American actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson was BOTD in 1975. Born in Missoula, Montana and raised in New Mexico, he joined a theatre troupe in his teens, moving to New York City to study at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. He made his Broadway debut in a 1998 revival of On the Town and appeared in the original 2005 production of the Tony-winning musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. He is best known for his role as uptight lawyer Mitchell in TV sitcom Modern Family, whose chemistry with onscreen husband Cam (played by gay-for-pay comedian Eric Stonestreet) won plaudits for representing a (mostly) functional gay couple on American network television. Openly gay since forever, Ferguson was heavily involved in the American gay marriage campaign, starting the non-profit charity Tie the Knot and becoming a spokesperson for the American Civil Liberties Union. In 2022, he won a Tony for his performance in the Broadway revival of Take Me Out, a musical about a Major League baseball player coming out as gay. He married his longterm boyfriend Justin Makita in 2013, with whom he is raising a son.