A modern family for modern times
BOB D’AMICO/ABC
A story that is as old as time: turn your back for even the briefest of moments, the kids grow up, move out, and have kids of their own, keeping the family growing for years to come. Modern Family, in that respect, couldn’t have come at a better time when it premiered in 2009, featuring a large extended blended family of various backgrounds, ages, and preferred pronouns. Before ABC says goodbye to the Pritchetts, the Dunphys, and the Tucker-Pritchetts, thumb through the old photo album and see how everyone looked back when the series started versus how they look now, and find out just how much this modern family has changed.
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Sofia Vergara as Gloria Pritchett in season 1; Sofia Vergara as Gloria Pritchett in season 11
BOB D’AMICO/ABC; Jill Greenberg/ABC
When Sofia Vergara was cast in Modern Family she had been working for years as a model and Univision host, with appearances in films like 2002’s Big Trouble and Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns under her belt, but it was her role as Gloria Pritchett opposite Ed O’Neill that made her a household name and one of the highest paid actresses on television. During her tenure on the show Vergara was nominated for four Emmy awards and four Golden Globes, and was honored with a star on the Walk of Fame in 2015 placed adjacent to costar O’Neill’s star on Hollywood Boulevard. A star wasn’t the only thing in store for Vergara in 2015, she also starred in Hot Pursuit opposite Reese Witherspoon and married Magic Mike star Joe Manganiello. What does Vergara have planned next? Why she’s joining the panel of judges on the next season of America’s Got Talent.
Ed O’Neill as Jay Pritchett in season 1; Ed O’Neill as Jay Pritchett in season 11
BOB D’AMICO/ABC; Jill Greenberg/ABC
Few actors get to play one of America’s favorite dads, and even fewer have had that opportunity twice. Ed O’Neill joined Modern Family with the legacy of Married… with Children firmly in tow, although the character Jay Pritchett is certainly no Al Bundy. (One sold shoes, one made a fortune designing closets to put them in, to start.) While O’Neill earned two Golden Globe nominations for playing Bundy from the Foreign Press Association, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences honored O’Neill with three Emmy nominations over the series run of Modern Family. During the run of the show, O’Neill also lent his voice talents to animated family fare such as Wreck-It Ralph and Finding Dory, and appeared in The Last Shift which premiered at Sundance in January. As for what’s next, on a recent episode of Ellen O’Neill confessed, “I’ve never made a plan in my life. I’ll just go along and see what happens. I’m happy, and I’m happy that we got the job done, and it was a wonderful job.”
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Rico Rodriguez as Manny Delgado in season 1; Rico Rodriguez as Manny Delgado in season 11
BOB D’AMICO/ABC; Jill Greenberg/ABC
Rico Rodriguez was already part of the ABC family when he was cast on Modern Family at age, having appeared in a recurring sketch on Jimmy Kimmel Live, but it was the role of Manny Delgado, son of Gloria Pritchett and stepson of Jay Pritchett, that would prove to be his biggest break at age 11. Besides Modern Family, Rodriguez made a cameo in The Muppets film, and did voice work on Disney’s The Lion Guard and 2016’s Americano, and started a production company with his sister, actress Raini Rodriguez, which he told The Real will be the focus of his attention when the show wraps. Sadly, Rodriguez’s father died suddenly in 2017 when the actor was just 18. Fortunately the Modern Family crew embraced him as one of their own, and he was active on the production’s softball team and celebrated his 21st birthday with the show’s final table read.
Jeremy Maguire as Joe Pritchett in season 7; Jeremy Maguire as Joe Pritchett in season 11
Bob D’Amico/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images; Jill Greenberg/ABC
The character of Joe Pritchett has seen a few child actors have a turn at the role, first by twin sisters Rebecca and Sierra Mark in season 4, followed by Pierce Wallace in seasons 4-6, and when the Modern Family showrunners needed an older child to take on the part, it was finally 4-year-old Jeremy Maguire who got the nod at the start of season 7. Since then Maguire’s learned how to throw a football from NFL superstar Peyton Manning on the show and has charmed fans with his sartorial choice of wearing capes on the red carpet. Maguire’s next project is a feature with Dermot Mulroney titled The Virgin of Highland Park.
Julie Bowen as Claire Dunphy in season 1; Julie Bowen as Claire Dunphy in season 11
BOB D’AMICO/ABC; Jill Greenberg/ABC
Comedy fans first got to know Julie Bowen as Adam Sandler’s love interest in 1996’s Happy Gilmore, and before landing on Modern Family, she sharpened her TV chops with stints on ER, Ed, Lost, Weeds, and Boston Legal. Bowen has shined since taking on the role as Claire Dunphy, receiving six Emmy nominations for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series, taking home the award in 2011 and 2012, and in 2019, she became the first cast member to direct an episode of the sitcom in its history. In addition to her work on the show, Bowen is on the board for Baby2Baby which helps supply diapers and other baby necessities to children in need. Bowen won’t be away from the screen for too long, reuniting with Sandler for Hubie Halloween which is due out from Netflix in fall 2020, and currently working on the Raised by Wolves pilot for CBS with Will & Grace creators Max Mutchnick and David Kohan.
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Ty Burrell as Phil Dunphy in season 1; Ty Burrell as Phil Dunphy in season 11
BOB D’AMICO/ABC; Jill Greenberg/ABC
Modern Family showrunners Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd knew Ty Burrell was talented from his time on their short-lived comedy Back to You on Fox, but few could have predicted the part of try-hard dad Phil Dunphy would see Burrell earn eight Emmy nominations for outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series, winning the award in 2011 and 2014. While he is also known for feature work like playing the “jerk” in Dawn of the Dead and Leonard in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, Burrell told EW it was Modern Family that finally opened the door for him to get voice acting parts like the one he had in 2014’s Mr. Peabody & Sherman. The experience has paid off, as his next project is the animated series Duncanville alongside Amy Poehler.
Sarah Hyland as Haley Dunphy in season 1; Sarah Hyland as Haley Dunphy in season 11
BOB D’AMICO/ABC; Jill Greenberg/ABC
Actress Sarah Hyland hit the big screen when she was still very small, playing one of Howard Stern’s daughters in 1997’s Private Parts, and it wasn’t long before she was landing regular spots on daytime dramas and evening serials, leading up to a recurring role on NBC’s Lipstick Jungle, and finally, a lead on Modern Family at age 18. The road for Hyland to play “the dumb girl” as she’s called it, was not easy as she has battled a lifelong fight against kidney dysplasia, even receiving a kidney transplant from her brother in 2012 and a second one from her father in 2017. Despite the health concerns, she kept pace with production of the show in addition to maintaining a busy voice acting and film career, and ultimately finding love through her hilarious Twitter account, announcing her engagement to Wells Adams from The Bachelorette in 2019. As for her next role after Modern Family, she’s already working on a pilot for ABC with screenwriter Emily V. Gordon (The Big Sick).
Ariel Winter as Alex Dunphy in season 1; Ariel Winter as Alex Dunphy in season 11
BOB D’AMICO/ABC; Jill Greenberg/ABC
Ariel Winter has grown up both on and off camera since taking on the role of middle child Alex Dunphy on Modern Family in 2009 at age 11. When she first started, she was grateful for the experience of playing out some of life’s biggest milestones like kissing a crush on screen and enjoying the awards show circuit, but behind the scenes she fought for and received emancipation from her mother, and denounced body shamers as she spent her teen years in the public eye, all while maintained a busy voice acting career, with parts on Phineas and Ferb, Jake and the Never Land Pirates, Minnie’s Bow-Toons, and Disney’s Sofia the First. Winter recently appeared on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and hopes to see more dramatic roles now that she’s closing the door on the comedic Alex Dunphy, recently telling PEOPLE, “It was rough going through all of my awkward stages, all of my different stages, because I really changed a lot over the course of 11 years.”
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Nolan Gould as Luke Dunphy in season 1; Nolan Gould as Luke Dunphy in season 11
BOB D’AMICO/ABC; Jill Greenberg/ABC
When Nolan Gould was barely 11 and Modern Family was still in its early seasons, Gould told EW in 2010 he liked playing the rambunctious Luke Dunphy because it gave him a way to be a different person — in real life Gould is a member Mensa and definitely wouldn’t try using a pogo stick on a trampoline. Being a kid on the show doesn’t mean the problems are child-sized, as Gould and the rest of the child stars had to fight for contract increases in 2017 to keep their salaries in line with the success of the show. Outside of Modern Family, Gould appeared in the video for rapper Logic’s 2017 single “1-800-273-8255” (the number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline), the 2019 indie release Yes, and the upcoming Camp, produced by James Franco. Gould also chronicles his rock climbing efforts on Instagram.
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Reid Ewing as Dylan Marshall in season 1; Reid Ewing as Dylan Marshall in season 11
Adam Taylor/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images; Jill Greenberg/ABC
Reid Ewing was just finding his footing in Hollywood when was cast as Haley Dunphy’s on-and-off again high school musician boyfriend in a recurring role that stretched over the entire run of the series, with the character Dylan Marshall going from slacker to husband, son-in-law, and father by end of the show. A musician in real life, Ewing starred in the MTV film The Truth Below in 2011, and has talked publicly about the problems of living with body dysmorphia and the dangers of cosmetic surgery.
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Eric Stonestreet as Cameron Tucker in season 1; Eric Stonestreet as Cameron Tucker in season 11
BOB D’AMICO/ABC; Jill Greenberg/ABC
What do you get when you mix a former security guard who worked Garth Brooks concerts with a real-life clown? Eric Stonetreet, and yes, Modern Family’s Fizbo the clown is based on his own love of clowns. Stonestreet was nominated for three Emmys for his portrayal of Cameron Tucker, winning the award for an actor in a supporting role in both 2010 and 2012. While he was still working on the show, Stonestreet also appeared in Bad Teacher alongside Cameron Diaz in 2011, and has voiced the mutt Duke in The Secret Life of Pets animation franchise. While Stonestreet recently taped a few episodes of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? for ABC in honor of the game show’s 20th anniversary, the actor reportedly is looking forward to spending time “re-tethering” himself to his hometown Kansas City after the finale of Modern Family with his girlfriend who works as a pediatric nurse there.
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Aubrey Anderson-Emmons as Lily Tucker-Pritchett in season 3, Aubrey Anderson-Emmons as Lily Tucker-Pritchett in season 11
BOB D’AMICO/ABC; Jill Greenberg/ABC
Aubrey Anderson-Emmons took over the role as Lily Tucker-Pritchett from twins Jaden and Ella Hiller in season 3 and made it her own over the next eight seasons. The daughter of comedian Amy Anderson, 4-year-old Anderson-Emmons started off on the show in 2011 hiding behind her mother’s legs according to costar Nolan Gould, and asking if the set was a real house and if her castmates were real people, but it wasn’t long before she was at home with Modern Family, becoming a real “diva” on the set according to a 2012 Emmy sketch where she played a “monster” on the set. (Just kidding, she was the cutest diva of all time.) Outside of her work in television, Anderson-Emmons runs a bamboo toothbrush company alongside her mother, Earthmania.
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Cast shot: Season 1, 2009-2010
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Cast shot: Season 2, 2010-2011
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Cast shot: Season 3, 2011-2012
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Cast shot: Season 4, 2012-2013
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Cast shot: Season 5, 2013-2014
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Cast shot: Season 6, 2014-2015
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Cast shot: Season 7, 2015-2016
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Cast shot: Season 8, 2016-2017
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Ariel Winter as Alex Dunphy, Nolan Gould as Luke Dunphy, Sarah Hyland as Haley Dunphy, Julie Bowen as Claire Dunphy, Eric Stonestreet as Cameron Tucker, Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Mitchell Pritchett
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Cast shot: Season 9, 2017-2018
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Cast shot: Season 10, 2018-2019
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Cast shot: Season 11, 2019-2020
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