‘Modern Family’ Star Julie Bowen Is a Proud Mom of 3 Boys! Meet Sons Oliver, John and Gustav

Julie Bowen, best known for playing Claire Dunphy on the long-running sitcom Modern Family, is mother to three sons: Oliver, John and Gustav.

The actress even shares candid photos of her three kids on Instagram — and rarely misses a chance to celebrate them. “Every day is ‘Son’s Day’ at my house,” she captioned a carousel of images in September 2023.

Is Julie Bowen Married?

The two-time Emmy Award-winning actress married real estate investor and software developer Scott Phillips in September 2004. In February 2018, Julie filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences, and it was made final on September 13, 2018.

When asked about her marriage, Julie said jokingly to People, “Honestly I only remember up until we had the kids. Then you’re like, ‘What?’ Twelve years. We’ve had children for nine. So I remember the first three years, the rest of it is like a blackout.”

How Many Kids Does Julie Bowen Have?

Before Julie and Scott divorced, they welcomed three children. Their first son, Oliver, was born in April 2007, and two years later in May 2009, she gave birth to twin boys John and Gustav.

Being a boy mom is a unique experience, she’s said. “On TV shows, people talk to each other. When you have three boys, it’s more like grunting,” the actress joked to Today in 2021. “And you identify their mood kind of by their smell. It’s like living with wild animals.”

She added, “It’s hairy, it’s smelly and I love them. They own me.”

In September 2024, during an appearance on Today With Hoda & Jenna, Julie reflected on her relationship with her boys as they get older and she works away from home. “Luckily, they’ve all grown and different rates and at different times have all gone in that heavy sleep cycle. Right now, cause I’m working on the East Coast and they live in L.A., the only way I communicate with them is through Snapchat,” the actress said.

Was Julie Bowen Pregnant on ‘Modern Family’?

For 11 years, Julie played Claire Dunphy on the beloved ABC sitcom Modern Family before the final episode aired in 2020.

However, she thought she would never get the job because she was expecting at the time. “I was pregnant with twins, and I kept thinking they weren’t going to hire me,” she told People in 2015. “They kept bringing me in over and over and sort of staring at my humungous belly, and I thought, ‘I’m never getting this job.'”

Still, Julie landed the job and was even pregnant when they filmed the pilot episode, which aired in September 2009.

But even though two of her three boys made an “appearance” on the show, Julie admitted in a January 2023 interview with People that her kids are indifferent about the series. When once watching the show alongside her children, she shared, “I said to my twins, ‘You’re in my stomach right there. You’re in this episode.’ Because I was pregnant with them on the pilot. They thought that was pretty funny and they watched some of it. But in front of me, they will not watch it.”