In 2009, Julie Bowen would take on another defining role in her career by taking the place of Claire Dunphy in “Modern Family”. Claire is a loving mother, wife, sister, and daughter who does everything she can to keep her family together no matter the argument or wild antics that unfold. While working to keep her husband and three children happy and healthy, she is a confidante to her brother Mitchell Pritchett (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) and a business partner to her father Jay (Ed O’Neill).
Bowen won the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2011 and 2012, but she almost turned down the role. She told “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” that she pulled out of the cast because she was pregnant with her twins and instead chose to focus on another role where the character was pregnant. “Then I had to scramble to get the [‘Modern Family”] back work. But, I mean, when I think about it, it can keep me up in the middle of the night, like, ‘Oh my god, I almost didn’t!’ “, Did she say.
The show ended with season 11 in 2020, and Bowen’s children got to see their mother close this chapter in her career. She said “Jimmy Kimmel Live”, “I made them [my kids] come for the very end. They thought it was upsetting because all I did was cry.