--- description: Popular U.S. show 'Modern Family' is set to air an episode that will feature the first openly transgender child actor on television title: 'Modern Family' Casts First Transgender Child Actor image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9f062016005906c6/6988a7a8cf40a8cb6dc44f49/modern_family.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # _Modern Family_ First Show to Feature Transgender Child Actor by [Suyin Haynes](/author/suyin-haynes/) ## Suyin Haynes Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 27, 2016 12:59 PM CUT  ABC's "Modern Family." ABC's "Modern Family."Ron Tom—ABC/Getty Images by [Suyin Haynes](/author/suyin-haynes/) ## Suyin Haynes Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 27, 2016 12:59 PM CUT U.S. sitcom _Modern Family_ is [set to air an episode](http://variety.com/2016/tv/news/modern-family-transgender-actor-jackson-millarker-1201870412/ "undefined") that will feature the first openly transgender child actor on television. 8-year-old transgender actor Jackson Millarker will be making his first appearance in the episode ‘A Stereotypical Day’, which will air on Wednesday. According to Variety, Millarker will play Tom, a transgender friend of Cam (Eric Stonestreet) and Mitchell’s (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) adopted daughter Lily. Ryan Case, who directed the episode in the show’s eighth season, posted a photo on Instagram of Millarker on set. “This is Jackson Millarker,” Case announced. “He’s 8 years old, from Atlanta, and just happens to be transgender. He plays Lily’s friend Tom in this week’s _Modern Family_ and he’s wonderful. One of the many reasons I love being a part of this show.” Television shows such as _Orange is the New Black_and _Nashville_ have starred openly transgender actors, _THR_ reports, but a show has never featured an openly transgender child actor before. The call for more trans-visibility in the entertainment industry was reiterated by _Transparent_ star Jeffrey Tambor on Sept. 18 at the 68th Emmy Awards. Tambor, who won an Emmy for Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his role as a transgender woman in the show, said “I would not be unhappy were I the last cisgender male to play a female transgender on television.” _Modern Family_‘s ‘A Stereotypical Day’ will air on Wednesday Sept. 28 on ABC. \[[Variety](http://variety.com/2016/tv/news/modern-family-transgender-actor-jackson-millarker-1201870412/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4509339/modern-family-transgender-child-actor/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4509339/modern-family-transgender-child-actor/"},"headline":"Modern Family First Show to Feature Transgender Child Actor","datePublished":"2016-09-27T12:59:33.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T00:51:15.807Z","description":"8-year-old Jackson Millarker will feature in a first for trans-visibility on television","url":"https://time.com/4509339/modern-family-transgender-child-actor/","keywords":["Television"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9f062016005906c6/6988a7a8cf40a8cb6dc44f49/modern_family.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Suyin Haynes","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/suyin-haynes/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9f062016005906c6/6988a7a8cf40a8cb6dc44f49/modern_family.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"ABC's \"Modern Family\"","caption":"ABC's \"Modern Family\" - Season Eight","creditText":"Ron Tom—ABC/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4509339/modern-family-transgender-child-actor/","name":"Modern Family First Show to Feature Transgender Child Actor"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Transgender Teen Nicole Maines Talks Bathroom Rights","description":"Nicole Maines, her father Wayne, and her brother Jonas talk about how bathrooms have become the new frontier for transgender civil rights.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/pbPQ5XIX/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-05-13T22:53:06.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/pbPQ5XIX.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4509339/modern-family-transgender-child-actor/","duration":"PT1M59S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4509339/modern-family-transgender-child-actor/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```