As the mom of three boys, Julie Bowen is a full-time referee. “I am constantly breaking up fights,” the Modern Family actress told Us Weekly at the Milk + Bookies Story Time Celebration in L.A. on Sunday, April 17. “The great thing about boys is that they can be really mean and horrible to each other and two minutes later, they don’t even remember it. I don’t want to sexually stereotype anybody, but I grew up with three girls. We hold grudges!”
Bowen and her real estate investor husband, Scott Phillips, are parents of Oliver, 9, and twins John and Gustav, 6.
“They love them some poops and farts, and there are definitely times where I need to explain the internet,” admits Bowen. “They can take a picture of their butt with my phone, and they are one button away from sending it to the internet. We have had to have some very serious talks about things we put on the internet.”
When the guys aren’t taking inappropriate selfies, Bowen says “Two out of three” of her kids like riding bikes. “Oliver doesn’t love sports, but we are going to do the color run at Dodger Stadium,” Bowen shared with Us. “He thinks he is bad at sports because he can’t catch a ball or throw a ball. I told him he can run, so we have been training. It’s a 5k. I like to do physical stuff.”
The 46-year-old previously opened up to Us in October 2015 about Oliver’s favorite book, the now-classic Adventures of Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey. “He’s into anything with attacking toilets,” Bowen joked. “It’s that kind of boy humor. I could use a girl … A female dog would be helpful in my house.”
Bowen plays bossy Claire Dunphy on ABC’s Modern Family (Wednesdays, 9 p.m.).
