Eric Stonestreet

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, 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."

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. She 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

Television

Music videos

Awards and nominations

References

References

1. "Eric Stonestreet".
2. (March 28, 2017). "Actor Eric Stonestreet, From Kansas Farm to Sitcom Star". Wall Street Journal.
3. "Eric Stonestreet".
4. (19 September 2024). "Eric Stonestreet: Full interview".
5. Stated on ''[[Inside the Actors Studio]]'', 2011
6. Dinner's On Me with Jesse Tyler Ferguson. (2026-01-13). "Eric Stonestreet on Fizbo moments and life after "Modern Family"".
7. Engle, Time. (September 21, 2012). "Eric Stonestreet talks Emmys, clowns, gay marriage and Tonganoxie". [[Kansas City Star]].
8. Maullar, Marci. (n.d.). "K-State Alum wins an Emmy for his role in ABC Comedy Series". [[Kansas State University]] Theatre Dept..
9. Berkman, Seth. (April 3, 2019). "Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet of Modern Family".
10. Lynchy. (April 9, 2013). "Big W recruits Modern Family's Eric Stonestreet for latest campaign via Saatchi & Saatchi, Sydney".
11. (March 23, 2019). "30 Amazing Things You Probably Didn't Know About Eric Stonestreet".
12. Moore, Debi. (December 22, 2014). "The Loft Arriving One Week Later than Originally Announced". Dreadcentral.com.
13. Sneider, Jeff. (May 11, 2011). "Eric Stonestreet, Wentworth Miller in 'Loft'".
14. Gropman, Adam. (February 21, 2018). "End Scene: L.A.'s iO West Theater to Close Suddenly After 21 Years".
15. (January 4, 2017). "ABC Announces Expert Mentors and Young Judges Appearing on Upcoming Toy-Competition Series 'The Toy Box,' Premiering Friday, April 7". [[American Broadcasting Company.
16. "Actor Eric Stonestreet to Fill in For Heidi Klum at "AGT" Taping".
17. (May 9, 2020). "Celeb Cameos in Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber's 'Stuck with U'".
18. White, Peter. (March 26, 2021). "Eric Stonestreet To Host Unscripted Competition Series ''Domino Masters'' For Fox". [[Deadline Hollywood]].
19. Pedersen, Erik. (January 26, 2022). "Fox Spring Premiere Dates: More ''Masked Singer''; ''9-1-1'' Return; ''Domino Masters'' Debuts, More". [[Deadline Hollywood]].
20. (2024-11-20). "NCL Names Modern Family's Eric Stonestreet as Godfather for Norwegian Aqua".
21. (August 30, 2017). "Modern Family's Eric Stonestreet Is Off the Market".
22. (August 23, 2021). "Eric Stonestreet Engaged to Longtime Girlfriend Lindsay Schweitzer".
23. "Modern Family Star Eric Stonestreet Marries Lindsay Schweitzer in Intimate Wedding at Their Kansas City Dream Home".
24. "Oprah talks to the cast of Modern Family".
25. "All In The Family". Out.com.
26. (July 25, 2014). "Modern Family's Gay Dad Says NO WAY to Rick Santorum Photo". The Advocate.
27. Dixon, John. (November 26, 2019). "Actor Eric Stonestreet is among new owners of the Kansas City Royals". [[SBNation]].
28. . (November 26, 2019). ["Eric Stonestreet part of new Royals ownership group"](https://www.kmbc.com/article/eric-stonestreet-part-of-new-kansas-city-royals-ownership-group-baseball-modern-family-kansas-city-kansas-piper-kstate/29992674).
29. Burns, Hilary. (October 29, 2014). "Jill Gregory took a bunch of NASCAR drivers to Hollywood. Here's what she's planning next".
30. (August 20, 2018). "Eric Stonestreet makes an 'official' recruiting visit to K-State football team".
31. "Eric Stonestreet {{!}} Riggle's Picks podcast Ep. 5".
32. "Blue Peter - what time is it on TV? Episode 4915 Series 0 cast list and preview". Radiotimes.com.
33. Petski, Denise. (August 8, 2025). "New 'Cars' & 'Marvel's Avengers' Series Ordered by Disney Jr.; 'Mickey Mouse Clubhouse+' Renewed For 2 More Seasons; Castings & Premiere Dates".
34. "2010 Primetime Emmy Awards".
35. "2011 Primetime Emmy Awards".
36. "2012 Primetime Emmy Awards".
37. "16th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards".
38. "17th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards".
39. "18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards".
40. "19th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards".
41. "20th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards".
42. "21st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards".
43. "22nd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards".
44. "23rd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards".