It felt like family sitcoms were largely on their way out in the late 2000s. Then cameModern Family, which blended the trendy mockumentary format with the wacky hijinks of joke-a-second shows likeArrested DevelopmentandEverybody Loves Raymond.The show was a ratings smash and awards darling, winning a total of 22 Emmys.
With its heightened yet relatable depiction of a diverse family living in Los Angeles, the show was an instant hit. What kept audiences coming back, though, was the cast, led byEd O'Neill, Sofía Vergara, Ty Burrell, Julie Bowen, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and Eric Stonestreet.
The sitcom has left a lasting legacy and remains highly rewatchable since its conclusion in 2020. Keep scrolling to see the cast ofModern Family, then and now.
Julie Bowen (Claire Dunphy)
Julie Bowenwon two Emmys as type-A mom Claire. The actress almost passed on the role after telling her reps not to send her to comedy auditions.
"I was like, ‘I can’t tell a joke, I'm not funny — don't give me those three-jokes-a-page kind of things,’” Bowensaid in a 2024 podcast interviewwith Andy Richter.“My managers were always very supportive, like, ‘You know what? Helen Hunt isn't funny.’ I go… ‘She just won like five Emmys.’ They’re like, ‘Yes. So she’s funny in a different way. She’s not three-jokes-a-page funny. And yet she is wildly funny. Try to be Helen Hunt.’”
DuringModern Family's run, the actress also flexed her comedic muscles inHorrible Bosses(2011) andLife of the Party(2018).
After saying goodbye to Claire, she reunited with herHappy Gilmorecostar Adam Sandler inHubie Halloween(2020) andHappy Gilmore 2(2025), costarred in the time-travel horror-comedyTotally Killer(2023), and landed a leading role in Peacock’s occult comedy seriesHysteria!.
Bowen was married to real estate investor and software developer Scott Phillips from 2004 to 2018. They have three sons. Like aModern Familyplotline,she and Jesse Tyler Fergusonboth made separate trips to the ERon Thanksgiving with their children in 2024.
Ty Burrell (Phil Dunphy)
“Cool Dad” character Phil Dunphy was written specifically forTy Burrell. Despite this, he was rejected by ABC executives several times before they finally relented. He wound up winning two Emmys.
“My agent and wife both advised me that I was being disrespected by ABC. They said, ‘Forget it. Let it go. You don’t need to be doing this,’” Burrell recalled inEntertainment Weekly's oral history of the series. “My wife, being an amazing person, was trying to protect me from going in and having my feelings crushed for a fifth time.”
AfterModern Familyraised his profile, he landed parts inThe Skeleton Twins(2014),Muppets Most Wanted(2014),Finding Dory(2016), and the Fox seriesDuncanville.
Burrell and his wife, Holly, have been married since 2000 and are parents to two daughters.
Ed O’Neill (Jay Pritchett)
Ed O’Neill was already a TV icon thanks to his curmudgeonly turn as Al Bundy onMarried…With Childrenbefore landing the role of patriarch Jay Pritchett, for which he was nominated for three Emmys.
In 2013, hetold the Television Academythat he knew the show was special at the first table read: “I remember at one point early on like looking up and like, what the hell is going on here? These people aregood. I didn’t expect them to be that good… I didn’t know them… So that was amazing. That reading was at a level that’s higher than most first readings.”
In recent years, the veteran actor starred as former L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling in the 2024 miniseriesClippedand had a recurring role opposite Glenn Close onAll's Fair.
He has been married to Catherine Rusoff since 1986. They have two daughters.
Sofía Vergara (Gloria Delgado-Pritchett)
Sofía Vergaraplayed Jay’s wife, the fierce, outspoken Gloria. The role earned her four Emmy nominations and the distinction of being thehighest-paid actress on television.
Vergara has often pushed back against criticisms painting Gloria as a stereotypical archetype. “What’s wrong with being a stereotype?” shesaid toHola! USAin 2017. “Gloria’s character is inspired by my mom and my aunt. They are both Latin women who grew up in Colombia, like me. They love color, prints, and shoes… Eight years ago nobody had an accent like this on television.”
HerModern Familysuccess opened up big-screen opportunities, with the actress taking roles in Jon Favreau’sChef(2014),The Three Stooges(2012), andHot Pursuit(2015).
Vergara received her fifth Emmy nomination for playing the title role in Netflix’s 2024 seriesGriselda. She's also served as a judge onAmerica’s Got Talentsince 2020.
She was married to Joe Gonzalez from 1991 to 1993. They have a son, actor Manolo Gonzalez Vergara. She was later wed to Joe Manganiello from 2015 to 2024.
Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Mitchell Pritchett)
Jesse Tyler Fergusonearned five Emmy nominations as uptight lawyer Mitchell Pritchett.
On a 2024 episode of his podcastDinner’s on Me,the out gay actordiscussed how the show's popularity seemed to lend him a degree of safetyfrom homophobes. “They would recognize me from being… ‘that gay one from TV and I like that show,’ and there would be a change,” he said. “It kind of gave me this coat of armor, and I had this protection of being this character that people also loved.”
SinceModern Family,Ferguson has guested onThe Good Fight,High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, andElsbeth, and appeared in the big-screen comedyCocaine Bear(2023). He won a Tony in 2022 for his performance in the Broadway revival ofTake Me Out.
Ferguson and his husband, Justin Mikita, have been married since 2013 and share two children. The couple founded the non-profitPronoun, which raises money to fight for LGBTQ+ civil rights.
Eric Stonestreet (Cameron Tucker)
Eric Stonestreetwon two Emmys for bringing the theatrical Cameron Tucker, Mitch’s partner, to life.
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"We wanted to create a couple that people could relate to and enjoy watching,” hesaid in 2016in an interview on Talk Radio 1210 WPHT. “The agenda has never been to do anything other than make people laugh… If that opens people's hearts and minds with the idea that people are people no matter their race, creed, gender, sexual orientation, then we’re successful in another area.”
Like most ofModern Family’s cast, the role was a career-changer for Stonestreet after years of bit parts and guest roles. He parlayed his newfound fame into roles in movies likeBad Teacher(2011),The Secret Life of Pets(2017), and HBO’sConfirmation(2016), the latter opposite Kerry Washington and Wendell Pierce.
He reunited with Sofía Vergara as a guest judge onAmerica’s Got Talentin 2020, and later hosted the reality competition seriesDomino Masters.The Emmy winner returned to scripted comedy for season 2 ofThe Santa Clausesand recurred as a serial killer onDexter: Resurrection.
In 2019, the Kansas City native became a part-owner of MLB’s Kansas City Royals. Stonestreetmarried longtime partner Lindsay Schweitzerin September 2025. The couple began dating in 2016 and got engaged in 2021.
Rico Rodriguez (Manny Delgado)
Rico Rodriguezplayed Gloria’s precocious son Manny.
“Coming to work every day with my cast and crew never actually felt like work, it felt more like hanging out with my extended family,” Rodriguezwrote in an Instagram postin 2020. “Words cannot even begin to describe the life-changing experience I have had on this show. I have, quite literally, grown up right before everyone’s eyes.”
After a cameo inThe Muppets(2011), he scored his first lead film role in the chess dramaEndgame(2015). He later joined hisModern Familycostar Sarah Hyland onThe Lion Guard, a spinoff series ofThe Lion King(1994), as the voice of the zebra Raha.
Rodriguez appeared in a 2024 guest spot on the Disney Channel’sBunk’dalongside his sister,Raini Rodriguez. He also lent his voice to the animated sports comedySneaks(2025).
Sarah Hyland (Haley Dunphy)
Sarah Hylandplayed the ditzy eldest Dunphy child, Haley.
“Sarah could have just been a Valley girl gum-snappy superficial kind of girl if done the wrong way, and she’s found a way to really humanize the character,” series creator Christopher Lloydtold EWin 2010. “She shows the right amount of concern towards her brothers and sisters and a little sassiness towards her parents…”
DuringModern Family, she appeared inVampire Academy(2014) and theTV remake ofDirty Dancing(2017) before headlining the rom-comThe Wedding Year(2019).
The actress went on to star with herModern Familycostar Adam DeVine inPitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin,and dazzled Broadway audiences inThe Great GatsbyandJust in Time.
The formerLove Island USAhostwed Bachelor Nation star Wells Adamsin a 2022 ceremony officiated by Jesse Tyler Ferguson.
In 2024, Hyland, a domestic abuse survivor, waspresented with the Courage Awardby TV mom Julie Bowen atVariety’s Power of Women event for her advocacy work.
Ariel Winter (Alex Dunphy)
Ariel Winterplayed Alex, the booksmart middle child of Phil and Claire Dunphy.
Over the years, Winter has carved out a niche in voice work, with roles in thePhineas and Ferbfranchise,Sofia the First, andStar Trek: Lower Decks. The actress also landedher dream guest roleonLaw & Order: SVU.
She competed on the reality competition showStars on Marsin 2023, where shefeuded with castmate Lance Armstrongover hiscomments about trans athletes. She chose toself-eliminate in episode 10.
Winter is the younger sibling of actors Shanelle and Jimmy Workman. In 2014, her sister was appointed her permanent legal guardian. In 2015, at age 17, she was legally emancipated from her mother.
She told E! Newsin October 2024 that her onscreen family has become a real-life family — especially her TV brother, Nolan Gould. “Heismy brother," she said. "He was my first best friend, which is a really beautiful thing. We met when he was 10 and I was 11, and we’ve gone through so many stages of life together. And we have stuck through it all, thick and thin.”
Nolan Gould (Luke Dunphy)
Nolan Gouldwas the mischievous little Dunphy brother, Luke. But don’t let his goofy onscreen persona fool you: Gould is a member of Mensa.
“The best thing is that he’s not like me and I get to do a lot of physical comedy,” he told EW in 2010. “I get to run into walls or screen doors, things that I’ve always wanted to do… I get to be another person when I go to work.”
The young actor addedR.L. Stine’s The Haunting HourandFriends With Benefits(2011) to his credits duringModern Family. He also donned an apron forWorst Cooks in America: Celebrity Editionand popped up onThe Celebrity Dating Game.
Gould guested onGrey’s Anatomyin 2022, and booked lead roles in the comediesThe Nana Project(2023) andCamp(2023).
Frances Anderson (Lily Tucker-Pritchett)
Frances Anderson (formerly known as Aubrey Anderson-Emmons) took over the sassy role of Lily starting with the show’s third season. At 4 years old, she became the youngest person to win a Screen Actors Guild award when the cast took home the ensemble prize.
While being on TV may look glamorous from the outside,she told her TikTok followersin 2024, “I think people don't realize, I was working, and if I wasn't working on the set, that I had to do three hours of studio school a day, so I had no time to rest except lunch."
Modern Familywas Anderson's professional debut. She has only appeared in three short films since. However, the young star runs a popular YouTube channel,Let's Discuss With Aubrey & Amy, with her mom. She pivoted to a music career in 2025, releasing the EPDrownthat August.
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