Meet the Cast of "Modern Family"

By Jessi Stickel on July 2, 2015

www.abcnews.go.com

The 30 minute comedy “Modern Family” has been on television since 2009 and now in 2015 they are filming their 7th season. This show really has every type of family out there, and I think that is why it has so many fans watching every Wednesday night. It has a way of showing everyday problems families have while still being laugh-out-loud funny.

We tune in and let these three families in our homes, and in a way feel like we know them. As for the actors that play these characters, how much do we know? Take time to meet the cast of “Modern Family”, the Golden Globe winning (2012) comedy.

The Pritchetts

 Ed O’Neil (Jay Pritchett)

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Ed O’Neil (69) is famous for his hilarious role of Al Bundy in the ’90s television series “Married with Children” (1987-1997). Before acting Ed went to college on a football scholarship. He later got drafted by the Pittsburg Steelers; however, he got cut in training camp.

He then went back to college and was a part of the theater department, but decided to become a high school teacher before becoming an actor. Ed made it on television in 1980 before getting cast on “Married with Children.” The legendary actor has been married to his wife Catherine Rusoff since 1986 and together they have two daughters (he also has a daughter named Claire in real life).

O’Neil was featured in several other films as well before getting the role of Jay Pritchett on “Modern Family.” He was proudly awarded with a star on the Walk of Fame in 2011. Ed is truly a television legend.

Sofia Vergara (Gloria Delgato-Pritchett)

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The voluminous Sofia Vergara (42) was born and raised in Columbia with five of her siblings. Her family was financially privileged, which was a blessing, yet also a curse. Since her family had money people would often kidnap her siblings for ransom. After Sofia moved to the states, one particular situation went too far, and her brother was murdered.

At a young age she got discovered on a beach by a photographer and became a model which led her to television. Sofia got married to her first husband in 1991 and soon after had her son. However, the couple got divorced in 1993.

She landed her first role in the United States in the film “Big Trouble” (2002). Later on Vergara starred in “Four Brothers” (2005), and after getting the role of Gloria in “Modern Family” her voice was featured in the animated film “Happy Feet 2″ (2011).

IMDB states that Vergara makes $190,000 per episode of “Modern Family.” This year was already a very successful year for Sofia; not only did she take the lead in the newly released movie “Hot Pursuit,” but she also earned a star on the Walk of Fame in May of this year.

Rico Rodriguez (Manny Delgado)

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Rico Rodriguez (16) was born in Texas. He started acting at a young age. Before landing his role on “Modern Family,” he made appearances on a few movies and several television shows, including Disney. Rico was only 11 years old when he appeared as Manny.

IMDB states that he makes around $70,000 per episode of Modern Family. For only being 16, this kid has it made!

The Dunphys

Julie Bowen (Claire Dunphy)

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Julie Bowen (45) grew up in Maryland and went to Brown University. Bowen started getting small roles on shows like “Party of Five” (1996); however, she got her big break as Adam Sandler’s love interest in “Happy Gilmore” (1996).

She then went on to be a character on several television series such as “Lost” (2005-2007), “Weeds” (2008), and “Boston Legal” (2005-2008). Since she has been a part of the cast of “Modern Family,” she has been in a few films like “Jumping the Broom” (2011) and “Horrible Bosses” (2011).

Not only does she play a busy mom in the show, but she is a mom to three young boys (two of which are twins) in real life. Bowen has been married to her husband Scott Phillips since 2004, and they are now busy trying to keep up with all of their sons.

Julie has won two Primetime Emmy awards (2011 & 2012) for “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series” for playing Claire in “Modern Family.”

Ty Burrell (Phil Dunphy)

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Ty Burrell (47) was born and raised in Oregon and went to college for theatre arts. He attended Penn State to earn his masters degree, to pursue his career as an actor. After graduating he started to appear on television in 2001; he very soon had his breakout movie role in “Black Hawk Down” (2001).

Before getting the role of Phil Dunphy he was featured in several films such as “National Treasure: Book of Secrets” (2007) and “The Incredible Hulk” (2008). He and his wife Holly Burrell have been married since 2000. Together they adopted two daughters, one in 2010 and one in 2012.

Since being cast in “Modern Family,” Ty has been in “The Skeleton Twins” (2014) starring Kristen Wigg and Bill Hader, and his voice was the star of the animated movie “Mr. Peabody & Sherman” (2014), along with his “Modern Family” co-star/stage daughter, Ariel Winter.

Burrell has also won two Primetime Emmy awards (2011 & 2014) for “Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series” for playing Phil in “Modern Family.” Ty Burrell has an upcoming film in the works as well: the animated film we have all been waiting for, “Finding Dory” (2016).

Sarah Hyland (Haley Dunphy)

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Sarah Hyland (24) was raised in New York City by her actor parents. She started pursuing acting at a very young age of 4. She landed a few commercials and then in 1997 she finally got her first role in Howard Stern’s film “Private Parts” (1997).

Two years later Sarah got her role as Molly in “Annie” (1999). After a few years of appearing in several television shows and movies, Sarah was cast as Haley Dunphy in “Modern Family.” Since then, Hyland has been in films like “Conception” (2011) and “Scary Movie 5″ (2013).

In her personal life, Sarah was dating “High School Musical 3: Senior Year” (2008) actor Matt Prokop for five years (2009-2014); however, in late 2014 Sarah got a restraining order against him for assaulting and threatening her. Since February, she has been dating “Vampire Academy” (2014) actor Dominic Sherwood.

Ariel Winter (Alex Dunphy)

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Ariel Winter (17) grew up in Virginia and started acting at a young age. At age 7 Winter was featured in several films and shows; however, she got her big role in the suspense movie “One Missed Call” (2008).

She also had a reoccurring role in the television series “ER” (2008) right before she landed her role as Alex in “Modern Family.” Ariel recently has had somewhat of a scandal with her close family. In 2012, her older brother and sister requested to have her removed from her mother’s custody because she was mentally and physically abusing Ariel. Her sister got custody of her in 2013; however, Ariel just announced in May that she is now emancipated.

Even though she is a child actress that has been through a lot, she does not let that stop her from experiencing normal teenage things; her and her boyfriend went to their high school prom together earlier this year. Ariel also plans on attending college soon.

Nolan Gould (Luke Dunphy)

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Nolan Gould (16) lived in three different states by the time he was 5 years old because his father served in the military. Before “Modern Family” Gould appeared in several television shows and films. Being cast as Luke in “Modern Family” was his breakout role.

However, Nolan is almost the complete opposite of the character he portrays; at the age of 13 Nolan had an IQ of 150 (a normal IQ is 90-110), which is a genius level of intelligence. Recently Gould was in the popular movie “Friends with Benefits” (2011).

The Tucker/Pritchett’s

Jesse Tyler Furguson (Mitchell Pritchett)

www.primetime.unrealitytv.co.uk

Jesse Tyler Ferguson (39) was raised in New Mexico and knew he wanted to be an actor at an early age. In 2001, Jesse made it to television being featured in several television movies. It wasn’t until 2006 that he landed a reoccurring television role in the series “The Class” (2006-2007).

Before his role as Mitchell, Jesse was featured in series “Ugly Betty” (2007-2009) and the film “Untraceable” (2008). Ferguson is gay in real life as well; he and boyfriend Justin Mikita got married in July of 2013. Jesse and his lawyer husband Mikita spend their free time running a non-profit organization they created that sells bow ties to fund marriage equality for same-sex couples called “Tie the Knot.”

Eric Stonstreet (Cameron Tucker)

www.abcnews.go.com

Eric Stonestreet (43) was born and raised in Kansas, and was interested in becoming a clown early on. When Eric was 9 years old he created “Fizbo the clown” which is where they got the clown idea for his character on “Modern Family.”

Stonestreet studied improv for years, and eventually moved to Los Angeles to pursue his acting career. Eric first made it to television in 1999 with small roles in many television series. He got his first reoccurring role in “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” (2001-2005); however, his breakout role was Cam in “Modern Family” in 2009.

Although, Eric is somewhat like his character Cam, he is actually not gay in real life; however, he strongly supports same-sex marriage. After being cast in “Modern Family” he appeared in hit comedy movies “Bad Teacher” (2011) and “Identity Thief” (2013). Along with two of his cast members, Eric Stonestreet has won two Primetime Emmy awards (2010 & 2012) for “Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series” for playing Cameron Tucker in “Modern Family.”

Aubrey Anderson-Emmons (Lily Tucker-Pritchett)

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Aubrey Anderson-Emmons (8) was born in Southern California, and like her character Lily, her mother was born in Korea and adopted by an American couple. At the age of 4 Aubrey joined the “Modern Family” cast in their third season. This is the only television series Aubrey has been a part of but she has also been featured in two short films recently.

In March 2015 the cast, writers and directors of “Modern Family” participated in the annual PaleyFest, which is where fans come to see the cast sit and talk about the show and share their personal stories. My mother surprised me with second row tickets for my birthday.

Afterwards the cast signed autographs for their fans. We were lucky enough to take selfies with some of the cast! They were so sweet, and it was an experience I will cherish for the rest of my life.

Modern Family Paley Fest 2015.
Ariel Winter, Sarah Hyland, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, & Julie Bowen.

 

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