'Modern Family': Ariel Winter's Radical Transformation

Thanks to her work as "Alex Dunphy" in the popular sitcom 'Modern Family' in the last few years, the public has been able to watch actress Alex Winter grow up on their screens. In this gallery, we take a brief look back at her career and life through the years.

Born in Fairfax, Virginia on January 28, 1998, Ariel Winter began her acting career when she was just 4 years old, after being hired to appear in a Kraft commercial. Three years later, in 2005, she landed a role in one of the episodes of the series 'Listen Up!' marking her professional debut on television.

Between 2005 and 2009, Ariel Winter appeared in one-off episodes of series such as 'Monk', 'Jericho', 'Bones', 'Nip/Tuck', 'Criminal Minds' and 'ER' as well as in the movie 'Speed Racer' (2008). She also lent her voice to the animated films 'Curious George' (2006), 'Ice Age: The Meltdown' (2006), 'Horton Hears a Who!' (2008) and 'Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs' (2009).

Ariel's luck changed in 2009 when, after a brief casting, she was selected to be part of the cast of 'Modern Family' a new ABC series. In the project, the young actress would play "Alex Dunphy", the second daughter of a conventional family in the United States. Throughout the first season, audiences would be introduced to "Alex's" intellectual abilities, which would be above and beyond that of her father, "Phil" (Ty Burrell) and her siblings "Haley" (Sarah Hyland) and "Luke" (Nolan Gould).

Released in the fall of 2009, 'Modern Family' immediately became one of the biggest hits of comedy television in the United States. With 100% on Rotten Tomatoes and more than 10 million viewers in its first episodes, the series promised to remain in the public's taste for years to come. In 2010, after airing the second season, 'Modern Family' won the Emmy for Best Comedy Series and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Cast in a Comedy Series making young Ariel Winter a winner of one of the most coveted awards in Hollywood.

Despite the success of 'Modern Family' behind her, Ariel Winter did not stop getting involved in other projects that would allow her to expand her filmography. As a dubbing actress, the young woman participated in the cartoon 'Captain Jake and the Never Land Pirates' and in the Disney movies 'Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension'; 'ParaNorman' and many more.

However, Winter's family problems forced her to take extreme measures and, in 2012, her sister Shanelle Workman sued their mother for physical and psychological abuse, seeking full custody of Ariel in the case. Two years later, a U.S. court granted her parental rights to her younger sister. In 2015, Ariel Winter became fully emancipated, taking complete control of her life and finances.

Despite her notable conflicts, Ariel never stopped working or studying. In 2016 she proved she was as smart as her character in 'Modern Family' by being accepted to the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA). However, her plans as an actress and her success in television caused her to postpone her educational plans indefinitely.

With 4 Screen Actors Guild Awards and a recognition at the Young Artist Awards, Ariel Winter's future promised to be full of successes, even beyond 'Modern Family'. In 2019, after appearing in an episode of 'Law and Order: Special Victims Unit', Ariel received the news that the end of the series to which she had been dedicating a year of her career was approaching.

In terms of her personal life, Ariel was also going through complications. In 2019, the young actress ended her three-year relationship with handsome actor Levi Meaden. Weeks later, the magazine 'Us Weekly' reported that the actress had entered into a relationship with Luke Benward, a child actor best known for his work in the film 'We Were Soldiers' where he shared credits with Mel Gibson and Greg Kinnear. A year later, Winter and Benward confirmed the reports with a series of photographs on Instagram where they were seen to be very affectionate despite the pandemic surrounding them at the time.