Why ‘Modern Family’ Star Left Hollywood for a Better Life

Ariel Winter’s life in Hollywood was not always easy.

She began acting in commercials at age four, but broke out when she landed the role of Alex Dunphy on the sitcom “Modern Family.” However, during that time she was also dealing with a lot of trolls who criticized her body and how she looked.

During an interview with PEOPLE in May 2025, Winter opened up about this tough time in her life.

“It was just everywhere,” she explained. “It was every headline I read about myself, like, grown people writing articles about me saying how I looked terrible or pregnant or like a fat slut. I mean, I was 14… It totally damaged my self-esteem.”

“I understood what it was like to be hated,” she added. “No matter what I was going through, I was a target. It made it very difficult to look at myself in the mirror and go, ‘I love this version of me.'”

That, coupled with her traumatic childhood, ultimately led to her decision to move out of Hollywood.

Ariel Winter Went To Live With Her Sister At Age 14

Along with her issues in the public eye, Winter also dealt with family problems. She has accused her mother, Chrisoula Workman, of abuse, but her mother has publicly denied the allegations.

“Honestly, it’s just my entire childhood,” Winter said. “It’s a really deep, painful, sore, sore part for me that’s so much deeper and bigger than I’ve ever felt ready to talk about.”

She was ultimately removed from her home at the age of 14 by the Department of Child and Family Protective Services and went to live with her older sister, Shanelle Gray.

“I went on to have a great rest of my teenage years thanks to being under her custody,” she told PEOPLE.

Ariel Winter Is Pursing Other Projects Now That She Has Moved Out of Hollywood

Because of all the criticism she faced along with her hard past, Winter and her boyfriend, actor Luke Benward, moved out of L.A.

“I didn’t leave the industry,” she stated, going on to tell PEOPLE that she does still enjoy acting, but is also pursuing other projects, including starting a podcast and a cooking show.

“I just left the city of L.A. It holds some not-great memories for me, and I’m young and never lived anywhere else, and thought, ‘Why not?’ If you’re no longer on a network show that shoots there, you don’t really have to be there, and if I get a network show, I can easily go back,” she added.