After finishing an 11-year run as the bumbling but lovable Phil Dunphy on “Modern Family,” Ty Burrell created a new beginning of sorts and moved to Utah.
The actor and his wife, Holly — a Utah native who went to Kaysville’s Davis High School, per Deseret News — made the move with their two daughters back in 2020.
Five years later, Burrell is adamant that starting this new chapter in Salt Lake City has been a good move for his family.
“It’s just been spectacular,” he recently told People. “We moved here right after (’Modern Family’) ended, and I don’t have any regrets. It’s been lovely and a great place to raise the kids.”
Ty Burrell’s history with Utah
Burrell’s history with Utah actually dates back to 1999, when he took part in a production at Pioneer Theatre Company so he could be closer to Holly, who was his then-girlfriend, the actor wrote in a 2014 essay for HuffPost.
The couple, who met in the late 1990s when they were both studying at the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C., have had a home in Utah since 2008.
Over the years, Burrell has made his mark on Utah.
The actor co-owns the Beer Bar restaurant and Bar X on 200 South in downtown Salt Lake City; The Eating Establishment in Park City; and The Cotton Bottom in Holladay, per Deseret News.
And at the start of the pandemic, the Burrells wrote a check for $100,000 that helped establish the online fund Tip Your Server, which raised money for out-of-work servers in the local restaurant industry, as the Deseret News reported.
It was always their plan to move back to Utah when “Modern Family” ended, Burrell previously told the Deseret News.
What else Ty Burrell said about living in Utah
Although Burrell has been connected to Utah over the years, living in the Beehive State full-time was still a bit of an adjustment, he recently told People.
Growing up, he said, his family didn’t take part in a lot of outdoor adventures, so being surrounded by mountains and an abundance of hiking trails was somewhat jarring.
“At first, when we moved here, it almost felt like cosplay, like we were pretending to be people who were outdoorsy,” Burrell said. “And now we really truly love it.”
Since living in Utah, Burrell has been spotted at a few Utah Jazz games — on one occasion flashing the U in support of the Utah Utes.
He and fellow actor Katherine Heigl — who has also praised Utah as being a great place to raise a family — also recently provided narration for a pair of videos that were part of the final bid presentation to the International Olympic Committee for the 2034 Olympic Games, per Deseret News.
Heigl, who lives in Oakley, Summit County, has said that leaving Hollywood for more of a slow-paced, small-town life was the “right choice” for her family, as the Deseret News previously reported.
“I didn’t know how to raise them in L.A.,” she previously told E! News. “So I felt like I could do it here.”