Jesse Tyler Ferguson facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Ferguson in 2022
Born	(1975-10-22) October 22, 1975 (age 49) Missoula, Montana, U.S.
Education	American Musical and Dramatic Academy
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1998–present
Spouse(s)	Justin Mikita ​ (m. 2013)​
Children	2

Jesse Tyler Ferguson (born October 22, 1975) is a well-known American actor. Many people know him for playing Mitchell Pritchett on the TV show Modern Family. He was on the show from 2009 to 2020. For his role, he was nominated five times for a top acting award, the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.

Jesse Tyler Ferguson has also performed a lot on stage. He made his first appearance on Broadway in a musical called On the Town in 1998. He was also part of the first cast of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee in 2006. He has acted in many plays by William Shakespeare in a special event called Shakespeare in the Park. These plays include A Midsummer Night's Dream (2007) and The Tempest (2015). In 2022, he won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his role in the play Take Me Out.

Growing Up: Jesse's Early Life

Jesse Tyler Ferguson was born in Missoula, Montana. His parents were Anne and Robert Ferguson. They divorced when he was 18 years old. Jesse has a brother named Ben and a sister named Kelly. He was named after his grandmother, Jessie, whom he was very close to.

When Jesse was young, his family moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico. This is where he grew up. At age eight, he decided he wanted to be an actor. He joined the Albuquerque Children's Theater and was a member for six years. In high school, at St. Pius X High School, he acted in musicals like Bye Bye Birdie. He also joined the speech and debate team. After graduating in 1994, he worked as a dancer and singer at Cliff's Amusement Park.

After high school, Jesse went to The American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA) in New York City. This is a special school for performing arts.

Jesse's Acting Journey

Stage Performances

Jesse Tyler Ferguson with his Modern Family co-star Eric Stonestreet in 2010.

In New York City, Jesse mostly worked in theater, both Off-Broadway and Broadway theatre. He was in the Tony Award-winning musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. In this show, he created the role of Leaf Coneybear. He also acted in Shakespeare in the Park productions like A Midsummer Night's Dream (2007) and The Tempest (2015). In 2015, he played Sir Robin in a show called Monty Python's Spamalot in Hollywood.

In 2012, Jesse was part of a special performance of a play called 8. This play was about a real court case that helped allow same-sex marriage in California. The performance was shown online to help raise money for equal rights.

TV and Movie Roles

On television, Jesse was part of a large group of actors in a short-lived TV show called The Class. He played a character named Richie Velch. He also had a role in the movie Untraceable in 2008.

From 2009 to 2020, Jesse played Mitchell Pritchett on the ABC comedy show Modern Family. Mitchell was a lawyer who was openly gay. Jesse was nominated for five Emmy Awards for this role. He has also been a judge on the dance show So You Think You Can Dance. Since 2020, he has been a host on HGTV's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

Other Creative Work

In 2018, Jesse was one of the actors who read the audiobook A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo.

In 2019, Jesse appeared in Taylor Swift's music video for her song "You Need to Calm Down".

Giving Back: Jesse's Charity Work

Jesse at a PFLAG event in 2010.

In September 2012, Jesse and his husband, Justin Mikita, started a charity called Tie The Knot. This charity helps raise money to support same-sex marriage. They sell special bow ties to collect funds. They announced their engagement and the charity at the same time in an online video. They explained that at that time, only seven states allowed same-sex marriage.

The Tie The Knot foundation sells limited-edition bow ties. These ties help organizations that work to support same-sex marriage. Jesse and Justin design some of the collections themselves, and they also invite other designers. The ties are sold by an online company called The Tie Bar.

In January 2013, Jesse and Justin were asked by the Lieutenant Governor of Illinois to talk to lawmakers. They wanted to help pass a bill that would allow same-sex marriage in Illinois. The bill passed, and the law went into effect in June 2014.

In October 2013, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) named Jesse their celebrity ambassador for the LGBT community. He worked hard with the ACLU's "Out for Freedom" campaign. Jesse traveled to his home state of New Mexico to help with same-sex marriage efforts there. Before New Mexico fully allowed same-sex marriage in December 2013, it was the only state that didn't clearly say if it was allowed or not. Jesse and Justin's charity gave $10,000 to the ACLU of New Mexico to help with these efforts.

Jesse's Personal Life

Jesse Tyler Ferguson uses his full name because there was already an actor named Jesse Ferguson when he joined the actors' union.

In September 2012, he announced that he was engaged to Justin Mikita. Justin is a lawyer, and they had been together for almost two years. They got married in Manhattan on July 20, 2013. A famous writer named Tony Kushner led their wedding ceremony. Jesse and Justin have two children: Beckett Mercer Ferguson-Mikita, born in July 2020, and Sullivan Louis Ferguson-Mikita, born in November 2022.

Jesse has shared that he had to tell his father about his personal journey three times as he was growing up. He explained that it's also a journey for parents to understand and accept, and it takes time.

He has a dog named Leaf. Jesse supports the Democratic Party and appeared in a promotional video for the 2016 Democratic National Convention.

Movies and TV Shows

Film

Television

Theatre

Music Videos

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Jesse Tyler Ferguson para niños