Aubrey Anderson-Emmons Shares Her Sexuality with a Sweet Nod to 'Modern Family'

When Modern Family exploded on the sitcom scene in 2009, it forever changed the way Americans watched sitcoms. It blended the deadpan and fourth-wall-breaks style of comedy from shows like The Office with heartfelt and relatable comedy like you might expect from Full House, with a little bit of a bougie twist. The series incorporated families, both traditional and non-traditional, ushering in a new television era in the kinds of families that sitcoms would feature.

Aubrey Anderson-Emmons was just 4 years old when she took on the role of Lily, the Vietnamese adopted daughter of gay couple Cam and Mitch. These days, she's an adult, much to the shock of those who watched her grow up on the show. And she recently shared her sexuality for Pride Month by giving a heartfelt shout-out to her Modern Family roots. Here's what we know about her heartwarming announcement.

In Modern Family, there's a sweet scene between Lily and her dads, Cam and Mitchell, and her aunt Gloria. Gloria tells Lily that she's Vietnamese. To which Lily replies, "No I’m not, I’m gay. I'm gay!" Mitchell corrected her, "No honey, you're not gay, you're just confused."

Aubrey used the sound bite of that sweet interaction to declare her own sexuality, sharing a video of herself lip-syncing along with her own younger voice, along with the caption, "People keep joking so much abt me being gay when I literally am (I’m bi)."

It's proof that while you can take the girl out of the Modern Family, you can't take the Modern Family out of the girl.

Fans immediately celebrated Aubrey's announcement in her comments. One user playfully wrote, "Half gay, half Vietnamese!" Another added, "She tried to tell us when she was 5 and we thought she was confused and Vietnamese." One user joked, "She was not, in fact, confused."

While it's clear that the Modern Family fandom has stuck with Aubrey despite the series ending in 2020, it wasn't always the easiest to be a child star. Aubrey has opened up in the past about what it was like growing up on set and facing criticism for her acting skills, despite the fact that she was a literal toddler when she first had her big break.

In one TikTok (via E! News), she discussed how there were things she didn't like about it and things she loved about it. But, she reminded people, "It is work."

When asked if it was fun to grow up on set around famous people, Aubrey explained that if she wasn't working, she was doing three hours of studio school. The only time she had to relax, she joked, was lunch.

It was lonely at times, too, as the youngest cast member by far.

In another TikTok, Aubrey shared that people often criticized her acting, explaining, "People really took a dig on my acting choices or thought I was a bad actor."

She added, "I think it was just really hard for me to grow up with so many people's opinions around me."

Luckily, Aubrey seems to have found a healthy balance of chasing her career while also celebrating her skills and who she is as a person while letting the criticisms roll off her shoulders.