How Modern Family's 'Lily' Truly Feels About Being A Child Star

Like most former child stars, Aubrey Anderson-Emmons has mixed feelings about growing up in the spotlight. During a November 2024 appearance on the "Just Trish" podcast, the "Modern Family" alum acknowledged that although she was thankful for all the positive experiences that stemmed from her work on the hit sitcom, she still wished aspiring child actors would take a different route. "I think kids need to have a normal experience and I don't know if that's the way to do it," Anderson-Emmons admitted. "I feel like I definitely was more troubled when I became older because of the show." 

After the actor stressed that her mother never pushed her into the business just because she was passionate about it as a child, Anderson-Emmons conceded, "How do you choose what you want to do for eight years when you're four years old?" Meanwhile, in an April 2024 TikTok, the TV star shared that her schedule as a child actor was incredibly hectic because she was either filming or studying and could only catch a breather during lunch. 

Anderson-Emmons also acknowledged that although her fellow child stars initially joined her for on-set classes, they all graduated long before she did, and the youngster ultimately found it quite isolating to be in school all by herself as a result. In a 2018 chat with Grumpy Magazine, Anderson-Emmons confessed that she also felt slightly weird when a stranger approached her on the street and gushed about how she grew up right before their eyes and then expected a hug from her. Given all this, it's unsurprising what happened to the actor who played Lily on "Modern Family" after the show ended.

Elsewhere during Aubrey Anderson-Emmons' appearance on "Just Trish," she confirmed that although the COVID-19 pandemic hit right after they had wrapped filming on "Modern Family," the actor continued virtually auditioning for roles. However, Anderson-Emmons eventually realized that the audition process gave her tremendous anxiety, so she told her mother that she wanted to walk away from acting altogether, and luckily, she was fully supportive of her decision. 

The former child star then partly regained some sense of normalcy by returning to public school. However, her high school theater class reignited her passion for acting. In March 2024, she landed a role in her school's production of "The Theory of Relativity," and co-stars Julie Bowen and Jesse Tyler-Ferguson showed up to cheer her on. The proud grown-ups were undoubtedly thinking that their former "Modern Family" co-star Anderson-Emmons had grown up so fast. However, she also expanded her horizons beyond acting. Since 2015, the sitcom alum and her mom have posted food reviews on their YouTube channel "FoodMania Review." 

Additionally, she has remained a consistently strong presence on TikTok, amassing millions of followers by making comedic videos and showing off her impeccable fashion sense. In December 2024, Anderson-Emmons officially ventured into the world of music by releasing a cover of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' "Maps." The multi-talented performer further explored her passion for music by playing guitar in a band called October. Suffice it to say that Anderson-Emmons has no intentions of following in the footsteps of other once-popular child actors who completely vanished.