Lorraine Swanson (Mo Collins) is sturdy, older, mentally-challenged midwestern woman from Fridley, Minnesota, who has a penchant for musing over the mundane and unintentionally annoying people.
She often manages to startle people with a winnowing throat clearing sound, and has a tendency to stand out as a tourist in the areas she visits. She has a keen ability for numerical estimations, particularly on the subject of pricing, and often kicks or bangs on objects in her price determination process. This talent has been demonstrated on a skit featuring Lorraine on The Price is Right. "Lorraine wears high, elastic-waist jeans, which she tucks her shirt. Lorraine also wears an unbuttoned knit sweater (usually red) and her trademark oversized thick glasses. She speaks with a very thick Midwestern accent.
Lorraine's family includes her grossly overweight and relatively passive husband Carl Swanson, Sr. (Paul Vogt), her overweight son Carl Swanson, Jr., both of whom she often has videotape her zany exploits, a tomboyish daughter named Bobby Swanson (Bobby Lee) and another son named Lil' Mo, only seen in "Lorraine Goes Camping. The Swanson family also has a large number of dogs. Easily bemused by simple things, Lorraine often comes across as not being particularly educated on worldly issues, however her attempt to incite anti establishment protests at Florida University, which collimated in an attempt to flee from campus police, when she was recording a visit on behalf of her son Carl Jr, who could not visit the college himself due to having contracted a case of mononucleosis, hints that Lorraine may have a past history of advocacy. Lorraine runs from the police a second time in the same skit upon the officer's attempt to arrest her for public nudity when she strips off her bathing suit at a beach. In the skit of Lorraine at a Mardi Gras in New Orleans, it is revealed that Lorraine is proficient at playing the clarinet. She also does her trademark cough/laugh in rhythm along with the song "When The Saints Go Marching In."
Every sketch features a certain word which Lorraine cannot pronounce; she repeatedly interrupts the other character's correct pronunciation several times before pronouncing the word correctly. Lorraine was once in a Lady Marmalade parody, involving the ladies of Lorraine Swanson, Dot Goddard, Melina Jacinto and Ms. Swan.
Catchphrases[]
- "Uh-huh-huh-huh!".
- "Gaaaaawd, that's / you're cute.".
- "Yeah, well, ya know."
- "HUH?!"
- "DEET!"