You remember Lily Tucker-Pritchett. The deadpan, savage toddler who basically ran the household in Modern Family while Mitchell and Cam scrambled to keep up? Yeah, that kid is nineteen now.
Seeing Aubrey Anderson-Emmons today is a bit of a trip for anyone who spent a decade watching her grow up on ABC. People are constantly searching for "aubrey anderson emmons hot" because, honestly, the internet is obsessed with "where are they now" transformations. But the real story isn't just about her growing up. It's about how she’s spent the last few years trying to dismantle the "child star" image that millions of people still have stuck in their heads.
The transition from a child actor to a functioning adult in Hollywood is famously messy. Most kids either disappear into a regular life or spiral under the pressure. Aubrey chose a different path. She basically hit the pause button on Hollywood the second the cameras stopped rolling in 2020.
The Name Change Most People Missed
Here is the thing. If you’re looking for her on a call sheet in 2026, you might not find "Aubrey." Last year, she made a pretty massive move by rebranding herself as Frances Anderson.
Why? Because she's tired of being "Lily."
It wasn't some legal drama or a family feud. Frances is her middle name. She told People and E! News that she wanted to create a clear line between the kid who delivered snarky one-liners and the artist she’s trying to become. It’s a classic move, but a risky one. Most child stars cling to their famous name for the sake of the algorithm. She did the opposite. She wanted to be judged on her own merit, specifically in the music world.
🔗 Read more: Darius Rucker with Wife: What Really Happened and Who He’s With Now
Under the name Frances Anderson, she dropped her debut EP, Drown, in late 2025. It’s not the bubblegum pop you’d expect from a Disney-adjacent kid. It’s moody, indie, and surprisingly mature. She spent the pandemic learning guitar and writing lyrics that basically vent about the weirdness of having your entire childhood recorded and broadcast to the planet.
Growing Up in the Public Eye
The "unrecognizable" headlines started hitting hard around the 2025 American Music Awards. Aubrey (or Frances, if we’re being current) showed up on the red carpet looking like a completely different person. The sequined floral gown and the edgy eyeliner had people on X (formerly Twitter) losing their minds.
"Hold on... she used to be a kid like five seconds ago? Damn, I'm getting old," one fan wrote.
That's the weird reality of being a series regular on a show that ran for eleven seasons. To the audience, she’s frozen in time. To her, Modern Family ended when she was twelve. She’s had seven years of "real life" since then. She went to a regular high school. She did the whole prom thing. She even did high school theater, which is kind of hilarious when you realize she’s already a multi-time SAG Award winner.
Imagine being the drama teacher at a school where one of your students has more primetime TV hours than the rest of the faculty combined.
💡 You might also like: Coby Ryan McLaughlin Nude: Separating Viral Rumors From Reality
The Truth About Child Stardom
There’s this misconception that every child star is "forced" into the industry. Aubrey has been pretty vocal about this on her TikTok. She’s clarified that while she wasn't coerced, a four-year-old—which is how old she was when she started—doesn't really understand what a "series regular" contract means.
She’s admitted that the fame was challenging. People on the internet can be brutal, even to children. She’s talked about reading comments from people who "took a dig" at her acting or questioned her talent when she was just a kid trying to remember her marks.
In 2026, she seems over it. She’s found a sense of confidence that doesn't rely on being the "smart-aleck kid" on a sitcom. She’s also been open about her personal life, coming out as bisexual in 2025 and sharing her journey of self-acceptance. It’s that kind of transparency that makes her "hot" in the sense of being a relevant, authentic voice for her generation, rather than just a former child actor.
Is She Done With Acting?
Actually, no.
Even though she took a long break to find herself and focus on music, she’s back in the audition room. She told TooFab that she’s "100 percent" planning on acting again. But it’s different now. She’s not doing it because it’s the only thing she knows; she’s doing it because she actually likes the craft.
📖 Related: Chrissy Lampkin: Why Her Real Age is the Least Interesting Thing About Her
Her dream? Broadway.
Given her musical background and her years of experience in front of a live audience (well, a multi-cam setup, anyway), it’s not a stretch. She has the discipline. You don’t survive eleven seasons of a top-tier network comedy without learning how to show up and do the work.
What We Can Learn From Her Pivot
If you’re following her career, there are some pretty clear takeaways for anyone trying to reinvent themselves:
- Don't be afraid to kill the "brand": If your old identity is suffocating your growth, change your name, change your style, or change your industry.
- Education matters: Taking the time to go to a "normal" high school gave her a perspective that most Hollywood kids lack.
- The "slow burn" works: She didn't rush to capitalize on her Modern Family fame immediately after the finale. She waited until she had something real to say.
Aubrey—or Frances—is a prime example of how to handle a "hot" spotlight without letting it burn you out. She's carving out a career as a musician, singer, and adult actress on her own terms. Whether she's on a red carpet in Las Vegas or posting food reviews with her mom on their YouTube channel, FoodMania Review, she’s staying remarkably grounded.
If you want to keep up with what she's doing next, your best bet is following her music under the name Frances Anderson on Spotify or checking her TikTok for those surprisingly honest "get ready with me" videos. She’s proof that you can grow up in front of the world and still come out the other side as a real person.