'Modern Family' Child Actress Shares Reality of Life After Growing Up on TV
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
A Modern Family child star has opened up about what it was like growing up on one of America's most-beloved sitcoms.
Aubrey Anderson-Emmons, now 17, who played Lily Tucker-Pritchett, has spoken candidly in a recent TikTok, which garnered more than 153,600 likes and over 1.2 million views. She revealed the realities of growing up from the ages of 4 to 12 on the little screen and her hopes for the future.
The teen explained, while creating a vision board, that she is often asked how she knew what she wanted to do at 4, and she said she did not, but also did not know any different.
"I was not forced into anything. Like my mom wasn't like, 'You're gonna do this.' Like, it was not like that, and I was not abused on set or anything like that. Like, I swear to God.
"But, it's true. You don't know what you're getting yourself into as a 4-year-old when, like, you sign a contract to be on a show," the star shared. Newsweek reached out to Aubrey Anderson-Emmons for comment via social media.
File photo: Aubrey Anderson-Emmons attends the opening night of "Life Of Pi" at Ahmanson Theatre on May 7, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.
File photo: Aubrey Anderson-Emmons attends the opening night of "Life Of Pi" at Ahmanson Theatre on May 7, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.
Paul Archuleta / Contributor/Getty Images Entertainment
Modern Family, created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan, aired from 2009 to 2020. The mockumentary-style series follows the lives of the diverse Tucker-Pritchett-Dunphy clan in suburban Los Angeles, offering a humorous take on familial dynamics.
Anderson-Emmons joined the cast of Modern Family in season three when she was just 4 years old, portraying the adopted daughter of Mitchell Pritchett and Cameron Tucker.
Still, being in the public eye from such a young age wasn't always easy. Anderson-Emmons recalled the challenges of receiving criticism for her acting while she was still a child.
"People really took a dig on my acting choices or thought I was a bad actor," she said.
The scrutiny took a toll, especially as she began auditioning again after Modern Family. Having not auditioned regularly as a child, she found herself unprepared for rejection.
As a result, Anderson-Emmons took a break from acting for a few years. It wasn't until she joined her high school's theater program that she rediscovered her love for performing and has resumed auditioning seriously.
Now 17, the actress is opening a new chapter in her life, one that includes a return to acting—and a surprising new venture into music.
Anderson-Emmons has been writing original songs for the past three years and is now preparing to release her debut single, "Telephones and Traffic," on May 23.
"I am grateful for all the Modern Family has given me and all of you wonderful people, and it's time to move on to another chapter of my life," she added.
The reaction online has been overwhelmingly supportive. TikTok users flooded the comments with admiration and nostalgia.
"Bad actor? GIRL YOU ARE THE REASON I STARTED TO WATCH MODERN FAMILY," shared one user.
"A bad actor?? you were fantastic and so funny. I'm literally watching you give Mitch and Cam sass right now," said another.
"I quote ARE WE POOR on the daily. You were AMAZING," posted Brittany.
"My family LOVES Modern Family. We watched it from the start and now it's a comfort show that we all watch regularly. Doesn't matter how many times I watch it I still laugh. You were SO good! I hope you get to do whatever makes you happy," read one comment.
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'The grocery store is not air conditioned, it's crazy, and you're reaching into the back to try and grab the drinks in the back, because those have probably been there the longest and are the coldest, and sometimes even those aren't that cold. And I'm like, 'Oh my gosh, I just need something refreshing.' But it's so hard to find.' If you're an American heading to Europe this summer getting anxious about ice — and possibly a lack of air conditioning and tap water too — rest assured that there are other ways of staying cool in the heat: gelato, sorbet and granita, to name a few. A jug of tinto de verano in Seville will be full of ice, while a glass of rose in Provence will be chilled to perfection. Plus, Europe isn't a monoculture. Every destination will be different. 'I gotta admit, I really like ice, but I understand when I'm traveling that I'm not going to be able to get it in every single place, and sometimes I'm not going to be able to get it at all,' says the historian Rees. He adds: 'But that's all right. I leave the United States specifically so that I can try other people's cuisines, which includes their drinks and they may not have ice in them.' Brady echoes this, suggesting viewing an iceless European beverage as simply a cultural difference, rather than a frustration, and taking it as opportunity for 'self-reflection.' 'Try to resist what might be an immediate reaction, which is, 'Oh, this tepid water, this tepid tea is less good or less clean, or less tasty, less delightful,'' she advises. 'That is a very American, specific perspective. And, putting that aside, also just experiencing how other people around the world develop their own culinary tastes and preferences will make life much more interesting… And it'll just keep you from being a jerk.'
