Julie Bowen
Julie Bowen Luetkemeyer (born March 3, 1970)[1] is an American actress. She is best known for starring as Claire Dunphy in the ABC sitcom Modern Family (2009–2020), for which she received widespread critical acclaim and won Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, in 2011 and 2012.
Julie Bowen
Bowen also starred as Roxanne Please in the NBC medical drama series ER (1998–1999), Carol Vessey in the NBC comedy series Ed (2000–2004), Denise Bauer in the ABC legal drama series Boston Legal (2005–2007), and Sarah Shephard in the ABC drama series Lost (2005–2007).
Bowen has also appeared in the films Happy Gilmore (1996), Multiplicity (1996), Joe Somebody (2001), Horrible Bosses (2011), Hubie Halloween (2020), and The Fallout (2021).
Early life[edit]
Bowen was born in Baltimore, Maryland,[1][2] the second of three daughters of Suzanne (née Frey) and John Alexander Luetkemeyer Jr., a commercial real estate developer. She is the sister of infectious disease specialist Annie Luetkemeyer and designer Molly Luetkemeyer. Bowen is of German descent.[3]
Raised in suburban Ruxton-Riderwood, Maryland, Bowen first attended Calvert School, then Garrison Forest School, Roland Park Country School,[4][5] and St. George's School in Middletown, Rhode Island. She attended Brown University, majoring in Italian Renaissance studies.[6] She spent her junior year in Florence, Italy.[2] 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.
Personal life[edit]
Bowen suffers from the cardiovascular condition bradycardia: her regular heartbeat is below normal. As a result, she has had a pacemaker since her early twenties.[10]
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.[11] She is a self-described "low Protestant."[12] In February 2018, she filed for divorce from Phillips and cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for the divorce.[13] It was finalized on September 13, 2018.[14]
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.[15]