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Modern Family's Ariel Winter, Now 27, Reveals She 'Left L.A.' to Build a New Life After Traumatic Childhood

Modern Family's Ariel Winter, who publicly endured family strife and endless bullying online as a child star, has found joy and a new sense of purpose at 27 years old.

She had a thriving career starring as middle child Alex Dunphy on the hit sitcom Modern Family, but she was also facing the uglier side of growing up onscreen: Endless scrutiny from the press and online trolls about her body and how she looked as she naturally grew up and changed. A stable home life might have helped Winter navigate the darker side of child stardom, but instead, she'd publicly endured a tumultuous relationship with her mother, Chrisoula Workman, whom she’s accused of abuse. “I was just like, ‘God, I’d love to be a part of that,’” says Winter, who referred to herself as “a victim of grooming online and IRL [in real life] and CSA [child sex abuse]” in an Instagram comment earlier this year but declined to share any further details.

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