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Real-life families or acquaintances appearing in an actor’s show is an interesting mix of fact and fiction. In Season 4, Episode 19 of Modern Family, “The Future Dunphys,” Cam and Mitch take Lily to a Vietnamese restaurant to expose her to the culture she belongs to. The entire sequence is one of the most memorable from the show.
Gloria joins the duo with a pressing issue of her own: she feels that her son Manny is growing distant from his Spanish roots. But did you know the waitress they encounter at the restaurant is not just another extra? She is Amy Anderson, the real mother of Aubrey Anderson-Emmons, the actress who plays Lily on the show.
The Modern Family Cameo You (Probably) Missed!
The episode showcases one of Lily’s most iconic lines, where she exclaims, “I hate Vietnam” during a family dinner at a pho restaurant. While the adults fumble through awkward conversations about adoption and cultural identity, a waitress glides in the background. That extra? It’s Lily’s real-life mom.
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The scene also has excellent comic timing, as other guests, waiters, and the restaurant staff pass by the family’s table in time to different conversations around race, sexuality, and borderline political statements. It is an artfully written scene that delivers a message with awareness and comedy.
Aubrey Anderson-Emmons Revealed Her Mother’s Modern Family Cameo Years Later
Aubrey and her mother once revealed the cameo during their appearance on Trisha Paytas’ Just Trish podcast. What is further interesting is that, in that scene, Lily also says that she is not Vietnamese, but she is gay. Mitch tries to calm her down, leading to another awkward situation. Cut to 2025, Aubrey, aka Lily, came out as bisexual. She also got Jesse Tyler Ferguson (who plays Mitch) to feature in the video as she lip-synched to Lily’s “I am gay!” dialogue.
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Modern Family introduced Lily as a baby in Season 1—initially played by twins Ella and Jaden Hiller—but Aubrey Anderson-Emmons took over in Season 3 and became a defining presence of the show. Her witty, sharp dialogue and calm delivery made Lily one of pop culture’s most quoted TV toddlers.
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