Thoroughly Modern JULIE!

MODERN FAMILY ALUM JULIE BOWEN PLAYS A DIFFERENT KIND OF MOM ON HYSTERIA! WHILE ALSO BEING A REALLIFE MOM TO THREE (HUNGRY!) TEENAGE BOYS

- GILLIAN TELLING

Julie Bowen knows she's a lot of things: a loyal friend, a hilarious comedic actor and a devoted mom to her three teenage boys Oliver, 17, and twins John and Gus, 15. One thing she says she's not? Sexy. "No one ever asked me to get naked!" she says with a laugh. "I'm kind of muscular, lean. They didn't ask people like me to be on the cover of the lad mags. I seemed too sensible for that." After a career-making turn playing Claire Dunphy on Modern Family for 11 years, Bowen, 54, is back on TV as a mom who's "completely in her head" on Peacock's supernatural thriller Hysteria!, she says. "You don't know if she's possessed by the devil or a crazy person. There was so much more depth than just being another suburban mom. It was so much fun."

Growing up, did you always want to be an actress?