Lori Alan Celebrates Success at 60 as “Family Guy” Voice Actress Laughs at the Unexpected Moments That People Recognize Her (Exclusive)
Lori Alan Celebrates Success at 60 as “Family Guy” Voice Actress Laughs at the Unexpected Moments That People Recognize Her (Exclusive)
Angela AndaloroThu, June 18, 2026 at 1:00 PM UTC
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Pearl Krabs (left), Lori Alan (center), Diane SimmonsCredit: Paramount+; Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic; Hulu -
Lori Alan found success when she simultaneously began playing Diane Simmons on Family Guy and Pearl Krabs on SpongeBob SquarePants
The actress, who celebrates her 60th birthday next month, tells PEOPLE about being recognized by fans while speaking in public and some of the funny times it's happened
Alan has enjoyed reflecting on her career's accomplishments in a year that sees her celebrate milestones on several different projects
Lori Alan feels like she's truly thriving at this stage in her career.
A big year for the actress comes as she gets ready to celebrate her 60th birthday next month. Speaking with PEOPLE about her latest role in Toy Story 5 and the many other characters who have contributed to her success, Alan shares that she takes pride in her accomplishments, personally and professionally.
"I'm turning 60, and I'm just so proud of taking care of myself emotionally, physically, spiritually. This career, it's a marathon, not a race. As an artist, you have to take care of you. You have to have a full life. You have to work your s--t out in therapy. You've got to make peace with all of your old stuff so that you can really thrive in this career," Alan shares.
"There's going to be down times, and they're going to be wildly up times. It's not lost on me that next year may be just crickets. This year was exceptional. I just stay in an attitude of gratitude, and I just try to give back."
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Lori AlanCredit: Cathryn Farnsworth
Not only has this year seen her return as Bonnie's mom for the latest Toy Story film, but Alan has also enjoyed the 25th anniversary of SpongeBob SquarePants, where she voices Pearl Krabs, and the rerelease of Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2, in which she voices the Boss.
"Every single time I walk into a Nickelodeon, I may as well skip in. You know what I mean? I'm just so, so grateful, and so excited. I'm just really glad when I get to be in community with people, and be in a session, and to just be the voice of... I feel like I'm the voice of a lot of people's childhoods, and they don't realize it," she shares.
"My mom — prayers continued for my mom, she just had heart surgery, and she is a tough, fabulous trooper — and the nurses were like, 'Oh my gosh, can you, would you mind making some videos?' I was like, 'I make voices for a living. You save lives.' Then, when I go to autograph conventions, people tell me the most amazing stories. 'My dad and I weren't talking, and then we bonded over playing Metal Gear, and we love your character, The Boss.' And it's so fun when fans are like, 'You're Pearl Krabs, and The Boss in Metal Gear Solid.' "
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While being asked for voices on the spot wears on some actors, Alan believes, "It's one small thing if it can make people happy in this complicated world."
"It was so funny. I was getting a bikini wax, and a tan. And she's like, 'You're the voice of what? ' And I was like, 'Ow, that's very painful.' And I came out, and they were all like, 'Hi. Oh my gosh, can we take a group photo?' And I'm like, 'Yeah, we just put my pants on,' " she laughs.
Lori AlanCredit: Cathryn Farnsworth
Alan credits amazing writers for giving her what she needs to create memorable characters.
"It's writers! Writers creating just these hilarious, wonderful characters. The writing is phenomenal on Family Guy. I was on there for almost 15 years, and that was great. And then SpongeBob is just... I knew when I got the audition, she had to kind of be like a mall girl and a daddy's girl. But I knew she had to be huge. So, I just had to pitch my voice way lower. And the big cry, that's how I got to her, that's how I found her voice."
She continued, "Between good writing, your imagination really, that's how you get there. I'm so grateful I did so much improv. That's where you stay sharp, because you don't have time to think about it. You're on your feet. So, I'm always like, 'You want to do animation? Get in improv.' You don't have time to think that you might be nervous or scared. You just have to go for it. It's like living with a thousand voices in my head at one time, which is just really fun."
Gratitude has carried Alan through a magnificent career thus far, and she's not interested in slowing down.
"I booked Family Guy and SpongeBob SquarePants in the same year. You can't even make that stuff up. That still blows my mind. I'm like, 'Damn, that is cool.' Talent? Sure. Drive? Sure. But it ever goes unnoticed by me that it's right place, right time, and just literally the universe — God, Oprah, whoever's in charge, you know? Truly, truly looking over me, and making sure that I just had a full career and persistence, and patience," Alan said.
"I think a lot of people just expect something to happen to you, and you've got to want it so bad, especially with voiceover. It goes through different trends, and cycles. With animation, I love that I get to just put my crazy ass imagination to use, and do these characters. So, I am just ridiculously blessed, ridiculously blessed. I don't take it for granted for a hot second."
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
