Lacey Chabert voiced Meg Griffin on Family Guy for the show’s first season before being replaced by Mila Kunis, but why did Lacey Chabert leave Family Guy? While Family Guy would eventually attract a huge fanbase, the show struggled during its early years. The series was created by Seth MacFarlane (The Orville), who also voices Peter Griffin, the dimwitted title character. While Family Guy had a cult following during its early seasons, lukewarm ratings led to it being canceled in 2002. Thankfully, due to word of mouth, the show’s popularity increased over time, leading to robust DVD sales. This led to its revival in 2005, and the series has been running ever since. The first Meg voice actor left after season 1, and was replaced by Mila Kunis.
Mila Kunis (That 70’s Show) currently provides the Meg Family Guy voice, having joined the show during season 2. Meg is often on the receiving end of cruel jokes and bullying from her family, which only seems to get worse with each passing season. Kunis is technically the third actress to voice the character. Cree Summer (Voltron: Legendary Defender) was originally cast in season 1 and began recording work, but was later replaced, with Lacey Chabert (Mean Girls) taking over Meg for the first season. Following Chabert’s departure from Family Guy, Kunis inherited the role as the Meg voice actor, starting from the third episode of season 2, “Da Boom.”
Why Mila Kunis Wasn’t Meg In Family Guy Season 1
When it comes to the reasons for Lacey Chabert’s departure from the series, there’s no real drama involved. Chabert was still in school when she worked on Family Guy season 1, so between studying and shooting the TV series Party Of Five, she decided to drop Family Guy and focus her attention elsewhere. Seth MacFarlane has also confirmed there was no tension and her exit was completely amicable. Strangely, a contractual quirk meant she wasn’t credited for the Meg Family Guy voice during its initial run, which may also have been a deciding factor.
Given the meta nature of Family Guy, the Lacey Chabert Family Guy replacement has been joked about more than once, such as when Brian and Stewie travel back in time to the very first episode in season 10’s “Back To The Pilot,” where Lacey Chabert’s voice is still used for Meg. Kunis is so closely associated with Meg Griffin now that it’s hard to imagine another actress in the role, though Chabert still did a great job with the character.
Did The Original Meg Griffin Quit Acting?
Contrary to popular belief, Lacey Chabert (the original Meg) did not quit acting after leaving the role of Meg from Family Guy. In fact, she’s gone on to have a successful voice acting and live-action career after appearing as the Meg voice actor on the show in season 1. While she’s not the most well-known name in the industry, most people may know her for playing Gretchen Weiners in the 2004 movie Mean Girls, costarring with Amanda Seyfried, Lindsay Lohan, and Rachel McAdams.
Outside of her Family Guy voice work, Lacey Chabert also voiced Eliza Thornberry on the Nickelodeon series The Wild Thornberrys and Kaycee in the Bratz movie and videogame series, and Chabert also starred as Dana in the 2006 Black Christmas remake. She also provided her voice acting skills as Gwen Stacy in the animated series The Spectacular Spider-Man. Since then, Lacey Chabert has appeared in quite a few TV movies and continues to act on the small screen to this day. Despite her short-lived stint on Family Guy, Lacey Chabert has gone on to enjoy an active career in the industry since voicing Meg Griffin.
Replacing Lacey Chabert Made The Griffin Family Click
It’s undeniable that actress Mila Kunis taking over the Meg Family Guy voice role elevated the show to new heights — and brought in a new slew of jokes. In Family Guy season 1, Meg is hardly recognizable as a character when compared to her iteration in later seasons. While she remains a very typical teenage girl through and through, as Family Guy evolved over its 21 seasons Meg became the butt of some of the shows darkest jokes, and that only works because of Kunis’ voice acting.
While Chabert did a great job as the character, That 70s Show‘s Mila Kunis as the Meg voice actor brought the character to life and made the Griffin family unit click. In addition, it seems like Seth MacFarlane and Mila Kunis have a decent working relationship, as she also was in his live-action movie Ted alongside Mark Wahlberg. Adding Mila Kunis to the cast definitely made a big difference for Family Guy, and while Lacey Chabert is a talented actress in her own right, Kunis stands out for voicing the part.