Jay Francis Pritchett is the patriarch of the family and father of Claire and Mitchell. He is married to Gloria and a stepfather to Manny; he is much older than Gloria and has been mistaken for her father more than once. At times there is a cultural clash between him and his wife and stepson because of their strong Colombian heritage. Most of the time, Jay manages to tolerate Manny's sensitivity and Gloria's attitude. Although he usually acts tough, he values all of his extended family members, and is generally seen as the one with the most common-sense. However, problems sometimes arise when he wishes to forget certain problems instead of dealing with them. He is a veteran of Vietnam, and runs a successful business, leading him to be the most financially secure member of the family.

On occasion, Jay enjoys traditionally manly hobbies such as watching football (Jay used to be a quarterback in college) and constructing model airplanes. He is not very comfortable with his son being gay, so when coming to Mitchell's and Cameron's place, he always announces himself by knocking loudly on the door, fearing he might find them having sex. A running gag in the series is Jay remembering Mitchell's behavior when he was a kid (such as naming his pets after Liza Minnelli) and wondering "how could I not know he was gay?" He seems to be evolving regarding homosexuality when he bonds with a friend of his who Mitchell suspects of being gay and forces him to open up