Early life

Bowen was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the middle of three daughters of Suzanne (née Frey) and John Alexander Luetkemeyer, Jr., a commercial real estate developer. She is of English, French, German, Irish, and Scottish descent. One of her paternal great-great-grandfathers was John V. Le Moyne, a Representative from Illinois, and one of her great-great-great-grandfathers was Magnus Miller Murray, two-time Mayor of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Raised in suburban Ruxton-Riderwood, Maryland, Bowen first attended Calvert School, then Garrison Forest School, and also attended St. George's School in Newport, Rhode Island. She studied at Brown University, majoring in Italian Renaissance studies. She spent her junior year in Florence, Italy. 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. Among other places, Bowen studied acting at the Actor's Institute.

Career

Bowen had a role in the soap opera Loving (1992) and an episode of the college drama Class of '96 (1993). She had the lead role in the television film Runaway Daughters (1994). She played the love interest of the title character in Happy Gilmore (1996). She appeared in the films Multiplicity (1996) and An American Werewolf in Paris (1997). She has had guest roles on television series such as Party of Five (1996) and Strange Luck (1996).

Bowen had a recurring role as Roxanne Please on ER (1998-99). She first gained prominence on the television series Ed (2000-04), where she played high school English teacher Carol Vessey. She then guest starred as Sarah Shephard in five episodes of Lost (2005-07). She also played attorney Denise Bauer on the series Boston Legal (2005-08), and had a recurring role on Weeds (2008). She was a spokesmodel for Neutrogena, most recently advertising the Pure Glow products. She appeared on an episode of Jeopardy! on August 31, 2010.

Since 2009, Bowen has starred as Claire Dunphy on the ABC sitcom Modern Family. For her portrayal, she received six consecutive Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (2010-15), winning the award in 2011 and 2012. Bowen told an interviewer that winning an Emmy Award is more like "German soldiers in the trenches of the world wars," and that "when you win the award, it is like being pulled out of the trench." She also stated that "as exciting and wonderful as it is not to be in the trench, and to be recognised for what you do, it also means everyone has got a clear shot at you and that is a very frightening prospect for most of us."

Personal life

Bowen's older sister, Molly, is an interior designer who has appeared on Clean Sweep, and her younger sister, Annie, is a doctor at the University of California, San Francisco in the HIV/AIDS Division. Bowen has had a pacemaker since her early twenties because of a cardiovascular condition where the regular heartbeat can drop to dangerously low levels.

Bowen married Scott Phillips, a real estate investor and software developer, on September 9, 2004. Their son, Oliver McLanahan Phillips, was born on April 10, 2007. On May 8, 2009, she gave birth to twins, John and Gustav, with whom she was visibly pregnant when shooting the pilot for Modern Family. She is a self-described "low Protestant."

Bowen has stated that motherhood has made her a lot more conservative. In 2002, Bowen donated $1,000 to the campaign of Republican Helen Delich Bentley for Maryland's 2nd district in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1994	Runaway Daughters	Angie Gordon
1996	Confessions of a Sleep Addict	P.J.
1996	Happy Gilmore	Virginia Venit
1996	Multiplicity	Robin
1997	An American Werewolf in Paris	Amy Finch
2001	You're Killing Me	Jamie Quinn
2001	Amy's Orgasm	Nikki
2001	Venus and Mars	Lisa
2001	Joe Somebody	Meg Harper
2002	Stella Shorts 1998-2002	Mother Nature	Direct-to-DVD release
2005	Kids in America	Principal Weller
2005	Partner(s)	Katherine
2007	Sex and Death 101	Fiona Wormwood
2010	Crazy on the Outside	Christy
2011	Jumping the Broom	Amy
2011	Horrible Bosses	Rhonda Harken
2012	Conception	Tiffany
2012	Knife Fight	Peaches
2014	Planes: Fire & Rescue	Lil' Dipper	Voice role

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1992	Loving
1993	Lifestories: Families in Crisis	Chris	Episode: "No Visible Bruises: The Kate Koestner Story"
1993	Class of '96	Kristie Lewis	Episode: "Educating David"
1993	Acapulco H.E.A.T.	Danielle Perkins	Episode: "Code Name: Body Double"
1994	Runaway Daughters	Angie Gordon	Movie
1994	Where Are My Children?	Kirstie	Movie
1995	Extreme	Andie McDermott	7 episodes
1996	Party of Five	Shelley	Episode: "Unfair Advantage"
1996	Strange Luck	Leigh Anne	Episode: "Healing Hands"
1998	Three	Amanda Webb	2 episodes
1998-99	ER	Roxanne Please	9 episodes
1999	The Last Man on Planet Earth	Hope Chayse	Movie
2000	Oh Baby	Nikky	2 episodes
2000	Dawson's Creek	Aunt Gwen	Episode: "Stolen Kisses"
2000-04	Ed	Carol Vessey	83 episodes
2002	Justice League	Aresia	2 episodes
2005	Jake in Progress	Brooke	4 episodes
2005-07	Lost	Sarah Shephard	5 episodes
2005-08	Boston Legal	Denise Bauer	50 episodes
2008	Weeds	Lisa	7 episodes
2008	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Gwen Sibert	Episode: "Trials"
2009	True Jackson, VP	Claire Underwood	Episode: "True Takes Iceland"
2009	Monk	Marilyn Brody	Episode: "Mr. Monk and the Bully"
2009-present	Modern Family	Claire Dunphy	Main role
2013	Talking Bad	Herself	Episode: "Blood Money"
2014	Family Guy	Claire Dunphy (voice)	Episode: "The Simpsons Guy"

Web

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2007	Wainy Days	Cheryl	Episode: "Tough Guy"

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category	Work	Result
2006	Screen Actors Guild	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	Boston Legal	Nominated
2007			Boston Legal	Nominated
2008			Boston Legal	Nominated
2009		Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series	Boston Legal	Nominated
2009	Satellite Awards	Best Actress in a Television Series (Musical or Comedy)	Modern Family	Nominated
2010		Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries, or Television Film	Modern Family	Nominated
2010	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series	Modern Family	Nominated
2010	Screen Actors Guild	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series	Modern Family	Nominated
2011			Modern Family	Won
2011	Critics' Choice Television Awards	Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series	Modern Family	Nominated
2011	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series	Modern Family	Won
2012		Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series	Modern Family	Won
2012	Critics' Choice Television Awards	Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series	Modern Family	Won
2012	Screen Actors Guild	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series	Modern Family	Won
2012		Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series	Modern Family	Nominated
2013		Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series	Modern Family	Won
2013	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series	Modern Family	Nominated
2014		Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series	Modern Family	Nominated
2014	Screen Actors Guild	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series	Modern Family	Won
2015		Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series	Modern Family	Nominated
2015		Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series	Modern Family	Nominated
2015	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series	Modern Family	Nominated
2016	Screen Actors Guild	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series	Modern Family	Nominated

Charities

Julie Bowen supports the following charitable cause: ALS (amyrotrophic lateral sclerosis).

[ Source: Wikipedia ]