Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Jesse Tyler Ferguson (born October 22, 1975)[1] is an American actor. From 2009 to 2020, he portrayed Mitchell Pritchett on the sitcom Modern Family, for which he earned five consecutive nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Ferguson made his Broadway debut in On the Town, and was in the original Broadway cast of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, for which he and his ensemble cast won a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Cast Ensemble. He has appeared in theatre adaptations of A Winter's Tale, The Producers, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Spamalot and The Merchant of Venice. For his performance in the 2016 Broadway production of Fully Committed, Ferguson was awarded a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Solo Performance. He won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his performance in the 2022 Broadway revival of Richard Greenberg's Take Me Out.
Early years[edit]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson was born in Missoula, Montana,[1] to Anne Ferguson (née Doyle) and Robert "Bob" Ferguson.[2] His parents divorced when he was 18 years old. Ferguson has a brother, Ben Ferguson, and sister, Kelly Ferguson. Ferguson was named after his paternal grandmother, Jessie Uppercue Ferguson,[3] to whom he was very close growing up.[4] His paternal great-grandfather was also named Jesse.[5]
His family moved when he was young to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he was raised.[6] At age eight he decided to become an actor, and joined the Albuquerque Children's Theater, where he was a member for six years.[7] At Albuquerque's St. Pius X High School, Ferguson played Albert Peterson in Bye Bye Birdie and General Bullmoose in Li'l Abner. He participated on the speech and debate team and graduated in 1994.[8] He worked as a dancer/singer at Cliff's Amusement Park.[7]
After high school Ferguson attended The American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA) in New York City.[9]
Personal life[edit]
Ferguson uses his full name as there was already an actor called Jesse Ferguson in the actors' union when he joined.[5]
In September 2012, he announced his engagement to lawyer Justin Mikita, his boyfriend of nearly two years.[32] They married in Manhattan on July 20, 2013,[33] with the playwright and screenwriter Tony Kushner officiating at their wedding.[5] The couple have two children, Beckett Mercer Ferguson-Mikita born on July 7, 2020 [34] and Sullivan Louis Ferguson-Mikita born on November 15, 2022.[35]
On the process of coming out, he said he had to tell his father three times (when he was 17, 19 and 21): "It's a coming out process for them as well, and it takes time".[36]
He has a dog named Leaf.[5] He is a supporter of the Democratic Party and is shown in the 2016 Democratic National Convention promotional trailer "Our Fight Song".[37]