Holly Burrell Is a Professional Chef – Facts about Ty Burrell's Wife (2024)

Holly Burrell, the wife of "Modern Family" star Ty Burrell started as a theatre actress. Despite later changing careers to become a qualified chef, theatre still holds sentimental importance for her as it was where she met the love of her life.

Holly Burrell and Ty Burrell have been together for decades, a union that took off long before the latter became a Hollywood sensation. At the time of their meeting, Ty was barely famous and was known only for several theatre jobs.

An aspiring actress herself, Holly had already made a head start in the industry and had snatched up a few theatre roles at the Shakespeare Theatre when she met Ty.

Ty Burrell and Holly Burrell at the Barnstable Brown Gala on May 4, 2018 in Louisville, Kentucky. | Source: Getty Images

However, her dreams would soon change, and she became a qualified chef who Ty adores for the good food she makes, making restaurant food seem like a joke.

Holly Burrell Switched Careers From Actress to Chef

Holly is a Utah native, born in the City of Fruit Heights to a close-knit family of Mormons who relished art and music. Her mother loved gardening and owned a garden since as far back as Holly remembers.

Her mother's commitment to gardening largely influenced Holly's love for food, with the mother-daughter duo sharing a mutual love for the culinary arts.

Ty Burrell and Holly Burrell at El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California on March 11, 2014 | Source: Getty Images

After graduating high school, Holly attended the University of Utah, where she studied Theatre. She went on to land several theatre roles before her career took a turn.

Today, she is a skilled chef whose exceptional cooking and baking prowess does not go unnoticed. Her husband Ty appreciates her cooking and will often boast about what a wonderful chef she is.

Theater Brought Holly and Ty Burrell Together

Theatre is important to both Ty and Holly because it was there that they both jumpstarted their careers. Still, it holds sentimental value for them as it was where their paths first crossed in the 90s.

Ty Burrell and Holly Burrell at Microsoft Theater on September 17, 2017 in Los Angeles, California | Source: Getty Images

Ty revealed that he would go to perform at the Utah Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City. He did that for two summers, but in between, he met Holly in Washington, D.C. They were both performing at the Shakespeare Theatre when their paths crossed, and they fell in love.

Like most struggling actors, they worked as waiters at different restaurants. He admits he was terrible at waiting tables but praises his wife for being a good server:

Ty Burrell and Holly Burrell at The District Restaurant on September 7, 2017 in Los Angeles, California | Source: Getty Images

Shortly after meeting and falling in love, Holly moved in with Ty, against her parents' wishes. They lived together in an old army bunker that was infested with roaches. His situation did not deter Holly from loving him, and he would later confess:

After being together a while, he proposed to her by the luggage racks on the set of "A Midsummer Night's Dream," which he was working on at the time. They tied the knot on August 18, 2000.

Ty Burrell and Holly Burrell at The Shrine Expo Hall on January 29, 2017 in Los Angeles, California | Source: Getty Images

The journey to fame has not been easy, but despite starting so low down the ladder, Ty's dream of becoming a famous actor came to pass, thanks to his wife, who unhappily toiled away in a bank in New York City to support him.

While the two lovebirds do not have biological children, they are doting parents to their adopted daughters. They adopted their first, Frances, in 2010 and the second in 2012.

Holly Burrell and Her Husband Founded a Scholarship

Ty Burrell and Holly Burrell at Microsoft Theater on September 18, 2016 in Los Angeles, California | Source: Getty Images

But despite his snowballing fame, he and his wife have never forgotten where they came from. To give back, they established a scholarship at the University of Oregon's Department of Theatre Arts to be awarded to juniors and seniors majoring in Theatre Arts.

Their generosity is not, however, limited to students. In 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic saw many restaurants close down, sending thousands of servers home, he and his wife wrote a 100,000-dollar check to help them out.