Judy Greer wasn’t ready to settle into the “mom” role just yet.
During a recent appearance on Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s Dinner’s on Me podcast, Greer shared that she turned down the chance to audition for a lead role on Modern Family. The role of Claire Dunphy, the matriarch of the family, eventually went to Julie Bowen. At the time, Greer said, she wasn’t interested in being known as “America’s mom” in her career.
Reflecting on that decision, Greer explained, “I was starting to play characters with kids in movies, and then this Modern Family role came along, where I’d have three kids—one in high school. It just felt like, if you’re on a TV show, you’re locked into being a mom for a long time.” She added, “In movies, people forget after a while, but in TV, it just sticks.”
Greer also admitted that she didn’t even want kids at the time. “It sounds silly now, but I was like, ‘I don’t want to audition for this.’ I was torn, but in the end, I decided it wasn’t the right fit for me,” she said. “Who knows if I would have even gotten the role, but I just didn’t feel like I wanted to be America’s mom yet.”
At the time, Greer was in her early 30s, and she felt the role would limit her creatively. “It didn’t fit with what I was doing at that point in my career,” she explained. “Plus, I loved traveling and making different movies. I wasn’t ready for a lifestyle change like that.”
Looking back, Greer said, “I just wasn’t ready for that kind of commitment in my career—or in my life.”
Modern Family ended up running for 11 seasons, from 2009 to 2020, and became a massive success, winning 22 Emmys. Despite passing on the role, Greer made a guest appearance in the first season as Denise, an ex-girlfriend of Phil (Ty Burrell), who causes some jealousy for Claire.
In the same interview, Greer also spoke about the pressures of auditioning and mentioned that she looks up to Julia Roberts as her “North Star” of what it means to be a movie star.
