Aubrey Anderson-Emmons, who rose to prominence playing Lily Tucker-Pritchett in the long-running ABC sitcom Modern Family, has publicly announced she is bisexual. The 18-year-old actress chose to share her identity in a video posted to Instagram, utilising an iconic scene from the programme.
Anderson-Emmons portrayed the adopted daughter of the sitcom’s celebrated gay couple, Mitchell Pritchett (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) and Cameron Tucker (Eric Stonestreet), from Season 3 until the show concluded in 2020.
In her video, Anderson-Emmons lip-syncs to audio from a Season 4 episode of Modern Family. In the original scene, Lily, in a moment of confusion about her identity, declares, “No, I’m not, I’m gay, I’m gay! “to which her on-screen father Mitchell responds, “Honey, no, you’re not gay. You are just confused!”
Overlaying the clip with text, Anderson-Emmons playfully wrote, “People keep joking so much abt [sic] me being gay when I literally am (I’m bi).” She captioned the post with “Happy Pride month to all and to all a goodnight hehehe,” embracing the celebratory spirit of Pride Month.
Fans quickly reacted with an outpouring of support, with many noting how proud her on-screen fathers, Mitchell and Cam, would be. Comments included, “Omgggg cam and mitch would be so happy and Coming out to this audio is truly iconic.” The video has already amassed over 3.5 million views.
Modern Family itself has been recognised for its portrayal of a gay couple, with Mitchell and Cam’s marriage being one of the most celebrated same-sex unions on television. The show received two GLAAD Media Awards during its 11-season run. In 2016, the programme also became one of the first major scripted television shows to feature an openly transgender child actor, Jackson Millarker, in an episode titled A Stereotypical Day.
Since Modern Family ended its run in 2020, Anderson-Emmons has taken a break from extensive acting. The daughter of Korean-born actress Amy Anderson, she has been pursuing a career in rock music, often sharing videos of her group performing on social media.
While she has not completely stepped away from acting, appearing in a short film last year, her main passion has shifted to music. She recently released her first single, Telephones and Traffic, under the pseudonym Frances Anderson, with a new song, Don’t Forget Me, scheduled for release on June 27.
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Anderson-Emmons has also recently spoken about her experience with childhood fame, stating that at four years old, “you don’t know what you’re getting yourself into… you sign a contract to be on a show.” She also mentioned the difficulty of growing up with public opinions on her acting, saying, “it was really hard for me to grow up with so many people’s opinions around me.”
