A season or two ago, Audrey Anderson-Emmons may well have been featured on a list of television's worst child actors. We can cut her a little bit of slack, though -- after all, she was a toddler. But as she has matured and the writers have developed a clear vision of what they wanted to do with her character, she has improved beyond all recognition. The concept of a snarky, deadpan 6-year-old makes absolute sense when you remember that Cam and Mitchell are the ones raising this girl, and she plays the role with a natural style rarely seen in actors her age. And unlike the older children on Modern Family, whose writers seem to know less and less to do with each season that goes by, Lily is a character that has nowhere to go but up. Manny and Luke used to be the hilarious young characters on the show, but as soon as puberty set it, their writing went off the rails. What was funny when they were eleven just isn't working now that they're fully-fledged teenagers. And while they're still talented young actors, it's hard to ignore the fact that Lily steals pretty much every scene she's in. Modern Family has a new queen, and her name is Lily.
Audrey Fox is an ex-film student, which means that she prefers to spend her days in the dark, watching movies and pondering the director's use of diegetic sound. She currently works as an entertainment writer, joyfully rambling about all things film and television related. Add her on Twitter at @audonamission and check out her film blog at 1001moviesandbeyond.com.
