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Modern Family revolves around three families that are interrelated through Jay Pritchett, his son Mitchell Pritchett and his daughter Claire Dunphy. The families meet for family functions, around the neighborhood, and cross-family bonding.

The Dunphy family

Claire Dunphy

Claire Dunphy (née Pritchett) (Julie Bowen) is the daughter of Jay, Mitchell's older sister, and the overprotective mother of the Dunphy family and its three very different kids.^[1] She is often exhausted from stress created by her family but is still a loving mother.^[1] When it comes to her kids she has difficulty controlling Haley's hormones, Alex's manipulative nature, and Luke's lack of common sense.^[1] She is seen as an experienced parent by Cameron and Mitchell so she is gone to for her parenting advice. She enjoys jogging and reading. Claire is also the most active family member when organizing family get-togethers. When an old co-worker (Minnie Driver) visits, it is revealed that she was a successful businesswoman but left her job and married Phil a few months after she became pregnant with Haley. She also shows resentment towards the abandonment of her working career due to seeing the success of one of her former peers, but realizes her family is what is important.^[2]

Critical reception

Julie Bowen's performance was praised by Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly who said, "Bowen’s Claire could have been a blank blonde cipher. Far from it: Bowen’s wide array of silent gazes at the camera, her slow-burns at her clan’s bad behavior, and her ability to freak out without seeming nutso crazy makes her an essential, stand-out part of TV’s best freshman ensemble cast."^[3] Julie Bowen was also nominated for Satellite Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy, but ultimately lost to other freshmen show Glee's Lea Michele.

Phil Dunphy

Phil Dunphy (Ty Burrell) is Claire's husband of 16 years who sees himself as the "cool dad."^[4] He dotes on his wife Claire and constantly tries to find ways to bond with his three kids.^[4] He is seen as very competitive, one example being his nature of always beating his son at basketball. He has a very juvenile attitude, and is referred to by Claire as the "kid [she's] married to." He uses a parenting method that he calls "peerenting", which is a combination of talking like a peer but acting like a parent.^[4] He is a real estate agent who is very confident in his work, once saying "I could sell a fur coat to an Eskimo."^[4] Phil has a severe case of Coulrophobia, which is first revealed when despite his objection, Cameron comes to Luke's party dressed as a clown. He at times shows a sort of crush-like affection for Gloria, however he says "[He] would never stray from Claire."^[4] In college he was a cheerleader.

Critical reception

Ty Burrell had received many positive reviews for performance. Hank Stuever from the Washington Post wrote, "A standout performance from Ty Burrell's new twist on the doofus-dad stereotype."^[5] Paige Wiser a reporter for the Chicago Sun Times wrote, "Ty Burrell is a genius as a dad who stays hip by keeping up with the numbers from "High School Musical.""^[6]

Haley Dunphy

Haley Dunphy (Sarah Hyland) is the older daughter of Claire and Phil, who is a typical teenager.^[7] Haley is supremely independent but sometimes a little naïve, especially when it comes to arguing with her parents.^[7] She once rubbed her cell phone on her head for an hour because her sister, Alex, told her it would recharge the battery.^[7] Haley is embarrassed by her dad, especially when he tries to buddy up to her boyfriend Dylan.^[7] She is concerned about her popularity at school which contributes to her embarrassment of her parents. She is just starting to drive and is always talking on her cell phone to friends.

Alex Dunphy

Alex Dunphy (Ariel Winter) is the younger daughter of Claire and Phil, and also the most clever and intelligent of the three siblings.^[8] She's the middle child which causes her to enjoy messing with both her older sister and younger brother equally.^[8] Often taking advantage of their naïvety and inferior intellect by fooling them into believing unrealistic things, and at one time had convinced Haley and Luke that they could charge electronics by rubbing the battery on their head.^[7] As much as she enjoys torturing her brother and sister, she always seems to have their backs.^[8] She plays the cello and lacrosse which are just two of the many things that make her an overachiever; she chose to play the cello because she would have a better chance at being in an university orchestra.

Luke Dunphy

Luke Dunphy (Nolan Gould) is Claire and Phil's rambunctious son, who is often doing his own thing.^[9] At times he can be a trouble maker, once shooting his sister with a toy gun and getting into a fight with Manny at school. Luke is very innocent and does not always understand the repercussions of his actions, like most children; he once announced at a family gathering that his mom thought her dad's new wife was a "coal digger."^[9] He is also thought to be a bit vacuous, because of many questionable actions; some of these actions that he is known for are getting his head stuck in the banister and jumping on the trampoline wearing only underwear and a box on his head.^[9]

The Delgado–Pritchett family

Jay Pritchett

Jay Pritchett (Ed O'Neill) is the patriarch of the family and father of Claire and Mitchell, who is on the south side of middle age.^[10] He is married to Gloria and a stepfather to Manny; he is much older than Gloria and has been mistaken for her father more than once. At times there is a cultural clash between him and his wife and stepson because of their strong Colombian heritage.^[10] Most of the time, Jay manages to tolerate Manny's sensitivity and Gloria's attitude.^[10] Although he usually acts tough, he values all of his extended family members. On occasion, Jay enjoys traditionally manly hobbies such as watching football (Jay used to be a quarterback in college) and constructing model airplanes.

Gloria Pritchett

Gloria Pritchett (née Delgado) (Sofía Vergara) is Jay's wife and Manny's mother. She is a Colombian native from a small village, which also happens to be the murder capital of the country.^[11] She is much younger than Jay which doesn't matter to her, being a loving wife and mother.^[11] She is also known to say whatever is on her mind. One of her most distinctive traits is her very thick Colombian accent. She often supports Manny when Jay tries to tell him to be less sensitive or hide his cultural background. She is a horrible driver, though mostly doesn't realize it. She is also considered attractive by almost everyone she meets.^[11]

Manny Delgado

Manny Delgado (Rico Rodriguez II), Gloria's son from her first marriage, is very outgoing and not the least bit self-conscious.^[12] He is very mature and intuitive for his age and is often shown doing adult-like things, such as having conversations with Claire about her marriage and kids, and drinking coffee.^[12] He has inherited his mother's passion for life which causes him to be very romantic. His support is mainly channeled through his mother Gloria and almost nonexistent in his stepfather Jay.^[12] Manny is not afraid to take chances, leading him to ask out older girls, and develop a crush on Haley.^[12] He idolizes his absentee father, often speaking about him in a positive light, even after being repeatedly flaked on. He plays for a soccer team and fences.

The Pritchett and Tucker family

Mitchell Pritchett

Mitchell Pritchett (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) is Jay's son, one of Lily's fathers, and partner of five years to Cameron. He is a low-key, mild-mannered person.^[13] At most times he is the exact opposite of Cameron which usually causes disagreements.^[13] Cameron acts as a counterbalance to Mitchell's uptight, worrying ways.^[13] He is not ashamed of his homosexuality and usually responds to homophobia (whether real or perceived) by giving "speeches". However, he is sometimes embarrassed by Cameron's flamboyance. Mitchell and his older sister Claire are a little competitive and his father Jay isn't completely comfortable with the fact that he's gay, which most likely contributed to him becoming a momma's boy.^[13] He was initially scared to let his family meet Lily, although she was welcomed with open arms.^[13] He is an overprotective and cautious father. He is an attorney who went to law school on the East Coast. He also enjoys musical theater and loved ice skating as a kid.^[13]

Cameron Tucker

Cameron Tucker (Eric Stonestreet),^[14] also referred to as Cam, is Mitchell's partner of five years, and one of Lily's fathers, who has a very big dramatic personality. His bubbly outgoing personality contrasts to Mitchell's uptight manner, which causes them to be very opposite.^[15] Cameron grew up on a farm in Missouri. He was a starting center for the University of Illinois football team (which he and Jay bond over, much to Mitchell's envy) and is a very big sports fan.^[15] Cameron also fosters many unusual hobbies such as collecting antique fountain pens, being adept in Japanese flower arrangement, filming home movies, and is a classically trained Auguste clown named Fizbo.^[15] Currently, he is unemployed and acts as a stay at home dad to Lilly. It is also mentioned that Cameron was considerably thinner and in fit shape when he first started dating Mitchell.^[15]

Lily Pritchett-Tucker

Lily Pritchett-Tucker is the adopted Vietnamese infant daughter of Cameron & Mitchell. When she was introduced to the family, they accepted her with open arms, although Mitchell originally wanted to wait to tell them about her.^[13] She is at times doing activities with both of her fathers but remains with Cam at home while Mitchell works.^[15] Cameron often dresses her up as famous people, such as Diana Ross, Madonna, and Stevie Wonder for the purpose of taking photographs. Cameron and Mitchell are currently practicing the Ferber method on Lily but Cameron can't always resist catering to her during the night, sometimes even watching movies such as Scarface, which Cam claims she likes possibly because of the bright colors, particularly the club shooting scene.

Other characters

Dylan

Dylan (Reid Ewing), also known as "D-Money", is Haley's boyfriend, a senior (12th grader) in high school who plays guitar in a band. He has no plans for college and wants to remain a guitarist in a rock band. He is often put into awkward situations by Phil, who wishes for the two to be friends.^[7] At times he can be captivated with things that are simple and somewhat childish, such as reptiles and western films. He loves the confidence Haley gets from being part of such a loving family and does not mind hanging around during family get togethers.^[7] He wrote a song, "In The Moonlight, (Do Me)," for Haley and performed it for her extended family. The song was about sex and most of the family was surprised by the suggestive lyrics, but it became stuck in all of their heads the next day.^[16] He is also a hockey player and finds inspiration for his music from Bob Dylan, Sum 41, Blink 182, and New Kids on the Block.^[17]

DeDe Pritchett

DeDe Pritchett (Shelley Long) is Mitchell and Claire's mom and Jay's ex-wife. Mitchell seems still to be fond of her. It is implied that she was initially more accepting of his sexual orientation than Jay was when he first came out. She is still bitter over Jay's re-marriage to Gloria and is seen as being frequently critical of Claire. She is also depicted as passive aggressive about Cameron's weight.

Dr. Miura

Dr. Miura (Suzy Nakamura) is Lily's sarcastic pediatrician. Offended in an early episode by Cameron and Mitchell's repetitive application of racial stereotypes,^[18] she was invited over for dinner in a later episode by Cameron and Mitchell in an effort to get on her good side. It goes badly, however, when Lily's doll says "Mommy" and they believe Lily called the doctor "Mommy" due to her resemblance to Lilly's caretakers in Vietnam (revealed later to be untrue).

She revealed that her mother always wanted her to be "more Asian," but resents being considered an Asian female stereotype.^[19][20] Upon leaving Cameron and Mitchell 's house, however, she knocks over their trash can with her car, claiming "she didn't see it" due to the size of the car.^[20]

Phil Dunphy's father

Phil Dunphy's Father (Fred Willard) is Phil's father and Haley, Alex, and Luke's grandfather. On Christmas, the family shared a webcam chat with him; he initially had the webcam aimed too high but fixed it after Phil pointed it out.

It is rumored that Willard's appearance was a set-up for future character appearances.^[21]

Javier Delgado

Javier Delgado (Benjamin Bratt) is Manny's biological father and Gloria's ex-husband. He and Gloria were divorced; in the pilot, Gloria says all they did was "fight and make love" and at one point led them to fall out of a window. He is looked up to by Manny but is always letting him down. He was formerly a Triple-A Baseball player and played alongside some baseball greats such as Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire. He is wealthy and has many connections to matadors and baseball players. He and Jay became close but in the end Javier let Jay down similar to his letting down Manny.^[22]

Critical reception

Benjamin Bratt received positive reviews for his performance from TV.com writer Tim Surette saying, "Benjamin Bratt played Manny's absentee father and did a fantastic job of being a well-mannered guest (star); he never tried to steal a scene or overplayed his Latin-lover stereotype. That's how it's done, Ed Norton. He's also nicely set up to recur, and his character was given enough backstory in prior episodes to really flesh out the role. We learned that Javier is not just an irresponsible parent, but that he's also a charming man with endless connections and a shady past."

Guest characters

• Andrew (Jeremy Scott Johnson), a member of a caroling group called the Greensleevers, to which Cameron used to belong until Andrew convinced the others to kick him out.^[23]
• Mr. Balaban (Andrew Borba), Manny and Luke's school teacher who caught them fighting at school. He was perplexed by the complex relationships within the family.^[24]
• Bianca (Kaitlyn Dever), one of Manny's friends from school whom Manny has a crush on. Manny failed to impress her when he told her jokes, many of which he mistold.^[25]
• Denise (Mo Collins), a nurse who is the caretaker of Caroline, a little girl Manny defeated in the fencing match, in the episode "En Garde."
• Desiree (Brandy Ledford), the Dunphy's hot divorced neighbor, whom Phil helps to unlock her house, she is not liked by Claire because of jealousy.
• Izzy LaFontaine (Edward Norton), the bassist of Spandau Ballet, whom Claire believed to be Phil's favorite band.^[26]
• Jungle Tania (Margo Harshman), a birthday party entertainer who brings various animals such as iguanas and scorpions. She accidentally lost one scorpion at Luke's Birthday which caused havoc.^[25]
• Sal (Elizabeth Banks), a close friend of Mitchell and Cameron's before Lily. Since Mitchell and Cameron adopted the baby they've drifted apart but later rekindled their friendship when she took them out for a night on the town, where they discover she is jealous of the baby and misses all of the attention. She is a party girl who is known to get drunk.^[26]
• Scott (Brian T. Finney), a former mall Santa, who was fired when Cameron and Mitchell complained. He was invited to their house on Christmas out of guilt, and to their surprise he knew they got him fired the entire time.^[23]
• Shorty (Chazz Palminteri), a long time friend of Jay's who might (or might not) be gay.^[27] He is Jay's only friend who does not hit on Gloria, and has a large amount of knowledge about types of clothing.
• Whitney (Kristen Schaal), a woman Manny met on the internet who is much older than him, Manny and Whitney were both unaware of the age difference before they first met. Whitney felt much less insecure about herself after she was given a makeover by Gloria.
• Denise (Judy Greer), Phil's old flame.

References

External links

• Official website
• Characters of Modern Family at the Internet Movie Database
• Characters of Modern Family at TV.com
• "List of Modern Family Episodes". TVGuide. http://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/modern-family/297616. 
• Bringing "The Office" Home With You | Review Fix