Seth MacFarlane

Seth MacFarlane is the creator of the animated series Family Guy. A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design (1995), he began work as an animator for Hanna-Barbera, working on Cartoon Network programs. His short Larry and Steve (1996), based on a student film called The Life of Larry, won over Fox Network executives and MacFarlane was offered his own show. He animated a pilot for Family Guy on his own and the show made its debut on Fox in early 1999. After a rough few years, the show emerged as a top-selling DVD and rerun favorite. The success of the show led to MacFarlane's other animated series in 2005, American Dad!, and a planned Family Guy spin-off for 2009, The Cleveland Show.

Extra credit: MacFarlane voices various characters in Family Guy, including Peter, Brian and Stewie; he won an Emmy in 2000 for voicing Stewie... MacFarlane writes music and lyrics for his shows and in 2002 he won an Emmy for Outstanding Music and Lyrics for Family Guy... MacFarlane and 20th Century Fox TV agreed to a contract that pays him $100 million through 2012.