Modern Family Star Ariel Winter Talks Breast Reduction

The 17-year-old Modern Family actress recently addressed her decision to have breast reduction surgery earlier this summer.

The teenager, who’s best known for playing nerdy middle child Alex Dunphy on the ABC hit series, isn’t unfamiliar with making adult decisions. Winter was officially emancipated in May 2015 after living with her older sister for three years. She was removed from her mother’s care at age 14 because of physical and emotional abuse claims.

She recently made another adult decision by deciding to have her breasts reduced in June 2015. Winter told Glamour magazine, “It really did happen overnight, I remember being in my sister’s wedding and being so flat and thinking, I just wish I would grow boobs! And then overnight I did. But then they kept growing and growing and growing, and it didn’t seem like they were going to stop.”

The 5’4 star believes that her assets were distracting, claiming that the attention she had been receiving recently wasn’t about her performance on the show, rather it had been focused on the way she looked on the red carpet.

Winter said, “We live in a day and age where everything you do is so ridiculed. As women in the industry, we are totally over-sexualized and treated like objects. Every article that has to do with me on a red carpet has to do with ‘Ariel Winter’s Crazy Cleavage!’ or ‘Ariel Winter Shows Huge Boobs at an Event!’ And that’s all people would recognize me by.”

On June 4, the California native underwent surgery, reducing the size of her breasts from 32F to a 34D. Although, she kept quiet about the procedure, she did confide in one of her co-stars. Winter said, “I only told Julie Bowen because I had talked to her about my desire to have the surgery. She was really supportive and understanding.”

Winter also said that her TV aunt had a hilarious reaction to her newly reduced assets saying, “I just saw Sofia the other day, and she was like, ‘Oh my God! I love them! They’re great!’ I was like, ‘This is hilarious.'”

The young actress is excited about the upcoming Emmy Awards because she will finally be to choose from all different styles of dresses saying, “I don’t always have to pick the tightest, most formfitting dress I can find. I can pick something else and still feel good about myself. I couldn’t do that before. I’m excited to finally actually feel confident and not just appear confident.”