‘Modern Family’ Reunion: See Jesse Tyler Ferguson With His TV Daughter, Aubrey Anderson-Emmons, Now 16
Four years after the conclusion of Modern Family, Aubrey Anderson-Emmons is spreading her wings in Hollywood and beyond. The Santa Monica, California, native was 12 years old when the beloved ABC sitcom ended. Now, Anderson-Emmons is 16 and doing her own thing, which involves less acting than you’d think. See her sweet reunion with TV dad, Jesse Tyler Ferguson.
Stars and supporters gathered at LA’s The Whitley on May 30 to celebrate the revival of Reefer Madness: The Musical. Initially a 1936 propaganda film about the dangers of marijuana, the off-Broadway musical first ran in 2001 to great success.
The hilarious and campy musical follows Jimmy, a wholesome All-American teen whose life is ruined by the devil’s lettuce. The show’s original stars, Kristen Bell, Christian Campbell, and Alan Cumming, are producing Reefer Madness. Naturally, Bell and other Hollywood actors, including Ferguson and Anderson-Emmons, gathered to celebrate.
Anderson-Emmons portrayed Lily Tucker-Pritchett on Modern Family, beginning with the third season. In 2011, the 4-year-old replaced Ella and Jaden Hiller as a Vietnamese-born girl adopted by a gay couple (Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet. Anderson-Emmons explained on her TikTok, “I had a chemistry read with Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who plays my dad on the show. He’s the ginger one, love him.”
Lily’s role received praise for its cultural diversity at a time when there was less awareness. Since Modern Family‘s series finale, Anderson-Emmons and Ferguson have remained close. The TV dad often appears on Anderson-Emmons’ social media. Recently, the pair posted a silly Instagram video in which they voiced over audio à la Gen-Z.
Since Modern Family, Ferguson has celebrated the births of his two sons, Beckett (b. 2020) and Sullivan (b. 2022), with his husband of over 10 years, Justin Mikita. He also hosts a weekly podcast, Dinner’s On Me, where he eats meals with celebrity friends like Sarah Paulson and Justin Long.
Aubrey Anderson-Emmons has veered away from acting since Modern Family. The 16-year-old sings and plays guitar in her band, October. She describes their sound as “multi-genre” with “backgrounds in rnb, jazz, funk, and rock; they flip the genre on the songs they cover.” As of February 2024, Aubrey was dating Phoenix Reed, a 17-year-old musician in the band Sweet Silver, which he describes as “eclectic hard rock/heavy funk.” Only time will tell if Anderson-Emmons dips her toe back into acting.
