'I Understood What It Was Like To Be Hated:' Ariel Winter Opens Up About Being Body-Shamed As A Teenager And Why It 'Damaged My Self-Esteem'

Ariel Winter has been acting since the age of four and is best known for playing Alex Dunphy in Modern Family. Her experience as a child star who is still acting today is unique because she left Tinseltown behind by moving to Virginia. Her time growing up within the city limits of Los Angeles was turbulent, personally and professionally, and sparked the move. Now, the Alex Dunphy actress weighs in on the then-ongoing negative public perception she endured as a growing minor and how it affected her self-worth.

Winter reflected to People on some parts of her childhood trauma including the regular scrutiny she faced while playing the middle Dunphy child. When the show started, she was just 11 years old, but with every passing year, she'd face more negative headlines about just about anything, but especially her body. That dramatically damaged her confidence. In Winter’s words:

As a fan of the show and of the now 27-year-old, I hate that she had to go through any of this at 14. Unfortunately, it’s not an uncommon subject for young women and girls in Hollywood. She was only 21 at the time of the Modern Family finale. Maybe it's because I’m in a similar age range as Sarah Hyland and have a parasocial big sister feeling toward Ariel Winter, but it's awful to think about anybody receiving such public critiques at such a young age. I’m just glad that the past co-stars still have the Haley-Alex Dunphy bond to support each other through anything.

The Speed Racer alum did share more about the period, noting she knew that regardless of her actions, she’d be talked about and hated on. She said:

Again, it just makes my heart break for the talent she was and is! I do remember some of the headlines and stories that had harsh angles projected onto Winter and being so bummed by it. To me, Winter held her own among her co-stars, but for commentary on her body to overshadow her performance and harm her is a real shame at such a young age.

Thankfully, after the 11 seasons wrapped, the Sofia the First actress made the necessary changes to move on from past triggers. First, she and her boyfriend, Luke Benward, were among many stars to move out of Hollywood. (Virginia is Winter’s home state before she moved to L.A.). Along with the West Coast for East Coast swap, she shared a glimpse into life post-MF and showed off an F-bomb tattoo. It seems that as more time has passed, Winter is continuing to heal and grow from her childhood and TV traumas.

All of us at CinemaBlend wish nothing but the best for Ariel Winter’s continued healing and growth for moving past the hurt she felt from the body-shaming comments.