One of the cast members of Modern Family Ariel Winter has been at the center of attention for a number of reasons since accepting her part on the series back in 2009. It is rather unusual for a teen to generate controversy, but Ariel has managed to deal with it and also manage her career with the help of select family members and supportive friends. Here are 20 things you didn’t know about her and some of her personal challenges.
1. When she joined the cast of Modern Family she wasn’t new to acting in front of the camera.
Ariel has several bit parts on television shows such as ER and being a voice on the Disney Channel’s Phineas and Ferb. Many child stars have difficulty adjusting being in front of the camera especially the tweener years when moving into maturity. This proved great not only for Ariel, but for the cast and crew of the show.
2. She has been a dedicated environmentalist since age 12.
Being exposed to many things Hollywood at such a young age also exposes you to some of the realities of the world. Of those realities is the need for being responsible with the natural resources we have been given. Ariel says she uses the “Three R’s” of being green: Renew, Recycle, Reuse. As she has grown with the show she has recognized the opportunity to share her message and passion with others of her own age group.
3. She has unfairly received criticism for many of her choices of red carpet attire.
With the popularity of Modern Family comes the requisite criticism of fashionistas and those who are never seen on the red carpet. While certain dresses can fairly be questioned as to their “openness” it seems anything she wears is a target for criticism – largely because of her age. Of course, the criticism will fade with time, but until then it looks like she will have stay classy until the critics grow up.
4. Her home environment was more than dysfunctional.
It got so bad at home that Ariel’s older sister went to court to petition for custody of her sister due to significant abuse issues in the home. The list included verbal abuse concerning her weight and very inappropriate name calling on a regular basis. Her mother was the culprit, and the petition was granted in 2012. There have been connections made between her mother’s desire to try and control her career and some of her more provocative red carpet attire, but no word from Ariel just yet.
5. With her new found freedom, she was able to begin experimenting with a number of different teenage looks, which began with her hair.
One of her hair stylists said that Ariel’s “porcelain” complexion can be best served by contrasting her long hair with a darker color to accentuate the contrast. That left her going completely brunette and sometimes even red during her break from her gig of Modern Family. For those who don’t know, Ariel is a natural blonde, so this move towards a darker hair color is actually somewhat unusual.
6. She is keenly aware of her responsibilities towards the show and the public image she portrays.
Only in 2018 can we witness teen actors getting nervous about their choice of clothing. Social media can be brutal, and while trying to be a teenager she also realizes her choice of personal attire is being scrutinized all the time. This has her opting for clothing that fits her while maintaining the boundaries for a 16 year old. It’s clear she would have liked to grow up quicker, but she was willing to be patient.
7. She had breast management surgery.
It’s hard to say she had breast enlargement surgery or breast reduction surgery since there actually was a little of both. As a legally emancipated minor, she now has the freedom to create the shape that she believes best fits her personal image of herself. Sans mom, she received a considerable amount of support for her potentially career changing decision.
8. The surgery was the beginning of Ariel shaping herself into a style setter.
Apparently the surgery was liberating in a number of ways, including deciding to become more style conscious at many levels, including her hair. At one time she could be seen almost exclusively with long/longer hair, but she recently lopped a good portion of it off to see how it could potentially accentuate her wardrobe.
9. She lives with the decisions she makes and seems to recognize that thinking before acting is an important life lesson.
This characteristic of Ariel can be seen when she appeared on the red carpet of the 2016 Screen Actor Guild awards, when her choice of dress made her surgical scars somewhat noticeable. Her response to any potential criticism was that it was the decision she made and, like it or not, she had no intention of hiding from the decision.
10. She has had to deal with criticism on her Instagram account for her choices relating to style.
The thing here is, followers on Instagram should generally be supportive of their fans in Ariel’s context because it’s not Twitter. It’s not like she is saying anything outrageous but just showing her style to her fans and followers. Yet people still seem to think it’s important to judge her style, even when it was from years ago. She’s not asking anyone to buy anything, posting that exact sentiment on her Twitter account.
