'Modern Family' Star Opens Up About Her Decision To Change Her Name For Career Pivot

Aubrey Anderson-Emmons is creating buzz again, this time with the announcement of her new name: Frances Anderson.

The former Modern Family actress, who effectively ended her acting career at the age of 12 when the show ended, went viral during Pride Month when she shared with the world that she was bisexual, with a little help from her "I'm gay!" clip from the show.

Now, in an interview with E! News, Anderson opened up about her decision to carve a new path and new identity for herself.

Anderson, who describes her work as "indie folk pop," has previously launched several songs, which can be listened to on Spotify and similar platforms, including "Telephones and Traffic" and "Don't Forget Me."

"Drown" is her first EP release, dropped on August 8, and included her previously released singles and several others.

With the excitement of her first EP drop, Anderson, who uses she/they pronouns, shared with E! News her decision to change her name to honor three important parts of her life: her family, herself, and her music.

"'Frances' is actually part of my legal name; it's my middle name, and it's after my mom's old family friend."

"I thought, one, that it was a bit shorter than 'Aubrey Anderson-Emmons'; I do have a long, hyphenated last name."

"I just wanted to switch it up, and I wanted people to see a new side of me, and I wanted to create a space specifically just for music, and I'm so excited for everybody to hear the songs on the EP, and I'm so grateful."

She then described the most "creative shift" she experienced, going from Lily on Modern Family to Frances as a musician.

"I think I had to really take a step back from acting. I was homeschooled my whole life, and the show ended when I was twelve years old, so after that, I decided I'm not going to act anymore."

"And I do now plan on acting again, for sure, one hundred percent. But I took that time for myself, and I really found myself through picking up school with kids my age, finally."

"It was really nice to have that experience, and with the show ending when it did, it was really nice timing, I think."

"It was a very interesting time, because the show ended when I was twelve, and then the pandemic hit two weeks later, and everyone was locked inside. Then the second I went back to school, I went to a public school with four thousand kids in it. Kind of scary!"

As for the Modern Family crew, Anderson said the cast knew she was releasing music. Julie Bowen, who played Claire Dunphy on the show, and Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who played Mitchell Pritchett, both commented on some of her Instagram posts about her music, and both attended some of her school plays while she was still in high school.

A supportive family unit, indeed!

Finally, Anderson hoped that everyone who heard her music could find themselves in it.

"I hope you can relate to some of the words I say."

"I hope you do some dancing or frolicking around in a field to some of my songs, if you like to!"

"You know, or even cry. I have a couple sad songs on there, as well."

"Thank you so much for all of the support. It's been so incredible, and I'm so grateful for all of you."

You can listen to her full statement here:

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

In an interview with Mundane Magazine, Anderson reflected:

"I'm not trying to be who people think I am anymore."

The magazine wrote:

"Formerly 'Modern Family's Lily, Frances is done playing the role and finally ready to write her own. Her debut EP drops August 8, led by the moody alt-pop single, 'Telephones and Traffic,' now streaming everywhere."

See the announcement here:

Fans were excited to see Anderson carve this new path for herself, her identity, and her music career.

@aubreyandersonemmons/Instagram

@aubreyandersonemmons/Instagram

@aubreyandersonemmons/Instagram

@aubreyandersonemmons/Instagram

@aubreyandersonemmons/Instagram

@aubreyandersonemmons/Instagram

@aubreyandersonemmons/Instagram

@aubreyandersonemmons/Instagram

@aubreyandersonemmons/Instagram

@aubreyandersonemmons/Instagram

@aubreyandersonemmons/Instagram

It's refreshing to see fans so openly welcome Anderson's transformation into this new iteration of herself, her shift back into the public eye, and her move into music.

With this being her first EP, there's no telling what Anderson will do next, but we're sure it will be great!