She's only 18-years-old, but it seems like Ariel Winter has lived multiple lives—in the media, at least. When she was eleven, the actress started playing the adorably nerdy Alex Dunphy on Modern Family. The show is now in its eighth season, meaning Winter has literally grown-up in the public eye. When puberty hit, and the young star starting looking more like a young woman and less like a little girl, her curves were all anyone wanted to talk about. (A look back at her Instagram during that time is rife with nasty comments from body-shaming haters.) In 2015, Winter decided to get a breast reduction, a decision made for herself, not her critics. Unfortunately, she was quickly chastised for that too, with some saying she didn't make them small enough and others saying she shouldn't show off her scars. A stomach-turning example? "When she thinks she looks good but has really saggy tits," (from an Instagram user's comment on one of the actress's recent posts.) And yet, Winter has gone on bravely, boldly, and with tremendous success. Winter has won seven SAG awards with her castmates for best comedy ensemble; this year, she filmed Dog Years, a forthcoming movie with Burt Reynolds.
That's why it makes perfect sense that she's leading Dove's new #SpeakBeautiful campaign, which aims to provide women and men with resources to arm themselves against online negativity. We sat down with Ariel Winter to find out how she stays confident and deals with the haters every day.
Why was now the right time to join Dove's #SpeakBeautiful campaign?
"For years I’ve been speaking out about body positivity and I’ve been on my own body confidence journey myself. When I saw the Dove self-esteem project, I thought it was such an amazing campaign. I love that it’s not only empowering young men and women to feel good about themselves, but it's also teaching parents and teachers to help their kids and students speak beautiful online. It’s so inline with what I’ve been trying to convey for years. We live in such a negative world online. It's hard to grow up in that."
The comments on your Instagram are often really mean. You've said in the past that you're trying not to read them. How is that going?
"I used to read all the comments on my Twitter and Instagram and they were really, really nasty. When I was younger I would get depressed about it and try to change the way I look, the way I said things and did things, so people would accept me. It never happened. I got hate for everything. I got to a point where I’m doing what makes me happy. When I post a photo, if I look good and I’m happy with it, I’m going to post it. I don’t really look at the comments anymore. I feel great in my photos and that’s what matters. I have enough confidence to understand that the most important relationship is the one I have with myself."
I'm sure it's still a bit of a struggle. It's hard for everyone, famous or not.
"It still can be a constant struggle! I just remind myself that this is who I am. I’m beautiful the way I am. My sister was a great role model [growing up]. She always felt confident regardless if she was going to the grocery store in socks and flip-flops or if she was going to an event in a ball gown. It was important for me to see that. And it rubbed off on me. I do my best to speak beautifully with myself. That’s what I love about this campaign. Speaking beautifully to yourself helps you speak beautifully to others. We’re the worst on ourselves."
My Look: Model Paloma Elsesser:
Do you feel like a role model?
"I think 'role model' is a weird word. People used to think you had to be perfect to be a role model. I think the real role models are the ones who are real and truly themselves. You show people that you have flaws and are working on them, or you've overcome them and are helping other people work through theirs. That’s the kind of role model I aspire to be. I’ve had a lot of really great role models that have showed me I can be myself no matter what I’m doing, no matter what I’m wearing. Working with Dove, I get to hear amazing stories and help people live their lives, [instead of being] surrounded by so much hate and judgement all the time."
I feel like that's a very girl boss approach to life. How do you define a girl boss?
"Someone who doesn’t care what people think. They do what makes them happy, they wear what makes them happy. I love that now we have a woman running for president, we have women doing everything. It’s really amazing to see people standing up and saying, 'I’m going to be who I want to be. I’m going to say what I want.' That’s really special: Realizing you don’t need to be someone else to please other people definitely [makes someone] a boss."
Okay, let's talk get off topic a bit because there are some random things I want to know. I love your outfit today. What are some of your favorite trends to wear right now?
Getty Images for Dove
"I love bodysuits. I’m a fan of the shorts, bodysuit and heels look right now. I recently discovered chokers and I love them. I don’t know how I didn’t discover them before. I’m also a huge fan of over-the-knee boots. I never thought I could wear them, but I found a Stuart Weitzman pair that fit great and I love them. I’ll try anything."
And lastly, what is something you wish people knew about you?
"I’m a boss at poker. It’s such a fun game. I’ve been playing since I was a kid, and people would think it's this girl playing at the table and I would be like, 'Hey, I took half your chips. Peace out everyone.'"
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