Early years

Jesse Tyler Ferguson was born in Missoula, Montana, to Anne Ferguson (née Doyle) and Robert "Bob" Ferguson. 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, to whom he was very close growing up. His paternal great-grandfather was also named Jesse.

His family moved when he was young to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he was raised. At age eight he decided to become an actor, and joined the Albuquerque Children's Theater, where he was a member for six years.

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. He worked as a dancer/singer at Cliff's Amusement Park.

After high school Ferguson attended The American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA) in New York City.

Career

Theatre

In New York City, Ferguson worked mainly in Off-Broadway and Broadway theatre, including the Tony Award-winning The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, where he originated the role of Leaf Coneybear. Ferguson starred in the Public Theater's 2007 Shakespeare in the Park production of A Midsummer Night's Dream and 2015 production of The Tempest. In the summer of 2015, he played Sir Robin in the Hollywood Bowl production of "Monty Python's Spamalot"

In March 2012, Ferguson was featured as Dr. Ilan Meyer in a performance of Dustin Lance Black's play 8, a staged reenactment of Perry v. Brown, the federal trial that overturned California's Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage. The production was held at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre and broadcast on YouTube to raise money for the American Foundation for Equal Rights, a non-profit organization funding the plaintiffs' legal team and sponsoring the play.

Television and film

On television, Ferguson was among the large ensemble cast on the short-lived CBS sitcom The Class, playing Richie Velch. Ferguson co-starred in the 2008 thriller Untraceable.

Since 2009, he has played the role of Mitchell Pritchett, the openly gay lawyer on the ABC sitcom Modern Family. For his performance, Ferguson has received five consecutive Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. He has also appeared as a judge on So You Think You Can Dance.

Philanthropy

Tie The Knot

In September 2012, Ferguson and his lawyer husband, Justin Mikita, started Tie The Knot. The non-profit charity is an effort to raise funds in support of marriage equality for same-sex couples, using bow ties sold retail. They officially launched it as their engagement announcement in an online video where they explain only seven states at the time had marriage equality. In an interview Ferguson stated that he wanted to do something that was smaller and manageable in case it didn't work out as a business model.

The foundation sells limited-edition bow ties with "proceeds going to organizations nationwide that are working toward marriage equality." Their collections are designed by the couple plus guest designers, and is sold by The Tie Bar, a Naperville, Illinois-based online men's neckwear company.

In January 2013, the couple was recruited by Lieutenant Governor of Illinois Sheila Simon to lobby legislators to pass SB10 which would allow same-sex marriage. The bill passed both legislative houses, and Governor Pat Quinn signed the bill into law, going into effect on June 1, 2014.

In October 2013, the American Civil Liberties Union named Ferguson the celebrity ambassador for the LGBT community. He participated heavily in the ACLU's "Out for Freedom" campaign They noted that Ferguson travelled to New Mexico, his home state, to take part in same sex marriage efforts. New Mexico does not explicitly permit or prohibit same-sex marriage; it is the only state lacking a statute or constitutional provision explicitly addressing same-sex marriage. The couple’s non-profit made a grant of $10,000 to the ACLU of New Mexico for same sex efforts.

In November 2013, a pop-up retail store for Tie The Knot was located at the Los Angeles Beverly Center featuring the fourth collection from the couple, including professional athlete designs with Scott Fujita and Chris Kluwe, and Brittney Griner.

Personal life

Ferguson uses his full name as there was already an actor called Jesse Ferguson in the actor's union when he joined.

Ferguson is openly gay and, in September 2012, he announced his engagement to lawyer Justin Mikita, his boyfriend of nearly two years. Mikita has worked for Mamiya Makita Industries (Mikita not to be confused with Makita). They married in New York City on July 20, 2013, with the playwright and screenwriter Tony Kushner officiating at their wedding.

On the process of coming out, Ferguson 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 takes time. His sister, Kelly, is a lesbian.

Ferguson owns a dog named Zubara.

Discography

Singles

• My Lifelong Love (2012)

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2001	Ordinary Sinner	Ogden
2004	Mercury in Retrograde	Duane	Short film
2006	Griffin and Phoenix	Student
2008	Untraceable	Arthur James Elmer
2009	Wonderful World	Cyril
2012	The Procession		Short film
2012	8	Dr. Ilan Meyer
2012	Red		Short
2016	Ice Age: Collision Course	Shangri Llama (voice)

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2000	Sally Hemings: An American Scandal	Young Tom Hemings	TV film
2006-2007	The Class	Richie Velch	19 episodes
2007, 2010	Ugly Betty	Dr. Gabe Farkus	Episode: "Icing on the Cake" (2007) Episode: "The Passion of the Betty" (2010)
2008	Do Not Disturb	Larry	5 episodes
2009	The Battery's Down	Shamus McKelvy	Episode: "The Party's Over"
2009-present	Modern Family	Mitchell Pritchett	Main character
2011-2013	So You Think You Can Dance	Himself	7 episodes Guest judge
2012	Submissions Only	Jared Halstead	Episode: "Another Interruption"
2012	RuPaul's Drag Race	Himself	Episode: "Dads I'd Like to Frock"
2013	2013 Do Something Awards	Honoree	TV film
2013	Web Therapy	Steve Olson	3 episodes
2013	Hot in Cleveland	Wes	Episode: "Love Is All Around"
2013	Project Runway	Himself	Episode: "Tie the Knot" Guest judge
2014	Backstage with Disney on Broadway: Celebrating 20 Years	Himself	Host
2015	Comedy Bang! Bang!	Himself	Episode: "Jesse Tyler Ferguson Wears a Brown Checked Shirt and Stripey Socks"
2015	Running Wild with Bear Grylls	Himself	Episode: "Jesse Tyler Ferguson"

Theatre

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1998-1999	On the Town	Chip	Broadway revival November 19, 1998 - January 17, 1999
	The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told		Off-Broadway
	Little Fish	Marco	Off-Broadway
	Where Do We Live
	Newyorkers
	Hair	Margaret Mead
	SantaLand Diaries
	A Midsummer Night's Dream	Francis Flute	Public Theater (Shakespeare in the Park)
	The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)
2005-2008	The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee	Leaf Coneybear	Broadway May 2, 2005 - June 23, 2006
2005	On the Twentieth Century	Max Jacobs	Special concert September 26
2010	The Winter's Tale	Shepard's Son	Public Theater (Shakespeare in the Park)
2010	The Merchant of Venice	Launcelot Gobbo	Public Theater (Shakespeare in the Park)
2012	The Producers	Leo Bloom	Hollywood Bowl July 27-29, 2012
2013	A Comedy of Errors		Public Theater (Shakespeare in the Park)
2015	Spamalot	Sir Robin	Hollywood Bowl July 31—August 2, 2015
2016	Fully Committed	Sam and others	Broadway April 25—July 24, 2016

Awards

Won

• 2005 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Ensemble Performance - The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
• 2010 Screen Actors Guild Award: Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series - Modern Family
• 2011 Screen Actors Guild Award: Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series - Modern Family
• 2012 Screen Actors Guild Award: Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series - Modern Family
• 2013 Screen Actors Guild Award: Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series - Modern Family

Nominated

• 2009 Screen Actors Guild Award: Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series - Modern Family
• 2010 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series - Modern Family
• 2011 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series - Modern Family
• 2012 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series - Modern Family
• 2012 People's Choice Awards - Favorite TV Comedy Actor - Modern Family
• 2013 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series - Modern Family
• 2013 People's Choice Awards - Favorite TV Comedy Actor - Modern Family
• 2014 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series - Modern Family
• 2016 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Solo Performance - Fully Committed

Charities

Jesse Tyler Ferguson supports the following charitable cause: ALS (amyrotrophic lateral sclerosis).

[ Source: Wikipedia ]