Ed O’Neill’s Fans Make Shocking Discovery About His Wife After Daughter’s TikTok Video Goes Viral
Ed O’Neill’s family life has become a topic of online conversation after the 78-year-old “Married… with Children” actor showed up on his daughter’s social media page.
In a TikTok video, Claire O’Neill lip-synced to 2Pac’s “Hit ’Em Up” song. Ed joined the 26-year-old to perform the classic diss record directed at the late The Notorious B.I.G. and the Junior M.A.F.I.A. rap crew.
Claire’s “Hit ’Em Up” clip shocked some of her fans who did not realize her Irish-American Ohio-raised dad was married to a biracial woman. Ed wed actress Catherine Rusoff in 1986.
After marrying O’Neill, Rusoff starred in an episode of “Married… with Children” in 1988 and later returned for a second guest spot in 1991. They also share a daughter, Sophia, 26.
The O’Neill family has mostly stayed out of the headlines, so the father-daughter TikTok moment generated a lot of digital engagement. But according to their oldest daughter’s caption, it was her father’s idea to participate in the video.
Many people seemed shocked to discover O’Neill’s daughter, which led many down a rabbit hole to find images of her mother.
“His daughter has her mom’s whole face. Beautiful young lady,” one person wrote on X after viewing a 1994 photo of O’Neill and his wife, Catherine Rusoff at the “Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles” movie premiere in Westwood, California.
Another person replied writing, “She’s her mom’s twin too OMG.”
A third said, “I’m not even being funny but I’m just shocked at how ethnic this young lady still looks. I looked at that picture of her parents and didn’t think she’d stand a chance. Black is powerful!
“Wait a minute!!!!!???????? Al Bundy has been married with children to a Black woman this whole time?!?!?” another person questioned, referring to Ed’s role as working-class dad Al Bundy on “Married… with Children” for 11 seasons.
Another fan of the show added, “Says a lot about his character. He jokingly said he has three wives. His real wife and his two TV wives. No one has a bad thing to say about him.”
During his decade-long run on Fox’s “Married… with Children” from 1987 to 1997, Ed’s Al Bundy character was married to Margaret “Peggy” Bundy played by Katey Sagal.
Al Bundy Was Savage For This 🤣 pic.twitter.com/NhjLixcxGY
— Shawn K The King (@SKTheKingYT) March 6, 2025
Years later, she signed on as Jay Pritchett on the ABC sitcom “Modern Family,” which aired from 2009 to 2020. The family patriarch was married to Gloria Delgado-Pritchett played by another leading cast member, Sofía Vergara.
O’Neill’s filmography contains credits in motion pictures such as “Wayne’s World,” “The Bone Collector,” “The Last Shift,” and a four-episode stint on the sixth season of “The West Wing” political drama television series in 2004 and 2005.
Sofía Vergara tells Variety that she jokes with ‘Modern Family’ co-star Ed O’Neill about him dying before making a sequel:
“I always joke with him, ‘Ed, don’t die. Because if we do the sequel, it will take some time, and you’re the oldest of us. You can’t be dead!’” pic.twitter.com/jG3wEyALbs
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) August 14, 2024
In 2024, O’Neill portrayed disgraced former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling in the “Clipped” sports drama miniseries, which premiered on the FX network.
Claire was most recently seen with her famous father during a rare public appearance at the launch of Hulu on Disney+ in Los Angeles in April 2024. Photographers captured the duo as they posed together on the blue carpet.
Claire, Ed, Sophia, and Catherine also attended the opening of “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter” at Universal Studios Hollywood on April 5, 2016.
The family of four have been photographed together over the years at various award shows and movie premieres.
Ed and Catherine were present at many industry events like the 49th Annual Golden Globe Awards in 1992, the 16th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in 2010, and the Global Green USA’s 13th Annual Pre-Oscar Party in 2016.
