While it’s been more than six years since Modern Family came to a close on TV, Julie Bowen still has a close bond with her former costars today.
“You imagine spending 11 years of your life with a group of people and then not being with them,” Bowen, 56, exclusively told Us at the Rape Treatment Center and Stuart House at UCLA Health’s annual brunch on Sunday, September 27. “I love them.”
Bowen starred as Claire Dunphy in the beloved sitcom, which followed the day-to-day dramas of a close-knit extended family living in suburban California. Since the 11-season show ended in 2020, Bowen shared that she and her costars still find ways to show up for one another.
“Oh Lord, Jesse [Tyler Ferguson] just texted me this morning with his new look for Tru in London, and I’ve never missed any of his shows. And I might have to go to London,” she told Us at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles of his role as Truman Capote in the revival of Jay Presson Allen‘s solo play. “That’s actually, that’s a lie. Why did I just say that? I’ve missed his shows. I have to admit it. I was supposed to go to Shakespeare in the Park, and I forgot. I forgot. He’s so busy. It’s hard to keep up with everything Jesse does.”
And Bowen’s onscreen stepmother, Sofía Vergara, has since dabbled in reality TV with America’s Got Talent — which she likes to tell her former costars is the best role in town.
“We’re like, ‘No, Modern Family was the best gig.’ She’s like, ‘Hmm,’” Bowen told Us with a laugh. “I mean, they’re very different gigs. I’m like, ‘Sofía, we’re your family.’ She’s like, ‘Yeah.’”
While balancing being there for her former Modern Family costars, Bowen has also made time to support the Rape Treatment Center and Stuart House at UCLA Health’s annual brunch.
“Honestly, it’s right in the title,” Bowen told Us when asked why she said yes to the event. “It’s a rape treatment center, and I’m not going to ask you, and I’m not going to ask your neighbor, who’s right next to you, or anybody here, but I know that you know somebody, or you will know somebody who, unfortunately, has been bodily violated, and these people are doing incredible work, and they’re all about the victims.”
She continued, “I went and visited The Rape Treatment Center, and everything is about them feeling that they’re in control. If you don’t want to give your name, you don’t have to. If you don’t want to get a sample kit done, you don’t. If you want to, you do. It is a wonderful way to start the process of having someone feel they have their own bodily autonomy again.”
