Modern Family: Every Main Character Ranked By Likability
Everyone in the cast of Modern Family was hilarious and they worked well together, but some characters were more likeable than others.
Modern Family ended its run after 11 successful seasons, and consistently brought the laughs, all the way until the end. The sitcom was about a, well, modern family, that includes an extended family that better represents what families look like today versus the antiquated concept of a "family."
Patriarch Jay is married to his second, much younger wife Gloria and they live with her son from a previous marriage, Manny, and their new son, which he fathered very late in life. Then there's his daughter Claire, her goofy husband Phil and their three kids. And his son Mitchell, his husband Cameron, and their adopted daughter Lily. While all of the characters in the ensemble cast make the show as funny as it is, they each stand out for different reasons. So, which one is the most likeable? Here's a ranking.
10 Haley Dunphy
She was your typical self-absorbed, rebellious teenager who grew up to become, well, a self-absorbed young adult. The aimless, ditzy party girl, she struggled to find her footing in life. And she was totally obsessed with herself.
Sure, Haley had some shining moments, and as much as she mocked her sister Alex, she truly loved her. She also changed somewhat once she found a steady job and became a mom. But she was still the least likable of the bunch.
9 Mitchell Pritchett
Mitchell was uptight, insecure, and seemingly always wound up about something. He needed Cameron to ground him or he might have simply spun himself into a tizzy half the time.
He also had a chip on his shoulder thanks to his father being absent for much of his childhood and initially not accepting his sexuality. A seemingly successful lawyer, he sometimes seemed out of his league at work.
8 Luke Dunphy
While Luke was a sweet boy who grew into a young man over the course of the show, there was little substance to the character. He was the youngest Dunphy child and the one Claire and Phil felt would never amount to anything, which is pretty sad.
He was more interested in pulling pranks and being a mischievous kid than studying at school, then later focused on girls like a typical teenage boy. And he was more dumb than charming, making him among the least likable on the show.
7 Manny Delgado
Sometimes, Manny could be downright insufferable. Even Jay could only take so much of him. He was arguably smarter than a lot of the rest of the family but also had his quirks. He was like a white 60-year-man in a teenage Columbian boy's body.
Manny got more annoying as he got older and became obsessed with theater and his ex-girlfriend. And while he had his redeeming moments, he was never really a typical kid.
6 Alex Dunphy
Sure, she was snarky and had a holier-than-thou attitude because she was smarter than everyone in the family. Yes, her parents included. But there was something likable about Alex. She was the nerdy girl and middle child who lived in the shadow of her popular, attractive older sister and her attention-seeking younger brother so she rarely got noticed because she was able to hack it on her own.
She lived for sarcasm and often made fun of her entire family, even if none of them ever got the jokes. But as she got older, she came into her own and became far more confident in herself.
5 Jay Pritchett
A surly older man, Jay was essentially starting over with a new family after working himself to the bone as a young father to provide for his family and thus never being around. Now retired, he has a hot younger wife, a new son, a stepson, and grandkids who visited all the time.
When he really just wanted to go play golf with his friends or relax in front of the TV watching football with a glass of scotch, he had to deal with his crazy family. But there was something endearing about Jay, despite the fact that he acted constantly annoyed.
4 Gloria Delgado-Pritchett
A fierce Columbian woman with a sketchy back story from when she lived in Columbia, Gloria didn't take crap from anyone. And while she initially appeared like a stereotypical gold digger, it turned out she was anything but and really did love Jay.
She kept him in check, smothered Manny, and was there for the family whenever they needed her. Her strong accent and the fact that she often said things without realizing they were funny made her a hilarious addition to the show.
3 Cameron Tucker
Cam was overly dramatic, super emotional, and so focused on what other people thought of him. But he was hilarious and fun to be around. He would be the friend viewers would want to hang out with, though he would also be the one most likely to talk behind someone's back.
But he also helped Mitchell see the lighter side of situations and let loose a bit. And while he was the stereotypically flamboyant and effeminate gay man, he was also not afraid to put on a pair of overalls and milk a cow; and had a surprisingly deep passion for football.
2 Claire Dunphy
While she was just as uptight and wound up as her younger brother, Claire was also the glue that held the family together. Giving up her career options to start a family after she and Phil got pregnant in college, she ran the household like a business.
But she also made time for herself, doing yoga, drinking wine, and finally taking over her father's business for a short period of time once the kids were grown. She was a strong female who tried to do it all.
1 Phil Dunphy
Phil was hands-down the best character on the show and also the most likable. He was goofy and cheesy, told the lamest dad jokes, loved magic, embarrassed his kids at every turn, and made Jay roll his eyes constantly at his daughter's choice in a husband.
But the kids secretly loved that their dad was so lame, and deep down, Jay knew that Claire picked a good man. Phil knew how to make every situation fun and light-hearted. And his constant unintended double entendres were too hilarious for words.