• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • FFS PRODUCTIONS
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
Happy Gilmore fans mindblown after realising where they recognise Happy's love interest from

Home> Entertainment> Film

Published 12:29 16 May 2024 GMT+1

Happy Gilmore fans mindblown after realising where they recognise Happy's love interest from

It turns out that fans had no idea that one of the Happy Gilmore actors starred in one of the biggest US sitcoms

Brenna Cooper

Brenna Cooper

Fans have been left speechless after discovering that one of the stars of movie Happy Gilmore has starred in another hit TV show.

Released back in 1996, the sports-comedy starred Adam Sandler as the titular unsuccessful ice hockey player who is surprised to discover he has a talent for playing golf.

The movie had huge commercial success, grossing around $41.2 million (£32.5 million) worldwide and cementing Sandler's place as one of the leading stars of Hollywood.

Following confirmation that the movie would be getting a long-awaited sequel on Netflix, Happy Gilmore is back in the spotlight and it turns out fans were surprised to learn about the career of one its stars.

Playing the role of Virginia Venit - Happy's love interest and pro-golf PR director - was actress Julie Bowen, with the film remaining one of the biggest in her career.

Advert

Does she look familiar? That's because she also starred in one of the biggest US sitcoms.

Julie Bowen in Happy Gilmore. (Universal Pictures)
Julie Bowen in Happy Gilmore. (Universal Pictures)

Alongside her roles in Horrible Bosses and ER, Bowen is no doubt best known for her role as Claire Dunphy in ABC show Modern Family, which ran from 2009 until 2020.

The role was a massive one for Bowen seeing her win multiple awards, including two Emmy Awards in 2011 and 2012.

However, it turns out that many viewers had never made the connection between the two characters, with several fans taking to X to share their revelations.

Advert

"The girl on Happy Gilmore and the mom on Modern Family ... SAME WOMAN," one user commented, alongside images of Bowen in character as Virginia and on the red carpet.

"I was today years old when I learned that the love interest in Happy Gilmore is the same person as the mom in Modern Family," a second user wrote.

While a third added: "I was today years old when I realized the love interest in Happy Gilmore was played by the same chick that played Claire Dunphy on Modern Family."

Julie Bowen in Modern Family.
ABC

Meanwhile Happy Gilmore was confirmed to be getting sequel today, with Deadline announcing that Netflix had agreed to create a follow-up movie with Sandler.

Advert

It remains to be seen if Bowen will be reprising her role as Virgina in the follow-up movie as further details about the film's cast and plot are yet to be revealed by Netflix.

However, it's safe to say that if she does reprise her role there will be plenty more surprised fans making the connection between her two roles.

Featured Image Credit: Universal Pictures

Topics: Film, TV, Celebrity, TV and Film, Adam Sandler, Netflix, US News

Brenna Cooper
Brenna Cooper

Brenna Cooper is a journalist at LADbible. She graduated from the University of Sheffield with a degree in History, followed by an NCTJ accredited masters in Journalism. She began her career as a freelance writer for Digital Spy, where she wrote about all things TV, film and showbiz. Her favourite topics to cover are music, travel and any bizarre pop culture.

X

@_brencoco

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

21 mins ago
an hour ago
3 hours ago
  • BBC
    21 mins ago

    Celebrity Traitors star speaks out about Alan Carr and Paloma Faith 'feud' after he called himself 'most hated man in the UK'

    Carr has also spoken out about the supposed feud between the pair

    Entertainment
  • Disney
    an hour ago

    Keira Knightley makes Pirates of the Caribbean admission after going through ‘years of therapy’ following it

    It seems her 'pirating days' are truly over

    Entertainment
  • Instagram/Jessica Simpson
    3 hours ago

    Jessica Simpson shared unrecognisable picture to celebrate sobriety as she reaches eight years

    The actress updated fans with her sobriety journey as she hit a huge milestone

    Entertainment
  • Amanda Edwards/Getty Images
    3 hours ago

    American Pie star Tara Reid breaks up with boyfriend after romance became 'bad for her'

    Reid and music producer Nathan Montpetit-Howar dated for six years

    Entertainment
  • All the Easter eggs in Happy Gilmore 2 that you might have missed
  • Netflix releases first look at Happy Gilmore 2 featuring Travis Kelce
  • Netflix viewers all say the same thing after spotting Happy Gilmore 2 references to star’s legal troubles
  • Eagle-eyed fans spot Adam Sandler's tribute to Cameron Boyce in Happy Gilmore 2