Biography
Date of Birth
28 December 1998, Los Angeles, California, USA
Birth Name
Ariel Winter Workman
Height
5' 1" (1.55 m)
Mini Biography
Ariel Winter is one of Hollywood's most promising young talents with notable roles both in both television and film. Ariel stars on ABC's critically acclaimed and Emmy® winning hit series, "Modern Family (2009)." Winter plays 'Alex Dunphy,' the brainy middle child in the Dunphy family, opposite Ty Burrell, Julie Bowen, Sarah Hyland and Nolan Gould. Winter also stars on Disney Jr. as the title character for the series "Sofia the First (2012)." The series follows Princess Sofia, an ordinary little girl who must adjust to royal life after her mother marries the king. The series spawned from the movie "Sofia the First: Sofia the First: Once Upon a Princess (2012)."
In March 2014, Ariel gave life to the voice of "Penny Peterson" in the animated film, "Mr. Peabody & Sherman (2014)." Other familiar voices in the film include Ty Burrell and Allison Janney.
Ariel recently wrapped production on "Truck Stop" -- a 1970s based drama centered on the friendship between a kid with cerebral palsy and a troubled runaway, directed by Tony Aloupis.
In 2009, Winter appeared in the thriller "Duress (2009)." opposite Martin Donovan. Other credits include playing "Young Trixie" in Warner Bros.' "Speed Racer (2008)," and the films "The Chaperone (2011)" opposite WWE star Paul Levesque (Triple H), "Opposite Day (2009)," "Nic & Tristan Go Mega Dega (2010)," and a lead role in the hit thriller "One Missed Call (2008)," where she plays the killer in the film.
Previous television credits include the female lead in the television movie, "Fred 2: Night of the Living Fred (2011)" and the sequel to the hit film, "Fred: The Movie (2010)" on Nickelodeon, a recurring role on the final six episodes of the award winning drama "ER (1994)," guest-starring roles on hit TV shows Criminal Minds (2005)," "Crossing Jordan (2001)," Nip/Tuck (2003)" and "Bones (2005)." Winter also voiced "Marina the Mermaid" in the animated series, "Jake and the Never Land Pirates (2011)" for Disney Junior, "Gretchen" on Walt Disney's hit show "Phineas and Ferb (2007)" on Disney Channel, and has voiced characters in the hit animated film, "Horton Hears a Who! (2008)," and "Bambi II (2006)."
Winter began her film career at age seven in director Shane Black's hit cult film, "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)," starring Val Kilmer, Robert Downey Jr. and Michelle Monaghan. Winter is an avid singer and young activist. She is involved in several charities and organizations such as the Creative Coalition, the Share Our Strength's No Kid Hungry, WWE's anti-bullying campaign Be A Star and GLSEN.
Ariel Winter currently resides in Los Angeles.
Trivia
Worked with Rico Rodriguez in the movie Opposite Day (2009) prior to starring together on Modern Family (2009).
Has a purple belt in Taekwondo.
She is the younger sister to actress Shanelle Gray (from ABC's One Life to Live (1968)).
Younger sister of actor Jimmy Workman (who portrayed Pugsley Addams in the Addams Family movies).
Sister-in-law of David Barry Gray.
Her maternal grandparents, Helen G. (Aronis) and James Batistas, both emigrated from Greece. Her father is of English and German descent.
Her sister Shanelle Gray was appointed her guardian in 2012 after the Department of Children and Family Services found that Winter's mother, Chrisoula Workman, was emotionally abusing her daughter. Winter's relationship with her father was deemed not strong enough, therefore her sister was appointed as her legal guardian.
Legally emancipated in May 2015 after years of custody fights in her family.
Aspired to become an actor at a very young age when she wanted to crawl into the TV to actually go exploring with Dora the Explorer (2000).
She took her first trip to Europe to act in Speed Racer (2008), which was filmed in Germany.
She's an avid music fan and aspiring singer who loves to record songs with her friends in bands such as 4evercrush and WickedSweet.
She is environmentally conscious and urges young readers to "renew, reuse and recycle" in interviews.
Her favorite sports are track, soccer and tennis.
First acting job was in a Cool Whip commercial.
She's a fan of the Twilight Series of novels.
Ariel started acting at the young age of 4.
Ariel is only a few months older than her co-star in Modern Family (2009), Nolan Gould.
Ariel started reading at the age of 1.
Ariel has three dogs named Peebles, Hercules and Cher.
Quotes
Female empowerment really is important to me. I'm a big nerd of the books from the 15th Century and 16th Century, when the men had all the power and the women had none of it.
I've been working on my own music. I've been writing an album, stuff that's kind of personal to my own life.
I'm pretty smart with boys. I know how to handle them and I know what to do around them.
I have two lovely parents who support everything I do, two siblings, and three beautiful nieces. My house is always filled with laughter and fun!
My life has definitely changed since Modern Family (2009). The show has made me more responsible, I really want to be a good role model for all kids so I have to think about what I say and do and how it looks to other kids!
When I am not working, I go to the movies, text my friends, my thumbs are faster than lightening on that keyboard!, write songs, sing, dance, Facebook, Twitter and spend time with my besties. I am also a songwriter and I love to write about my life experiences.
My mother wanted to name me Jackie or Jacqueline but she got to name my sister and my brother, so my dad and my brother insisted on naming me. And they were big fans of The Little Mermaid (1989).
If I go on dates, my mom is always with me. She's always there making sure I'm all right. Like if I go to see a movie with a boy, she'll go to dinner next door.
Filming a movie is different from a TV show because film is a lot quicker, you get to see the character progress and grow all in one script, and in television, you wait for a weekly update on each character.
Life happens, you grow up and everyone just has to learn to treat you more like an adult.
It's always awkward when you go from being a kid on the show to being a young woman. And yeah, it's odd, now that I'm 16 given I started when I was 11 ... now there's boys and there's boobs.
No matter what you look like or think you look like, you're special and loved and perfect just the way you are.
Dear sorry body-shamers, I looked hot in that dress, and if you hate it, don't buy it. But please get a hobby.
Sometimes it's either the boobs, sometimes it' the legs, you've got to pick one. When you're a curvy girl, one's got to be out.
It was definitely a journey for me to learn to accept my body, I finally said to myself, This is who I am. There's no way I'm changing, and I should learn to love and accept it. And I did. It just took me awhile.
But then as I got older, I was surrounded by people like SofÃa Vergara, and people who were curvier like me and were proud of it. And who were showing it off. That really helped me to move forward and be proud of my body.
I was very insecure when I was younger because I did grow up in the public eye.
They are so nerve-wracking because there's lights everywhere, and sometimes I'll like turn and be talking and I'll see a photo the next day and I'll be like, "Aaaah", and being crazy, so it's definitely interesting, but it's a lot of fun. I'm really lucky at the age I am to be able to be here and to be doing what I love.
When I was younger, it took a lot more of a toll on me than it does now, three or four years ago, I would have been devastated, like, "Why do people feel this way about me? I'm just being me. My sister helped me understand that people will say those things regardless of how you look. I tell myself every day, I look fabulous.
Hopefully that person will rethink what they said. Because if you fight fire with fire, it clearly doesn't get better.
It's called being a woman in the industry, It's complete sexism. It's really degrading, annoying and sad that this is what the media puts out, it's disgusting to me. At this stage, you get sort of jaded after a certain period of time, I feel like I've been in the industry for so long that I have gotten to that point where people's comments and the exposure doesn't bother me as much.
I've been cyberbullied for just about everything that I could possibly be cyberbullied for now when I see negativity online towards young girls it makes me feel to do something about it. To change that conversation so it can be more positive so young girls don't have to feel that way.
I think it's important to respond with positivity when you see negativity.
It's called being a woman in the industry, It's complete sexism. It's really degrading, annoying and sad that this is what the media puts out, it's disgusting to me.
The more people promote positivity, the more it will catch on.
I respond to hate that I receive on my social media platforms with love.
Then there's the other exposure that can be negative, regarding red carpets and the things that I wear. I've gone through a whole bunch of things, both in my personal life and my professional life and they've all contributed to where I am now and made me stronger.
It's somewhat life-changing in your mind when you walk down the street and someone recognizes you as 'that girl from TV' or 'Alex, the girl with the glasses,' but it's different than when someone comes up to you and says, "Ariel Winter I love the things you say online' or 'I really love your character, it's inspired me so much, Those are the things that really impact me that I love about the exposure I get.
At this stage, you get sort of jaded after a certain period of time, I feel like I've been in the industry for so long that I have gotten to that point where people's comments and the exposure doesn't bother me as much.
It still bothers people when you get negative feedback for something, but it doesn't hit me as hard as it would somebody just entering the industry.
It's definitely hard being self-conscious and having the world be able to tell you how they feel about you, Before Twitter and Instagram, if you felt a certain way about a person you didn't know, you couldn't tell them. Now I wake up and I have tweets to me about how I'm a fat, ugly blah-blah.
To empower young women, you have to be that example. I have niece that are in that prime age and it's really important for me with the 7 and the 8 year old to promote body positivity to them because I even see now as they go to school, kids use the word fat all the time, kids are really harsh on each other. And so I think for my nieces, the biggest thing for me is, I show them that I am confident, and I feel good about myself. I think that the best way to teach them.
I think the most important thing for young girls to do if they see cyberbullying is to step in and to be that person that is the change, the voice of reason, the voice of positivity. To step in and say "This is not necessary and this is not what I'm going to stand for."
