Julie Bowen

Julie Bowen Luetkemeyer born March 3, 1970 is an American actress, best known for playing Claire Dunphy on the TV comedy series Modern Family (2009–2020). She also played Roxanne Please on ER (1998–1999), Carol Vessey on Ed (2000–04), Denise Bauer on Boston Legal (2005–07) and Sarah Shephard on Lost (2005–07). Her Modern Family role brought her six nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (2010–2015), which she won in 2011 and 2012.

Bowen also appeared in films Happy Gilmore (1996), Multiplicity (1996), Venus and Mars (2001), Joe Somebody (2001), Kids in America (2005), Sex and Death 101 (2007), Crazy on the Outside (2010), Jumping the Broom (2011) and Horrible Bosses (2011) and others.

Early life

Bowen was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the second of three daughters of Suzanne (née Frey) and John Alexander Luetkemeyer Jr., a commercial real estate developer. She is the sister of noted infectious disease specialist Annie Luetkemeyer.

Raised in suburban Ruxton-Riderwood, Maryland, Bowen first attended Calvert School, then Garrison Forest School, Roland Park Country School, and St. George’s School in Middletown, Rhode Island. She attended Brown University, majoring in Italian Renaissance studies. She spent her junior year in Florence, Italy. During college, she had roles in Guys and Dolls, Stage Door, and Lemon Sky. Before graduating, she had the lead role in the independent film Five Spot Jewel. Bowen studied acting at the Actor’s Institute, among other places.

Career

Bowen had a role in the soap opera Loving (1992) and an episode of the college drama Class of ’96 (1993). She had the lead role in the television film Runaway Daughters (1994). She played the love interest of the title character in Happy Gilmore (1996). She appeared in the films Multiplicity (1996) and An American Werewolf in Paris (1997). She has had guest roles on television series such as Party of Five (1996) and Strange Luck (1996).

Bowen had a recurring role as Roxanne Please on ER (1998–99). She first gained prominence on the television series Ed (2000–04), where she played high school English teacher Carol Vessey. She then guest starred as Sarah Shephard in five episodes of Lost (2005–07). She also played attorney Denise Bauer on the series Boston Legal (2005–08), and had a recurring role on Weeds (2008). She was a spokesmodel for Neutrogena, most recently advertising the Pure Glow products. She appeared on an episode of Celebrity Jeopardy! on August 31, 2010.

From 2009 to 2020, Bowen starred as Claire Dunphy on the ABC sitcom Modern Family. For her portrayal, she received six consecutive Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (2010–15), winning the award in 2011 and 2012. Bowen has said that winning an Emmy is like “German soldiers in the trenches of the World Wars” and that “when you win the award, it is like being pulled out of the trench.” She also said, “as exciting and wonderful as it is not to be in the trench, and to be recognized for what you do, it also means everyone has got a clear shot at you and that is a very frightening prospect for most of us.”

Personal life

Bowen suffers from the cardiovascular condition bradycardia: her regular heartbeat is below normal. As a result, she has worn a pacemaker since her early twenties.

Bowen married Scott Phillips, a real estate investor and software developer, on September 9, 2004. They have three sons, the first born in April 2007, and twins born in May 2009, with whom she was visibly pregnant when shooting the pilot for Modern Family. She is a self-described “low Protestant.” In February 2018, she filed for divorce from Phillips. It was finalized on September 13, 2018.

In 2016, Bowen appeared in “Fight Song”, a Pitch Perfect-inspired music video shown at the Democratic National Convention in support of nominee Hillary Clinton.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1996	Confessions of a Sleep Addict	P.J.
	Happy Gilmore	Virginia Venit
	Multiplicity	Robin
1997	An American Werewolf in Paris	Amy Finch
2001	You’re Killing Me	Jamie Quinn
	Amy’s Orgasm	Nikki
	Venus and Mars	Lisa
	Joe Somebody	Meg Harper
2002	Stella Shorts 1998–2002	Mother Nature	Short films
2005	Kids in America	Principal Donna Weller
	Partner(s)	Katherine
2007	Sex and Death 101	Fiona Wormwood
2010	Crazy on the Outside	Christy
2011	Jumping the Broom	Amy
	Horrible Bosses	Rhonda Harken
2012	Conception	Tiffany
	Knife Fight	Peaches
2013	Scooby-Doo! Mecha Mutt Menace	Dr. Devon Albright	Voice Direct-to-DVD
2014	Planes: Fire & Rescue	Lil’ Dipper	Voice
2018	Life of the Party	Marcie Strong
2020	Hubie Halloween	Violet Valentine
2021	The Fallout	Patricia	Post-production
TBA	Mixtape		Filming

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1992	Loving	Steffy
1993	Lifestories: Families in Crisis	Chris	Episode: “No Visible Bruises: The Kate Koestner Story”
	Class of ’96	Kristie Lewis	Episode: “Educating David”
	Acapulco H.E.A.T.	Danielle Perkins	Episode: “Code Name: Body Double”
1994	Runaway Daughters	Angie Gordon	Television film
	Where Are My Children?	Kirstie	Television film
1995	Extreme	Andie McDermott	7 episodes
1996	Party of Five	Shelley	Episode: “Unfair Advantage”
	Strange Luck	Leigh Anne	Episode: “Healing Hands”
1998	Three	Amanda Webb	2 episodes
1998–1999	ER	Roxanne Please	9 episodes
1999	The Last Man on Planet Earth	Hope Chayse	Television film
2000	Oh Baby	Nikky	2 episodes
	Dawson’s Creek	Aunt Gwen	Episode: “Stolen Kisses”
2000–2004	Ed	Carol Vessey	83 episodes
2002	Justice League	Aresia (voice)	2 episodes
2005	Jake in Progress	Brooke	4 episodes
2005–2007	Lost	Sarah Shephard	5 episodes
2005–2008	Boston Legal	Denise Bauer	50 episodes
2007	Wainy Days	Cheryl	Episode: “Tough Guy”
2008	Weeds	Lisa	7 episodes
	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Gwen Sibert	Episode: “Trials”
2009	True Jackson, VP	Claire Underwood	Episode: “True Takes Iceland”
	Monk	Marilyn Brody	Episode: “Mr. Monk and the Bully”
2009–2020	Modern Family	Claire Dunphy	Main role Director: “Red Alert” and “Tree’s A Crowd”
2011	Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated	Marion Spartan (voice)	Episode: “Attack of the Headless Horror”
2014, 2017	Family Guy	Claire Dunphy / Herself (voices)	Episodes: “The Simpsons Guy”, “Emmy-Winning Episode”
2016	Better Things	Herself	Episode: “Sam/Pilot”
2017–2020	Tangled: The Series	Queen Arianna (voice)
2017	The Mindy Project	Daisy	Episode: “Leo’s Girlfriend”
	Who Do You Think You Are	Herself	Season 9 Episode 2
2018	LA to Vegas	Gwen (voice)	Uncredited Episode: “The Affair”
2019	DuckTales	Lieutenant Penumbra (voice)	6 episodes
2020	Who Wants to Be a Millionaire	Herself (as contestant)