Seth Woodbury MacFarlane (məkˈfɑːrlᵻn; born October 26, 1973) is an American actor, animator, filmmaker, comedian, and singer. MacFarlane is the creator and star of the television series Family Guy (since 1999) and The Orville (since 2017), and co-creator of the television series American Dad! (since 2005) and The Cleveland Show (2009–2013). He also wrote, directed, and starred in the films Ted (2012), its sequel Ted 2 (2015), and A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014).
MacFarlane is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, where he studied animation. Recruited to Hollywood, he was an animator and writer for Hanna-Barbera for television series including Johnny Bravo, Cow and Chicken, Dexter's Laboratory, and the animated short Larry & Steve for What A Cartoon!. MacFarlane made guest appearances as an actor on television series such as Gilmore Girls, The War at Home, Star Trek: Enterprise, and FlashForward. In 2008, he created the YouTube series Seth MacFarlane's Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy. He won several awards for his work on Family Guy, including five Primetime Emmy Awards. In 2009, he won the Webby Award for Film & Video Person of the Year.
MacFarlane has performed as a singer at Carnegie Hall in New York City and the Royal Albert Hall in London. He has released seven studio albums, in the vein of Frank Sinatra, with influences from jazz orchestrations, and Hollywood musicals beginning with Music Is Better Than Words in 2011. MacFarlane has received five Grammy Award nominations for his work. He has frequently collaborated with artists such as Sara Bareilles, Norah Jones, and Elizabeth Gillies on his albums. MacFarlane has also sung with Gwen Stefani, Meghan Trainor, Ariana Grande, and Barbra Streisand. He hosted the 85th Academy Awards in 2013 and was nominated for Best Original Song for "Everybody Needs a Best Friend" from Ted.
MacFarlane was executive producer of the Neil deGrasse Tyson-hosted Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, an update of the 1980s Cosmos series hosted by Carl Sagan.