Rico Rodriguez

Rico Rodriguez Bio

Rico Rodriguez (born July 31, 1998) is an American actor best known for his portrayal of Manny Delgado on the ABC sitcom Modern Family, which aired from 2009 to 2020. Over the course of the show’s eleven-season run, Rodriguez earned widespread recognition and several Screen Actors Guild Awards as part of the ensemble cast. Beyond his defining role on Modern Family, he has built a versatile career spanning film, voice acting, and guest appearances across a wide range of television series.

Since Modern Family concluded in 2020, Rodriguez has continued working as an actor and personality, appearing as himself on Nickelodeon’s The Substitute and Unfiltered. He has also maintained a presence in entertainment through published writing, voice-over work in animated features, and guest roles on established television franchises. His body of work reflects a child actor who successfully transitioned into a continuing professional career in Hollywood.

Early Life and Background

Rico Rodriguez was born in Bryan, Texas, the son of Diane and Roy Rodriguez, who owned and operated Rodriguez Tire Service. He grew up in a family of four siblings: brothers Ray and Roy Jr. and sister Raini Rodriguez, who also pursued a career as an actress. Rodriguez is of Mexican descent, a heritage that has shaped both his personal identity and, later, the kinds of roles he would take on as a performer.

Growing up in Bryan, Texas, Rodriguez was surrounded by a close-knit family environment. His sister Raini Rodriguez’s involvement in acting served as an early point of exposure to the entertainment industry, sparking his own interest in performing. As a young child with natural charisma and screen presence, Rodriguez began auditioning for roles, setting in motion a professional journey that would take him from small-town Texas to national television.

Path to Actor

Rodriguez’s first steps into professional acting came at age nine, when he landed a character role on the Disney Channel series Cory in the House. That early credit quickly opened doors to guest appearances on established network and cable series, including the long-running medical drama ER, Nickelodeon’s iCarly, the FX series Nip/Tuck, and NBC’s My Name Is Earl. These early roles allowed Rodriguez to gain valuable set experience across a variety of genres and production environments.

The pivotal turning point in his career came in September 2009, when he was cast as Manny Delgado on Modern Family. Co-creator Steve Levitan later described the casting process for that role as “crazy hard,” underscoring how competitive the part was and how strongly Rodriguez stood out among the candidates. At just eleven years old, Rodriguez moved into a leading role on what would become one of the most celebrated and award-winning sitcoms in American television history.

Rico Rodriguez Career

Early Career (2006–2008)

Rico Rodriguez began acting professionally in 2006 at the age of eight. His first notable work came in 2007 with a character role on Cory in the House, a Disney Channel sitcom that ran from 2007 to 2008. Building on that initial credit, he went on to make guest appearances on several high-profile series including ER, iCarly, Nip/Tuck, and My Name Is Earl. These early roles across comedy and drama gave Rodriguez a strong foundation in television acting and exposure to different styles of performance before he reached adolescence.

Breakthrough (2009–2012)

In September 2009, Rodriguez began playing Manny Delgado on the ABC sitcom Modern Family, a role that would define his career for the next eleven years. Manny was a charming, precocious character written as the son of Gloria Pritchett, played by Sofía Vergara. Rodriguez brought a distinctive warmth and comedic timing to the part, and his chemistry with the ensemble cast became one of the show’s most praised elements. Over time, Rodriguez developed a deeper connection to the character, noting in a 2010 interview that he was sometimes nothing like Manny, while later, in 2016, he said he had “grown into the character” and found more in common with him as he matured.

The same year Modern Family premiered, Rodriguez also appeared in a season six episode of NCIS as Travis, a boy who discovers a gun and dead body. In November 2012, he published a book titled Reel Life Lessons… So Far, in which he shared his experiences working on Modern Family. He wrote fondly about working with Sofía Vergara, noting that she treated him like her own son. The book offered fans a rare behind-the-scenes look at life on one of television’s most popular sets from the perspective of its youngest star.

Continued Work (2013–2020)

In 2015, Rodriguez took on a leading dramatic role in the film Endgame, playing Jose, a Mexican middle-schooler who joins a chess team in a coming-of-age story. Around the same time, he voiced a character named Raha in The Lion Guard, part of The Lion King franchise, which ran from 2016 to 2019. The animated series featured an ensemble cast that included Modern Family co-star Sarah Hyland, allowing Rodriguez to work alongside a familiar colleague in a new medium. In 2016, he also voiced the parrot Cuco in the animated feature El Americano: The Movie, a performance that director Ricardo Arnaiz praised enthusiastically.

After Modern Family ended its eleven-season run in April 2020, Rodriguez paid tribute to the experience on Instagram, writing that “words cannot even begin to describe the life-changing experience I have had on this show.” Since then, he has appeared as himself on Nickelodeon’s The Substitute and Unfiltered, continuing his presence in the entertainment world in front of and behind the camera.

Notable Works and Milestones

Rico Rodriguez’s signature role remains Manny Delgado on Modern Family, a performance that earned him four Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series out of eight nominations. The show’s eleven-season success established Rodriguez as one of the most recognizable child actors of his generation. His work in Endgame, The Lion Guard, and El Americano: The Movie demonstrated his range beyond the sitcom format and his ability to take on roles in both live-action and voice acting.

Rico Rodriguez Award Nominations

Across his career, Rico Rodriguez received eight nominations for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series as part of the Modern Family cast. These nominations spanned multiple years of the show’s run and reflected the consistent quality and acclaim of the ensemble’s performances.

Rico Rodriguez Awards Won

Rico Rodriguez won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series four times as part of the Modern Family cast. These wins were spread across several seasons and placed Rodriguez among an elite group of performers recognized by their peers for outstanding collaborative achievement in television comedy.

Rico Rodriguez Family

Rico Rodriguez was born to Diane and Roy Rodriguez, who owned Rodriguez Tire Service in Bryan, Texas. He has three siblings: brothers Ray and Roy Jr., and sister Raini Rodriguez, who is also an actress. Rodriguez is of Mexican descent, connecting him to a rich cultural heritage. On March 12, 2017, Rodriguez’s father Roy passed away at the age of 52, a personal loss that Rodriguez experienced during the continued run of Modern Family.

Personal Life

Rodriguez is a lifelong fan of the Houston Rockets basketball team and has described himself as an avid reader in interviews. His personal interests outside of acting include sports and literature, reflecting a well-rounded personality beyond his work in front of the camera. He has kept much of his private life out of the public eye, focusing his public presence on his acting career and published writing rather than personal relationships or off-screen activities.