met husband Jackson Douglas when both were performing improvisational comedy at the ACME Comedy Theater in Los Angeles.
  • First voice-acting role was on Mighty Morphin Power Rangers in 1996, while she was a writer on the show.
  • Douglas proposed to her while they were performing in a skit on MadTV.
  • Landed her role on Family Guy without having to audition for it.
  • Was cast as Sookie on Gilmore Girls and appeared in the pilot episode in 2000 but couldn't continue because of a contractual obligation to MadTV. Was later given a different role on Gilmore Girls.
  • Released a one-woman stand-up DVD, Drop Dead Gorgeous in a Down to Earth Bombshell Sort of Way, in 2006.