Claire Dunphy

Claire Dunphy
First appearance	"Pilot"
Created by	Christopher Lloyd Steven Levitan
Portrayed by	Julie Bowen
Information
Nickname(s)	"Julianna"
Gender	Female
Occupation	Housewife/Homemaker
Family	Jay Pritchett(Father) DeDe Pritchett (Mother) Mitchell Pritchett (Brother)
Spouse(s)	Phil Dunphy (16 years)
Children	Haley Dunphy (Daughter) Alex Dunphy (Daughter) Luke Dunphy (Son) Phillip Dunphy (son) (expecting)
Relatives	Gloria Delgado-Pritchett (Stepmother) Manny Delgado (Stepbrother) Lily Tucker-Pritchett (Niece)
Religion	Unspecified

Claire Dunphy (née Pritchett) is a fictional character on the American television series Modern Family. She is portrayed by Julie Bowen.

Claire is the daughter of Jay, Mitchell's older sister, and the overprotective mother of the Dunphy family and its three very different kids.^[1] She was once a wild-child who made a lot of mistakes over the years, and fearful that her mistakes could be made by her children, she works hard to try and help them avoid said mistakes. She is often exhausted from stress created by her family but is still a loving mother.^[1] When it comes to her kids she has difficulty controlling Haley's independence coupled with her irresponsibility, Alex's manipulative nature, and Luke's lack of common sense.^[1] She is seen as an experienced parent by Cameron and Mitchell so she is called upon for her parenting advice. She enjoys running and reading. Claire is also the most active family member when organizing family get-togethers. As alluded to in several episodes, namely season two episode The Kiss, as a teenager, Claire was a wild child growing up.

Julie Bowen has received extensive praise for her portrayal of Claire. In 2011, she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role. She was also nominated in 2010.

Personality

Phil's Overview

Phil loves Claire, but thinks she can be naggy and overbearing. He disapproves of her strict style of parenting, and thinks she is too up-tight about unnecessary things. Claire often refers to Phil as "the kid [she's] married to." Claire's parenting styles are a reflection of her teenage years, which she, as well as her father, have confirmed were wild. She tries hard to prevent this same fate from happening to her children, mainly Haley.

In Hawaii, Claire explains that Phil begged her to marry him, and that Haley was conceived before their marriage, most likely a result of her promiscuous teenage years. In Strangers on a Treadmill, we learn that Claire does not think Phil is funny, though she eventually does by the end of the episode.

Jay and Mitchell's Overview

Jay does not express his love for Claire and Mitchell very well. Claire says he has always had trouble expressing his love. Jay and Claire's relationship was strained during her teenage years, during which Jay reveals she was once found by the cops naked with her boyfriend after a party.

Claire originally did not support her brother Mitchell being gay, but eventually came to support him after seeing how great of a couple he and Cameron were. Mitchell has said that Claire was bossy and mean growing up, although she later revealed that she did everything she did to spare Mitchell from being tormented by his peers, going so far as to quit their figure skating team, right before a big competition, which Mitchell was angry about and held a grudge for until the episode En Garde.

Haley's Overview

Haley and her mother have a strained relationship. Claire tries to be a good mother to Haley, mainly to prevent Haley from behaving the same way as she did. Haley does not like this, as she is often not allowed to go out with friends because of it. Claire also does not approve of Haley's relationship with her lover, Dylan.

Phil once made a bet with Claire, who is not good with technology, that if he could teach Haley to use a simple television set, the family could keep it. Phil was able to teach Haley by telling her that Claire thought she couldn't do it, and that he was teaching her for all the times Claire told her that she was right, but Haley knew that she was wrong. Haley eventually did learn with this motivation, and then went on the teach Claire instead of Phil.

Physical appearance and typical attire

Claire generally wears what Haley and Alex refer to as "mom clothes." She generally wears blouses and jeans. On the show's Valentine's Day episodes, My Funky Valentine and Bixby's Back, Claire made up an alter ego, Julianna, to go role playing with Phil, who took on the alter ego of Clive Bixby (where the name for the latter episode was derived). Both of their attempts to go role playing were disastrous and ended in either Phil or Claire's embarrassment.

Quirks and personality traits

Claire is an extreme perfectionist, seen in the episode "Family Portrait". According to Phil, "when everybody else sees something beautiful, all she sees is the teeny-tiny flaw." She is almost always paired with Phil or Haley to drive a storyline.

Claire is a stay at home mom. She revealed in the episode Moon Landing that she was once heading for a successful career in hospitality management before becoming pregnant with Haley. She is often bothered by the success of her past co-workers, but later realizes her family is more important.^[2]

Claire is good at dealing with her kids; numerous times in the series she immediately sees through Luke's lying and Haley's manipulations. She is the most creatively active member of the family, and organizes many family and school events. Mitchell and Cameron often go to her for parenting advice for raising Lily.

Interests

Along with Phil, Claire enjoys what Phil refers to in the episode "Our Children, Ourselves" as "cheesy cinema". Claire enjoys crafts, insisting in the episode Fizbo, during Luke's birthday party, that there be a craft table where kids can make comb sheaths. Nobody visited the table besides her brother Mitchell during the entire party.

Claire enjoys reading, biking and running. In the episode "Run for Your Wife", Claire demonstrates that she can beat Phil in a race.

Reception

Claire is often referred to as the show's "straight woman". Julie Bowen has received much praise and multiple awards and nominations for her role.

Julie Bowen's performance was praised by Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly who said, "Bowen’s Claire could have been a blank blonde cipher. Far from it: Bowen’s wide array of silent gazes at the camera, her slow-burns at her clan’s bad behavior, and her ability to freak out without seeming nutso crazy makes her an essential, stand-out part of TV’s best freshman ensemble cast."^[3] For the role of Claire, Bowen was nominated in 2010 for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress - Comedy Series, for the episode My Funky Valentine; she won the Emmy in 2011 for the episode Strangers on a Treadmill. Bowen was also nominated for Satellite Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy, but ultimately lost to an actress from another freshman show, Glee 's Lea Michele. She is also currently nominated for Quick Change Artist: Impressive Acting Range at the TV.con Now Awards for changing from Ed, an NBC drama, to Modern Family, an ABC sitcom.^[4]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} "Claire (Julie Bowen) Bio - Modern Family - ABC.com". ABC.com. http://abc.go.com/shows/modern-family/bio/claire-/274497. Retrieved 2010-02-08. 
2. ^ "Moon Landing". Modern Family. ABC, Los Angeles, California. 2010-02-03. No. 14, season 1.
3. ^ Ken Tucker (2009-12-24). "Help me pick TV's best supporting actors of 2009: From 'Chuck,' 'The Office,' 'Southland,' and more!". EW.com. http://watching-tv.ew.com/2009/12/24/best-supporting-actors-2009-chuck-southland/. Retrieved 2010-02-08. 
4. ^ http://www.tv.com/tv-now-awards/?tag=specialfeature;2