Julie Bowen

Julie Bowen Luetkemeyer born March 3 1970 is an American actress She is best known for her role as Claire Dunphy on the sitcom Modern Family Carol Vessey on Ed and Denise Bauer on Boston Legal She began her acting career in the soap opera Loving in 1992 In 1994 she played the lead role opposite Paul Rudd in the television film Runaway Daughters Throughout the 90s and early 2000s she had roles in numerous films including Happy Gilmore 1996 An American Werewolf in Paris 1997 Joe Somebody 2001 and Kids in America 2005 She gained recognition on the television series Ed where she played high school English teacher Carol Vessey the love interest of of the series protagonist Ed Stevens She has had guest roles in many television series including Party of Five Jake in Progress ER and Strange Luck In the cult series Lost she played Jack Shepards exwife Sarah Shepard In 2008 she had a recurring role as Lisa the love interest of the almost legal Silas Botwin on Weeds Since 2009 she costarred in the hit ABC sitcom Modern Family For her portrayal of the competitive and lovable soccer mom Claire Dunphy she received four Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series winning the award in 2011 and 2012