Ariel Winter left her hometown of Los Angeles after Modern Family came to an end in 2020
NEED TO KNOW
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The child star struggled with online hate and a complicated childhood
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Winter has clarified that she hasn't given up acting and has pursued various roles — including in the Sofia the First franchise
Ariel Winterbecame an iconic child actor when she starred onModern Familyfrom 2009 to 2020.
Unlike some of her costars, Winter had been acting for much of her life — since she was 4 years old. TheScreen Actors Guild Awardwinner, who was born and raised in Los Angeles, decided to move out of the city after getting sick of the uglier side of being a child star.
“It was just everywhere," she told PEOPLE in May 2025 of the negativity. "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. Ittotally damaged my self-esteem."
In order to find herself again, Wintermoved to a town in Tennesseeto focus on her other ventures — including her love of cooking and passion for fighting against online sexual predators — with her dogs and her then-boyfriend,Luke Benward. The actors dated for six years and lived together with their dogs beforesplitting in August 2025, a source told PEOPLE in May 2026.
Although Winter moved out of L.A., she has continued to act. Since 2012, Winter has voiced the lead in theSofia the Firstfranchise. The newest installment,Royal Magic, premieres on May 25.
Here's everything to know about why Ariel Winter left Hollywood and where she is now.
What was Ariel Winter's role inModern Family?
Winter played the beloved middle child Alex Dunphy on the hit sitcomModern Familyfrom 2009 to 2020. She was just 11 years old when she stepped into the role of the booksmart and anxious preteen.
She starred in the role alongside her on-screen siblings,Sarah HylandandNolan Gould, and parents,Julie BowenandTy Burrell.
"Honestly, it's so amazing to have a job like this with people you've worked with for 11 years, that you love,” Winter said onThe Ellen DeGeneres Showahead of the series finale. “The amount of grateful that we all are is ridiculous. It's special."
What did Winter act in afterModern Family?
Before Winter parted ways with Alex Dunphy, she scored the voice role of Sofia in the hit Disney animated franchiseSofia the First.
Since the original film,Sofia the First: Once Upon a Princess,premiered in 2012, she continued lending her voice and has acted in several additional television movies.
WhenModern Familywrapped in 2020, Winter took a three-year hiatus from acting. She returned to the screen in various voice roles in TV shows and movies — such asStar Trek: Lower DecksandThe Sisters Grimm.
Why did Winter leave Hollywood?
Winter left the hustle and bustle of L.A. around the time thatModern Familywrapped in 2020. While the child star has kept exact details of her move private, she previously opened up to PEOPLE about leaving the city with her then-boyfriend, Benward, to both escape the online hatred and adifficult childhood.
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“I understood what it was like to be hated," she said in May 2025. "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.' "
Winter had also publicly endured a tumultuous relationship with her mother, Chrisoula Workman, whom she previously accused of abuse. Workman has denied the allegations. When Winter was 14 years old, she was placed in the care of her older sister and three years later, she was legally emancipated.
“I went on to have a great rest of my teenage years thanks to being under her custody,” Winter said of her older sister. “Honestly, it's just my entire childhood. 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.”
Winter further explained toE! Newsin 2024 that shedidn't "think L.A. was ever really my vibe, but I just was nervous."
“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," she continued of the move to Tennessee. "It's opened up my world a lot."
Has Winter returned to Hollywood?
Although Winter left L.A., she's made it clear that she didn't quit acting.
“I didn't leave the industry,” she told PEOPLE. “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.' "
Winter noted that she still loves acting and has also taken an interest in producing her own projects.
Where is Winter now?
As of May 2026, Winter has been busy promoting theSofia the FirstseriesSofia the First: Royal Magic, which comes to Disney+ on May 25.
In addition to voice acting, Winter has leaned into her love of cooking and frequently posts social media videos of her favorite recipes. As for future projects, Winter told PEOPLE in 2025 that she hopes to launch a podcast and develop her own cooking show.
Another one of Winter's passion projects is working with the organizationSOSA (Safe From Online Sex Abuse) — which included helping make season 4 of theYouTube series"Operation Witching Hour."
“I was just like, ‘God, I'd love to be a part of that.' It just impacted me so deeply because I'd been that kid who'd been preyed upon online so many times," she explained. “More than anything, I want my story to be that she uses her platform for good. My journey to figuring things out and healing is now through helping other people. That's all I care about.”
Read the original article onPeople
