Where is the Modern Family cast now? See what the stars are doing 15 years after the beloved sitcom premiered

The ensemble cast carried the series for 11 seasons on ABC.

Credit:Bob D’Amico/ABC

01 of 11

Julie Bowen (Claire Dunphy)

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Julie Bowen won 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,’” Bowen said in 2024. “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.’”

Prior to Modern Family, Bowen was best known as Adam Sandler’s love interest in Happy Gilmore (1996) and as one of the stars of Ed (2000–2004). She also had a brief arc on ER (1998–1999) and recurred as Jack’s ex-wife on Lost (2005–2007). The actress also flexed her comedic muscles in Horrible Bosses (2011) and Life of the Party (2018), opposite Melissa McCarthy.

After saying goodbye to Claire, she reunited with Sandler in Hubie Halloween (2020), costarred in the time-travel horror-comedy Totally Killer (2023), and landed a main cast role in Peacock’s occult comedy series Hysteria! (2024–present). Next year, she’ll be back on the links in Happy Gilmore 2.

Bowen was married to real estate investor and software developer Scott Phillips from 2004 to 2018. They have three sons. Like a Modern Family plotline, she and Jesse Tyler Ferguson both made separate trips to the ER on Thanksgiving with their children in 2024.

02of 11

Ty Burrell (Phil Dunphy)

Danny Feld/ABC; Getty

“Cool Dad” character Phil Dunphy was written specifically for Ty 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 said in an 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.”

Before his star-making turn, Burrell had small, memorable roles in Dawn of the Dead (2004), In Good Company (2004), National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007), and The Incredible Hulk (2008). The actor was also a veteran of two short-lived sitcoms, Out of Practice (2005–2006) and Back to You (2007–2008).

After Modern Family raised his profile, he landed parts in the indie darling The Skeleton Twins (2014), opposite Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig, and Muppets Most Wanted (2014) while lending his voice to Finding Dory (2016) and the Fox series Duncanville (2020–2022).

Burrell and his wife, Holly, have been married since 2000 and are parents to two daughters.

03of 11

Ed O’Neill (Jay Pritchett)

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Ed O’Neill earned three Emmy nominations as the curmudgeonly patriarch Jay Pritchett.

In 2013, he told the Television Academy that 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 are good. 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.”

O’Neill was already a TV icon thanks to playing Al Bundy on Married…With Children (1987–1997). His big-screen endeavors include major roles in sports movies — Blue Chips (1994), Little Giants (1994), and Prefontaine (1997) — and a recurring spot in David Mamet’s acting troupe, namely The Spanish Prisoner (1997), Spartan (2004), and Redbelt (2008). The veteran actor recently starred as former L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling in the miniseries Clipped (2024).

He has been married to Catherine Rusoff since 1986. They have two daughters.