Ariel Winter Has Totally Transformed Since Modern Family

She was America's middle child for 11 years, but now she's proving that she's so much more. Best known for her role as Alex in the hit ABC sitcom "Modern Family," Ariel Winter grew up under the production lights at Fox Studios in Century City. She is a Los Angeles native, just like her character, whom she says she relates to often. "Alex and I definitely have similar traits — she's not the girl who's super obsessed with her looks or going out with boys. We're both snarky, and we both value education. She makes it OK for girls to want to be smart," she told Teen Vogue in 2013. 

Winter was pushed into acting at a young age by her controlling mother, with whom she has a complicated relationship. "I was four," she revealed on "Stars on Mars" about the age she started her career (via Daily Mail)."You don't really decide anything at four. My experience was rotten." At 17, Winter legally emancipated herself from her mother and continued on her acting journey on her own terms. 

Shedding the Dunphy identity, Winter has grown new skin in the industry. We've seen the actress undergo a stunning transformation over the years, from a child voice actor to an exceptionally mature multi-hyphenate. Now, Winter is all grown up and focusing on broadening her career, building a family — which mostly consists of her six dogs — and making a home outside of Hollywood.

Ariel Winter was 11 years old when she started on "Modern Family." In 2011, she told Ellen Degeneres that playing her age on TV came with ease because she experienced the same teen milestones as her character. Eventually, like all young adults, both Winter and her character Alex had to move on. While Alex headed off to Switzerland, Winter said her final farewell to her TV family. "It was obviously really hard to say goodbye to everybody, but I think we're ending the show at a good place because you never want to ... push stories to a place where they're not entertaining anymore," she said on "Live with Kelly and Ryan" in 2020. 

Winter, who was on the show for half of her life at the time of its ending, wrote a heartfelt tribute to the cast and crew on her Instagram in 2020. "Even though you only see us on your screens, we have just as wonderful people working behind the camera that I will miss seeing all the time," she wrote. "We have been so lucky." The actor included a carousel of memories on set, which featured prominent cast members, including her on-screen siblings played by Nolan Gould and Sarah Hyland.

Seeing as she didn't have to show up to a Hollywood set every day, Ariel Winter made a boldly fulfilling decision to explore life beyond the Hills. "I don't think L.A. was ever really my vibe, but I just was nervous," Winter told E! News. "And then this opportunity presented itself, and I was like, you know what? I'm in a season of change, and I'm really trying to heal and grow and evolve. It's opened up my world a lot." The opportunity in question was moving out of Los Angeles and moving to Nashville, Tennessee, where she bought a $2.9 million house in 2022.

The decision to skip town was because of the lack of privacy in California. She told People that the paparazzi had a habit of invading her personal life. "I don't like pictures of me when I haven't signed up for pictures of me. I don't like feeling watched," she said. "I've always just wanted to live a very, very normal life, just have a normal existence." However, Winter still goes back to her home city for industry projects. 

Ariel Winter has taken a step back from television to pursue a few movie roles since saying goodbye to "Modern Family." "Ever since 'Modern Family' ended, I just have wanted to play as many different characters as I could and kind of establish myself as an actress that is my age [and] is no longer a kid," she told Screen Rant in 2023. In 2020, she starred in the found footage thriller "Don't Log Off," which followed a group of friends in their efforts to solve the mystery of the disappearance of their other friend over Zoom. Winter additionally made her production debut on the 2021 short film "Boys," which tackles the topic of innocence lost when children play with guns.

Winter has acknowledged that she has other ambitions beyond the camera. In 2019, she told The Hollywood Reporter that she tried her hand at college life while still working on "Modern Family," but had to drop out when she realized her schedule was too crowded. However, she noted how much she liked attending the University of California, Los Angeles and might pursue a degree in the future. Given that she has fulfilled her goals of acting in more sophisticated roles and producing a short, an online psychology degree may be in the cards for her soon, according to the actor.

While her career keeps its momentum, Ariel Winter's personal life is equally as successful. Winter has been in a relationship with fellow actor Luke Benward since 2019, when they were first spotted cozying up to each other outside a Hollywood nightclub. In early 2020, a source confirmed that they were dating, telling Us Weekly: "Ariel is really happy with Luke and thinks he is a great match for her."

The two have since gone Instagram official, now often posting each other on holidays or for birthdays. On Christmas Day 2024, Winter posted a sweet photo of her and Benward with their six dogs — everyone in their best attire, including the pups, of course — on Instagram. Winter never shies away from showing off her beau. In a video she posted to TikTok, Winter called "Benward" a "grill daddy, he's a dog daddy, he's a cheese daddy." Fans in the comments were reeling over how cute the couple is, with one user writing, "Seeing her happy makes me happy."

In her spare time, Ariel Winter shows off her culinary skills on social media. According to the actor, she found a passion for cooking while stuck at home during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown. Making everything from beef bourguignon to pigs in a blanket, Winter has mastered the art of the kitchen, but not without injury. Winter told Access Hollywood that she sliced the tip of her thumb off while trying a new recipe. "I was trying to make Greek food because I'm Greek," said Winter, who noted that she had successfully chopped onions right before the incident. "So I went to chop a peeled tomato and sliced the top part of my thumb off on a peeled tomato," she recalled, adding that she had to go to the hospital.

Luckily, Winter's cooking videos don't always end in a trip to the ER. She bravely picked her knives back up and has continued to bring all sorts of recipes to her fans, who watch Winter and Luke Benward's satisfying final taste test at the end of each video. Keeping the nicknames consistent, Winter called Benward "bun daddy" while he took on the role of sous chef in one Instagram Reel where they made lobster rolls. "He's not grill daddy today, he's bun daddy," Winter said of Benward, who complimented his chef by saying "it's giving" about the lobster rolls.