A “Modern Family” star has a new music career — and a new name to go with it.
The actor who went by the name Aubrey Anderson-Emmons when she portrayed Lily as a child actor on the classic sitcom told E! News that she is now going by the name Frances Anderson.
The new name comes after the 18-year-old released her first EP, “Drown,” on all the major streaming platforms.
“Frances is actually part of my legal name—it’s my middle name, and it’s after my mom’s old family friend,” she told E! News. “I thought, one, it was a bit shorter than ‘Aubrey Anderson-Emmons.’ I do have a long, hyphenated last name.”
“I wanted to switch it up and I wanted people to see a new side of me,” she continued. “And I wanted to create a space specifically just for music. And I’m so excited for everybody to hear the songs on the EP, and I’m so grateful.”
Anderson played Lily, the sassy adopted daughter of couple Mitchell Pritchett (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) and Cam Tucker (Eric Stonestreet), for nine seasons on “Modern Family.” She joined the cast in Season Three in 2011 and won a Screen Actors Guild Award as part of the cast when she was just 4 years old in 2012.
Anderson was 12 years old when the show ended. She has since become a social media personality with more than 2 million followers on TikTok and 1.7 million on Instagram. She has now pivoted to music, but has not ruled out going back to acting.
“I think I really had to take a step back from acting,” she told E! News. “The show ended when I was 12 years old, so after that I decided I’m not gonna act anymore. And I do now, I plan on acting again — 100 percent.”
She has maintained a close relationship with one of her on-screen fathers in particular. She and Ferguson had a fun reunion in Los Angeles in 2022 before most of the cast got together at star Sofia Vergara’s home in 2023.
“I keep in touch with Jesse the most,” she said. “He’s commented every now and then, and pulled up on my (Instagram) Story and been like, ‘Wow, you sound so great.’ Which is awesome. He’s always been so supportive.”
Anderson released her first single, “Telephones and Traffic,” on May 23.
