10 THINGS YOU DON’T KNOW ABOUT
JESSE TYLER FERGUSON
AFTER Jesse Tyler Ferguson wrapped up his 11-season run on ABC’s Modern Family in 2020, he returned to his Broadway roots in the revival of Take Me Out — and won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play! This year, the sitcom cutup, 47, appears in the black comedy Cocaine Bear, which is inspired by the real-life story of a wild bruin that chowed down on a smuggler’s duffel bag of dope! According to Ferguson, the flick is the “wacky” version of what would have happened if the animal didn’t go into cardiac arrest and die — and instead went on a killing spree. Here are ten things you don’t know about the Montana native. 1 He’s a distant cousin of Friends’ Courteney Cox and Star Trek: Discovery’s
Anthony Rapp.
2
As a teen, he worked as a dancer and singer at Cliff’s Amusement Park in Albuquerque. 3
He uses his full name professionally because there was already a performer called Jesse Ferguson in the actors’ union when he joined.
4
He grew a beard to get the role of Modern Family father Mitchell Pritchett because he thought he looked too young to be a dad without it.
5 His 2013 marriage to lawyer Justin Mikita was officiated by Angels in America playwright Tony Kushner. 6
He’s ten years older than his hubby. 7
He made a turkey dinner alongside Martha Stewart on her selfnamed cooking show and calls it “one of the best days ever.”
8
If he had to pick a new career, he would be a chef.
9
He hired interior designer Peter Gurski, who was the set decorator for NBC’s Will & Grace, to deck out his four-bedroom home in L.A.
10
He is a big fan of singer Taylor Swift, appeared in her music video for You Need to Calm Down and introduced her performance at NYC’s Stonewall Inn in 2019.