| “ | This family needs a dumbass-ectomy. | ” |
Alexandria Anastasia "Alex" Dunphy is the youngest daughter of Claire and Phil. Alex is evidently the most clever and intelligent of Claire and Phils' children. She is the older sister to her goofy brother, Luke and the younger sister to her shallow sister, Haley.
Personality
She is extremely intelligent, calculative and intensely hard-working. She enjoys messing and manipulating them when they are rude to her, which is fairly often, taking advantage of their naivety and inferior intellect by fooling them into believing unrealistic things. At one time she had convinced Haley and Luke that they could charge electronics by rubbing the battery on her head and holding it in his mouth. As much as she enjoys torturing her brother and sister, she always seems to have their backs, as in "Undeck the Halls" when she confesses to smoking, even though she didn't do anything, to bring back Christmas for them or in "Games People Play", when Alex says she would have tutored Luke if she had known he was failing Pre-Algebra. Alex is generally shown as being an outside observer to the antics that surround her while she quietly does her own thing. As much as she enjoys torturing her brother and sister, she is shown to love them both. According to Haley, she has no fashion sense. And judging by the constant remarks from her sister, Alex is shown as being very socially awkward, with difficulty in making friends and in being able to find a boy who likes her personality. It is shown in several occasions, though, that she does indeed care for her reputation, like when she refuses to let herself be seen with her mother dropping her off to meetings with her girl friends, and when she accepts advice from Haley about how to treat a friend and climb into popularity, and when she asks Haley to let her sit at her table at the cafeteria. She did go to her prom with a classmate who everyone likes, but he is gay.
She, as a stereotypical precocious kid, displays a sense of superiority because of her erudition, constantly putting her accomplishments on display and demanding recognition for them. An overachiever, she plays the cello and practices lacrosse; she chose to play the cello because she would have a better chance at being in a university orchestra than if she played the violin, as cellos are more in demand, although she does not actually enjoy playing the cello and eventually hated it, saying that she only continued doing so because she does not want to start quitting anything as she never had in her life.
It has been established recently in "Tableau Vivant" that Alex is a light sleeper, as she was surprisingly energetic when staying awake nearly a whole night thinking about her upcoming art project. In the episode "Planes, Trains and Cars", it appears Alex is bilingual, as she told Haley "Time to get a new boyfriend" in what appeared to have been Chinese, although wasn't. She is sensitive to the sight of blood; fainting frequently because of it.
"What's the point? You get straight As, write the perfect essay, drag your cello to school every day, and for what?!!!!"
When Alex does not get into Harvard University, Alex has an intense breakdown where she becomes drunk and, when confronted by Haley, snaps at her, complaining about how she had done perfectly her entire life, only for it to be all for naught. This is because she is so used to coming first, that she lost her control when she was declined.
Occupation
Alex does not yet have a job, she is currently a college student.
Season Summaries
None Assigned yet (Please write a Season 1 summary here for Alex).
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None Assigned yet (Please write a Season 5 summary here for Alex).
The Long Honeymoon
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Do Not Push
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The Cold
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Marco Polo
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Won't You Be Our Neighbor
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Halloween 3: AwesomeLand
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Queer Eyes, Full Hearts
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Clean Out Your Junk Drawer
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Three Turkeys
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Strangers in the Night
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Haley's 21st Birthday
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The Day We Almost Died
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The Big Guns
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Rash Decisions
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Fight or Flight
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Connection Lost
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Spring Break
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Grill, Interrupted
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Knock 'Em Down
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Integrity
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Patriot Games
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Crying Out Loud
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American Skyper
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Summer Lovin
In the month 'June' we see that Alex carries on dating Sanjay upsetting her sister because her sister doesn't have anyone as a romantic partner. During June, Haley sees her ex-boyfriend Dylan again at the mall much to Claire's disappointment and they end up getting back together. In the month 'July' we see that since Alex and Sanjay are both heading to college they both decide mutually to break up on Labor Day before they go, seeing as most people don't survive with long distant relationships. Haley and Dylan both tell them to stay together and try to survive while her brother tells her to break up as there are multiple hot, sexual things going on in college and they shouldn't miss out. Despite what Haley and Dylan have said Alex and Sanjay still agree to break up. They break up and Alex tells her Uncle Mitchell and makes her get into painting to fill the sadness. It's only at the end, when Alex is talking to her Uncle Mitchell she realises that Alex and Sanjay are the same they're very good at a lot of things and then she realises they should make it work. She rushes to him beofre he can get on the plane during their talk they realise that they, always being the top percentile of anything, are really the very few only ones that could actually survive a long distance relationship and they've had the statistics all wrong.
The Day Alex Left for College
Luke comes down wearing glasses as his new look and Alex is immediately insulted as she states it's like non disabled people parking in handicapped spaces. Alex comes down the stairs and Claire tells her she so consiated because she's leaving a whole day early for college, Alex then tells her that her leaving day is today and tells both Claire and Phil that she decided to tell them the wrong leaving date to avoid everything they'll do. She then tells them that Haley is driving her to college. They both state what they would've done if she hadn't of given them the wrong date, Phil: making a playlist of goodbye songs for the ride and Claire: Making her favorite meal for Dinner and then fighting over separation anxiety and then the morning of leaving day they'd make up before she left. Alex then says that she sees that she made the right decision when she didn't tell them. Alex then tells them they both have 5 seconds to hug her and then tells Luke he also does however he dismisses this and Claire takes Luke's 5 seconds. Haley and Alex arrive at Alex's college dorm, Haley tells her that because she wouldn't let Claire and Phil cry the emotion is going to build up and explode all over her and Luke. Alex tells her that she couldn't wait as she's been dreaming about this day (being moving into college) for a long time and Haley makes a joke saying "leaving your family?" Alex tells her no to turn it into an insult. Alex tells Haley that she's just really ready for College and she really wants to be surrounded by smart, curious people. Haley goes to leave but Maisie shows up and is very energetic. She states that she is Alex's roomate and when Alex asks where her original roomate went and Maisie states that she had a panic attack and they didn't accept her Visa so she is stuck in Norway. She then makes a joke that no one laughs at and sparks an interest in Haley as she's having fun off of the fact that Alex doesn't want ther as a roomate she only wanted smart, curious people and Alex sees Maisie as dumb. Alex rushes to get Maisie out of the room and once she does she asks Haley to stop enjoying it so much Haley tells her she is. Alex tells her it ends now and picks up her phone, Haley asks her what she's doing and Alex tells her that she is calling her Advisor to get a new roomate and Haley manages to convince Alex to keep Maisie by telling her a story "I had a similar experience with a roommate. She was this annoying little know-it-all who totally got on my nerves-" Alex interrupts her sister to say "Yeah, I get it." knowing that the girl in the story is her. Her sister tells her to "shh" wanting to carry on, "I spent a long time trying to get rid of her until I realized that that little girl, in her own way, put me on a pedestal. It felt great. You just landed in a world of superstars, and I know you'd never admit it, but you're scared. It's not the worst thing to have your own personal cheerleader. I miss mine already." Alex is then convinced to keep Maisie, not to change her, but to have a polar opposite that doesn't get boring. Alex goes to hug her sister and 5 seconds later Haley tries to come out of the hug but her sister is resistant to, Haley realises that Alex wants more hugging time as she is very grateful for Haley's advice; which is rare for the sisters.
The Closet Case
Alex is only seen via Skype.
Luke recieves a call from Alex and he tells her that she is lazy, as she could just come downstairs, Alex has to inform him that she's at college and she doesn't even live there anymore. A girl walks into Alex's room as Alex tells him that she'll try skyping Claire as it doesn't seem like Luke cares. Luke rushes to tell her not to end the call and tells Alex to tell him everything and take as much time as he needs to as the girl is right there. Alex opens up about Sanjay telling Luke that he's been ignoring her and she might call him but as Alex says she might call him the girl in the background is about to take off her towel and Luke tells her to do it. Alex is unaware that Luke is talking to the girl behind her until the girl turns around and says hi to Luke, Alex then turns off Skype and ends the call.
Summer Lovin
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The Verdict
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The More You Ignore Me
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Phil's Sexy, Sexy House
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Clean Out Your Junk Drawer
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White Christmas
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Alex's Fans
In "After the Fire", it is revealed that Alex has her own fan base, similar to her popular sister, though hers is composed of nerds like her and evidently Haley's is composed of people like her, and people who look up to her. Alex tells Haley that someday "your fans are going to work for my fans."
Relationships
Family
Haley
Mitchell
Mitchell is Alex's Uncle. They don't spend much time together, as Mitchell doesn't interact with Claire, as much but there are some episodes in which they are seen together.
"Express Christmas"
While they go to buy a Christmas tree with Lily, they discover that they have a lot in common.
"Lifetime Supply"
"Yard Sale"
Claire, Mitchell, and Cameron try to make Alex understand that her boyfriend, Michael, is gay, but she doesn't believe it.
Claire
Phil
Love Interests
Jeremy
Jeremy is a boy that Alex seems to like , revealed in "The Kiss", her family find out and try to get involved.
"The Kiss"
"Bixby's Back"
Alex states that she will be having a phone date with Jeremy for Valentine's Day.
Jimmy Scrivano
"Dude Ranch"
Near the end, Alex tells Jimmy that their homes are "2,443 miles apart".
"Door to Door"
Alex is revealed to have been "Skyping with her boyfriend".
Michael
Michael is a boy who appears in "Baby on Board", he asks Alex to the prom, when she says it's lame.
"Baby on Board"
There is a prom at Alex's high school. After saying it was lame, she does get asked by a boy named Michael.
Sanjay Patel
Sanjay reaffirms his affection toward Alex.
Snajay is a boy she meets in Patriot Games. They first start despising each other. He begins as her all-time academic rial.
In "Patriot Games". Alex is furious upon learning that she has been asked to be co-valedictorian with her all-time academic rival, Sanjay Patel. Due to having the same GPA as one another. Alex and Sanjay then decide to settle things with a physical test, in form of a race to determine who gets the valedictorian spot. Prior to the race, Sanjay goes over to Alex's house to confess his crush on her. Alex is flustered, but then convinced by her family that it was possibly a distraction. On the day of the race, Alex prepares for the race confidently, and tries to ignore Sanjay. Sanjay is then confused, as to why Alex is ignoring him. When the race starts Sanjay refuses to run. However, In front of their parents, Sanjay reveals that he doesn't care for the valedictorian spot, and that he cares more about Alex knowing his true feelings for her. He then expresses his embarrassment about his skinny legs--in which Alex tells him she likes, they then move towards each other, while exchanging compliments about each other. Alex then kisses Sanjay, Sanjay tells Alex competitively that he kisses better than her. Alex then strikes back and tells him she is destroying him and they continue to kiss. While Alex is in college, it is revealed that the two have broken up.
Reuben
Although Reuben has been appearing quite frequently here and there throughout the seasons, his surname has not yet been mentioned. He is a friend of Luke's, and is said to be quite the dork. After Alex's break up with, Sanjay, she feels lonely and is desperate for someone to make her feel better (about her self, mostly). Reuben has a huge crush on Alex and comes running up as soon as he finds out she and Sanjay are broken up, resulting in the two of them being in a relationship. Reuben is pretty much Alex's recovery boy, since they break up a very short period after they got together. Alex also mentions that she has tried breaking up with him before and that he is annoying, desperate and dorky.
In "Phil's Sexy, Sexy House", It is found that Alex talked Reuben into having sex with her, which is stopped when Phil is playing a virtual reality game when he says tells whoever he is fighting to come out, reuben thinks that Phil is talking to him, so he comes out and tells Phil that Alex talked her into doing it. Claire is also visibly disappointed that Reuben is the one who was in there with her, and though she could do better.
Trivia
- Ariel Winter is about two years younger than her character she portrays.
- Alex plays the cello and sung in a band called Electric Light Dorkestra ("Best Men").
- From "Pilot" until "Suddenly, Last Summer", Alex was wearing small framed glasses and then in "First Days" onwards, Alex began wearing bigger glasses. The reason for this was never stated.
Quotes
Season 3
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Phil: We're gonna have to settle this dispute in court - the Food Court. The honorable Judge Cinnabon presiding. Haley: The food court? That place smells like the inside of Luke's bicycle helmet. Alex: I like the food court. Lily: Me too! Phil: Don't worry, girls. We won't deprive ourselves just 'cause Haley's aversion to... Alex: [laughs, then stops herself] Oh. Oh, Haley's aversion. I thought you said... never mind. |
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— From "Virgin Territory"
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Haley: [complaining to Claire about being in the same class with Alex] Her hand's in the air, like, every five seconds, and she actually reminded Mr. Waters to assign homework. The class loved that. Do you know how embarrassed I was? Alex: Not as embarrassed as I was when she said eight was a prime number. |
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— From "Phil on Wire"
Appearances
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Appearances |
Episode | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | Total | |
| Season 1 | 21 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Season 2 | 22 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Season 3 | 22 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Season 4 | 23 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Season 5 | 22 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Season 6 | 22 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Season 7 | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Please go to here for color coding.
Gallery
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