Every Job Claire Dunphy Had On Modern Family, Explained

Type-A mom Claire Dunphy had several jobs on Modern Family, though she is most known for her role as a homemaker. Claire was a well-educated and smart woman who could have done anything she wanted, but since her primary focus was on raising her three children, working fell second to Claire until her kids got older. And luckily for her, with a brood of hilarious, disorganized, and outlandish family members who didn’t live far away she always had help to fall back when she needed it. The only problem was that as a prideful person, Claire rarely asked for help when she should have.

As her kids grew, Claire encouraged them to get jobs. Though she initially didn’t want to work, Claire’s daughter Haley had a few great jobs, and found value in working just like her mom. As a teenager, Claire worked at a local roller skating rink before diving into more serious roles. Claire’s drive defined her character, and this fuelled her into becoming successful at most of her endeavors, especially professional ones.

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5 Claire Worked For A Large Hotel Chain Before The Events Of The Show

In Modern Family season 1, episode 14, “Moon Landing,” Claire shared with her kids that she was getting together with an old friend from her working days. Her children didn’t know she worked before she had them and pressed for more information. Claire revealed she was an account manager at Starcrest Hotels. With the Modern Family documentary crew filming, Claire explained that she liked wearing sneakers to work and changing into her pumps because it made her feel professional. She didn’t dive into the specifics of her role, but when she met up with an old colleague, Valerie, it’s clear that it was an important time in Claire’s life.

As it turned out, Valerie was still working at Starcrest Hotels. Claire showed hints of jealousy that Valerie accomplished so much in her career while she gave it up to raise a family. Valerie even accepted a new position in France while she was with Claire. To prove to Valerie that she was thriving as a mom instead of working, Claire invited her back to her house to meet her kids. This turned into one of the worst things Claire did to the family because she wound up embarrassed by her kids’ actions and throwing a temper tantrum. This was when Claire started thinking more about life outside the home.

4 Claire Ran Her Household

When Claire became pregnant with Haley, she quit her job at Starcrest Hotels. Shortly after Haley came, Alex and Luke followed — completing their family. While her husband Phil sometimes cracked jokes that Claire was on a “20-year vacation,” being a stay-at-home mom and homemaker is one of the hardest jobs there is. Episode after episode of Modern Family showed Claire running around trying to keep her family in order. Between her husband’s job as a realtor and her kids having countless things to do for school, Claire barely had time for herself.

She may have been controlling, but some of the sweetest things Claire did on Modern Family was give up her own needs for the betterment of her children. Claire helped set up school dances, was in charge of car-pool, helped her kids get into college, cooked and cleaned, and kept her home organized and spotless. As helpful and loving as her husband Phil was, their home life would be chaotic without Claire’s hard work.

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3 An Executive At Pritchett’s Closets & Blinds

In season 4, episode 22, “My Hero,” Claire’s dad Jay made it clear that he wanted her to come work for him. As the owner and CEO of the successful Pritchett’s Closets & Blinds, he knew the only person worthy of one day owning the company was his daughter, Claire. Jay—played by Ed O’Neill in his best sitcom role—wanted Claire to start work as an executive to modernize the company. It was the perfect position to get Claire back into the workforce without much pressure. However, Claire wasn’t sure working for her dad was a good idea.

Claire explained that she and her dad were too similar and that working together could cause them to clash all the more. There would be no separation between work and family, and that could cause problems on both ends. But ultimaetly, Claire accepted the position tentatively and wound up liking it more than she thought.

2 The CEO of Pritchett’s Closets & Blinds

In season 7, episode 9, “White Christmas,” Jay was planning on giving Claire a huge Christmas gift: the key to the company as CEO of Pritchett’s Closets & Blinds. As one of the more likable characters on Modern Family, Jay knew Claire was the perfect person to take over the company after working for him for a few years. It was a shock to hear Jay was retiring but Claire was honored to carry on the family business.

As strong and confident as Claire was, she was incredibly timid running a company that her dad did so well for decades. She was now the boss in charge, and she had to transition from everyone’s buddy to the leader. Claire bought Phil countless gifts because she missed out on family moments — an empty gesture her dad did as well because the promotion came with a significant increase in salary for Claire. When Phil told Claire she needed to do a better job of balancing home and work life, Claire admitted how hard her job was and she questioned if it was for her.

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1 Claire Became The Senior Vice President of Organize ‘Em

In season 11, Claire realized closets and blinds were not her true calling, and she wanted to do something she was more passionate about. Despite taking over the family business, Claire didn’t want to follow in her dad’s footsteps. In season 11, episode 15, “Baby Steps,” Claire interviewed for her dream job—the Senior VP of Organize ‘Em. The brand that promoted organization methods was up Claire’s alley because of her love for order.

At the end ofModern Family, Claire got the job and was finally happy to go to work again. She had a unique start to running her own company after taking 20 years off from the workforce to raise her family, but in the end, she proved dreams can come true with a little hard work and organization.

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