Jesse Tyler Ferguson

Jesse Tyler Ferguson with Modern Family co-star Eric Stonestreet at the 2010 HRC National Dinner

In New York City, Ferguson worked mainly in Off-Broadway and Broadway theatre, including the Tony Award-winning The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, where he originated the role of Leaf Coneybear.[9] Ferguson starred in the Public Theater's 2007 Shakespeare in the Park production of A Midsummer Night's Dream and 2015 production of The Tempest. In the summer of 2015, he played Sir Robin in the Hollywood Bowl production of Monty Python's Spamalot.

In March 2012, Ferguson was featured as Dr. Ilan Meyer in a performance of Dustin Lance Black's play 8, a staged reenactment of Perry v. Brown, the federal trial that overturned California's Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage.[10] The production was held at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre and broadcast on YouTube to raise money for the American Foundation for Equal Rights, a non-profit organization funding the plaintiffs' legal team and sponsoring the play.[11][12]

On television, Ferguson was among the large ensemble cast on the short-lived CBS sitcom The Class, playing Richie Velch. Ferguson co-starred in the 2008 thriller Untraceable.

From 2009 to 2020, he has played the role of Mitchell Pritchett, the openly gay lawyer on the ABC sitcom Modern Family. For his performance, Ferguson has received five consecutive Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. He has also appeared as a judge on So You Think You Can Dance, and opposed actress Chrissy Metz in a 2017 episode of TBS's Drop the Mic.

In 2018, Ferguson was one of the actors who voiced the audiobook A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo.[13]

In 2019, Ferguson appeared in Taylor Swift's music video for "You Need to Calm Down".[14]

Ferguson at a PFLAG event on October 1, 2010

In September 2012, Ferguson and his lawyer husband, Justin Mikita, started the non-profit charity 'Tie The Knot',[15] an effort to raise funds in support of same-sex marriage, using bow ties sold to retail.[16] They officially launched it as their engagement announcement in an online video where they explain only seven states at the time had same-sex marriage.[16][17][18] In an interview Ferguson stated that he wanted to do something that was smaller and manageable in case it did not work out as a business model.[19]

The foundation sells limited-edition bow ties to support organizations that advocate for same-sex marriage.[20] Their collections are designed by the couple plus guest designers, and is sold by The Tie Bar, a Naperville, Illinois-based online men's neckwear company.[20]

In January 2013, the couple were recruited by Lieutenant Governor of Illinois Sheila Simon to lobby legislators to pass SB10 which would allow same-sex marriage.[20] The bill passed both legislative houses,[21][22] and Governor Pat Quinn signed the bill into law,[23] going into effect on June 1, 2014.[24]

In October 2013, the American Civil Liberties Union named Ferguson the celebrity ambassador for the LGBT community.[25] He participated heavily in the ACLU's "Out for Freedom" campaign[26][27] They noted that Ferguson travelled to New Mexico, his home state, to take part in same sex marriage efforts. New Mexico does not explicitly permit or prohibit same-sex marriage; it is the only state lacking a statute or constitutional provision explicitly addressing same-sex marriage.[28] The couple's non-profit made a grant of US$10,000 to the ACLU of New Mexico for same sex efforts.[26]

In November 2013, a pop-up retail store for 'Tie The Knot' was located at the Los Angeles Beverly Center featuring the fourth collection from the couple,[29] including professional athlete designs with Scott Fujita and Chris Kluwe, and Brittney Griner.[30]