Eric Allen Stonestreet (born September 9, 1971) is an American actor. He is known for portraying Cameron Tucker in the ABC sitcom Modern Family (2009–2020), for which he received two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series out of three nominations. He first rose to prominence in a recurring role on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. He has also appeared in films including Bad Teacher (2011), Identity Thief (2013), The Loft (2014), and Confirmation (2016), and provides the voice of Duke in The Secret Life of Pets film franchise (2016–2019).
Early life Eric Allen Stonestreet was born in Kansas City, Kansas, on September 9, 1971, the son of teacher's aide Jamey Anne (née Ball) and retail business owner Vincent Stonestreet. He is of German descent. His family had a pig farm growing up. As a child, he wanted to become a clown,Stated on Inside the Actors Studio, 2011 and created a clown character named Fizbo; by age 11, he was performing at younger children's birthday parties. He recalled in 2012, "I don't know where the name Fizbo came from. I do know one day that's what my dad was calling me and that's the name that I printed on my business cards." The name "Fizbo" was later used for a clown character he periodically played on Modern Family. Whenever Fizbo appeared in an episode, Stonestreet would do the clown makeup himself, stating that no one else could do it quite right.
Stonestreet attended Piper High School and Kansas State University, where he was in the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, graduating with a degree in sociology in 1996. While there, he made his stage debut when he appeared in Prelude to a Kiss, for which he auditioned on a dare and won the smallest role. He later appeared in All My Sons and Twelfth Night, before studying improv at ImprovOlympic and The Second City Training Center in Chicago, then moved to Los Angeles to begin his professional acting career.
Career Early work and smaller roles He made his film debut in Almost Famous, as desk clerk Sheldon. He also played Dr. Benson in Girls Will Be Girls, Ed the Trucker in The Island, and Courtney's Neighbor in Ninja Cheerleaders. In 2007, Stonestreet appeared in the short film "Vinny's Vault," which was produced during the reality show On the Lot. He also appeared in the movies Identity Thief as Big Chuck, and Bad Teacher as Kirk.
He is also notable for his role as Ronnie Litre on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. He also guest starred in television shows, such as Dharma & Greg, ER, Malcolm in the Middle, The Mentalist, NCIS, Nip/Tuck, Party of Five, Spin City, The West Wing, Pushing Daisies, Greg the Bunny, Providence, Close to Home, Crossing Jordan, Bones, Monk, and American Horror Story. Early in his career Stonestreet was featured in Kansas State University's 1996 football and the Big 12 Conference TV commercials' campaign as the "purple pride guy."
Modern Family and beyond
Stonestreet played Cameron Tucker in ABC's Modern Family. His performance in the series was widely acclaimed and earned him numerous awards, including two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, four SAG Awards for Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy Series, and nominations for three Golden Globes for Best Supporting Actor in Television.
In 2013, he appeared in a series of advertisements for Australian retail store Big W. In the fall of the same year, Stonestreet played the "Fan Coach" in the AT&T "Be A Fan" commercial series that ran during the college football season, in addition to appearing in a MasterCard/Stand Up 2 Cancer commercial as himself. In 2014, he performed in "Weird Al" Yankovic's music video for "Tacky," a parody of Pharrell's "Happy". In the same year he also starred in the remake of the Belgian thriller Loft. He regularly appears onstage at IO West improv Theatre in Los Angeles.
In 2017, Stonestreet hosted the ABC competition series The Toy Box.
In 2020, Stonestreet appeared as a guest judge for a taping of auditions for the fifteenth season of America's Got Talent, in place of Heidi Klum. In the same year he appeared in the music video for Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber's song "Stuck with U".
In March 2021, it was announced that Stonestreet would be hosting Domino Masters for Fox. The competition series premiered on March 9, 2022.
In November 2024, Stonestreet was named as the godfather for the new Norwegian Cruise Line ship Norwegian Aqua.
Personal life Stonestreet began dating pediatric nurse Lindsay Schweitzer in June 2016, and they became engaged on August 22, 2021. On September 9, 2025, Stonestreet announced that they had married at their home in Kansas City. He has twin sons.
Although he played a gay character in Modern Family, Stonestreet is heterosexual and has lightheartedly described himself as "openly straight". His Modern Family co-star and onscreen husband Jesse Tyler Ferguson (who is gay in real life) jokingly called him "gay-for-pay". Stonestreet supports LGBTQ causes; he refused Republican senator Rick Santorum's request to take a picture with him at the 2014 White House Correspondents' Dinner due to Santorum's staunchly anti-gay platform.
A keen sports fan, Stonestreet supports the Kansas City Chiefs football team and joined the new ownership group of the Kansas City Royals baseball team in 2019. He has also driven the pace car at several NASCAR events. He often attends football games at his alma mater, Kansas State University, and stays active with several organizations there.
Stonestreet is also a fan of drums, mainly a collector of them which he talked about on comedian Rob Riggle's podcast Riggle's Picks.
Filmography
Film Year Title RoleNotes 2000 Almost Famous Sheldon the Desk Clerk 2003 F.A.T. Ranger Girls Will Be Girls Dr. Benson Street of Pain Floyd Short film 2004 Straight-Jacket Labor Organizer Knuckle Sandwich Bill 2005 Saddam 17 The Clerk Short film The Island Ed the Trucker 2007 The Drifter Delivery Guy Short film Stories USA Floyd Segment: "Street of Pain" 2008 Ninja Cheerleaders Beergut American Crude Phil 2010 Father vs. Son Doug 2011 Bad Teacher Kirk Gay 2013 Identity Thief Big Chuck 2014 The Loft Marty Landry 2016 The Secret Life of PetsDuke (voice)2019The Secret Life of Pets 2
Television Year Title RoleNotes 1999 Dharma & Greg Chester Episode: "See Dharma Run" 2000 I've Got a Secret Himself Unknown episodes Malcolm in the Middle Phil Episode: "Malcolm Babysits" Party of Five Irv 2 episodes Spin City The Dentist Episode: "Smile" ER Willie Episode: "Mars Attacks" 2001 The West Wing Staffer #1 Episode: "Bad Moon Rising" 2002 Greg the Bunny Wilson Episode: "Welcome to Sweetknuckle Junction" Providence Ted Stout Episode: "Eye of the Storm" 2001–2005 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Ronnie Litre 12 episodes 2005 Close to Home Andrew Morgan Episode: "Under Threat" 2006 13 Graves Andrew Schoch Television film 2007 Crossing Jordan Steve Anderman Episode: "D.O.A." Bones D.C. Cop 2 episodes On the Lot Actor American Dad! Short Order Cook (voice) Episode: "Dope & Faith" 2008 The Mentalist Malcom Boatwright Episode: "Red Hair and Silver Tape" Pushing Daisies Leo Burns Episode: "Comfort Food" NCIS Harvey Ames Episode: "Silent Night" 2009 This Might Hurt Brad Maynard Television film Monk Boom Boom Episode: "Mr. Monk and the UFO" Scare Tactics Eric the Paranormal Guy Episode: "28 Minutes Later" Nip/Tuck Wesley Clovis Episode: "Wesley Clovis" 2009–2020 Modern Family Cameron Tucker Main role; 11 seasons 2010 Good News Week Himself 1 episode 2011 American Horror Story: Murder House Derrick Episode: "Piggy Piggy" 2013–2018 Sofia the First Minimus (voice) 16 episodes 2014 Sesame Street Himself Episode: "Hansel & Gretel Playdate" 2015 Jeopardy! 2 episodes 2016 Blue Peter Episode: "4915" Confirmation Kenneth Duberstein Television film 2017 The F Word Himself "Episode Seven" The Toy Box 16 episodes 2019 What Just Happened??! with Fred Savage Episode: "Neighbor" 2020 America's Got Talent Guest Judge (season 15) Who Wants to Be a Millionaire Episode: "In The Hot Seat: Eric Stonestreet and Will Forte" 2021 Madagascar: A Little Wild Harley Horns (voice) Episode: "A Roar Is Born" 2022 Domino Masters Himself Main role 2023 American Auto Ian 2 episodes The Santa Clauses Magnus Antas / Mad Santa Main role (season 2) 2025 Dexter: Resurrection Al Walker / Rapunzel Guest star 2026 Happy's Place Dr. Russell Peabody III Episode: "Couples Counseling" 2026 Sofia the First: Royal Magic Minimus (voice) Recurring role
Music videos +YearSongArtistNotes2014"Tacky"Weird Al Yankovic2020"Stuck with U"Ariana Grande and Justin BieberCameo
Awards and nominations Organizations Year Category Work Result Ref. Children's and Family Emmy Awards 2025 Outstanding Supporting Performer The Santa Clauses Critics' Choice Television Awards 2011 Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Modern Family Golden Globe Awards 2010 Best Supporting Actor – Television Modern Family 2011 2012 Primetime Emmy Awards 2010 Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Modern Family (episode: "Fizbo") 2011 Modern Family (episode: "Mother's Day") 2012 Modern Family (episode: "Treehouse") Screen Actors Guild Awards 2009 Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy Series Modern Family (season 1) 2010 Modern Family (season 2) 2011 Modern Family (season 3) Outstanding Male Actor in a Comedy Series 2012 Modern Family (season 4) Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy Series 2013 Modern Family (season 5) 2014 Outstanding Male Actor in a Comedy Series Modern Family (season 6) Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy Series 2015 Modern Family (season 7) 2016 Modern Family (season 8)
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