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Ariel Winter
Ariel Winter PaleyFest 2015 (16859744400).jpg
Winter in 2015
Born
Ariel Winter Workman

(1998-01-28) January 28, 1998 (age 26)
Occupation
  • Actress
  • voice actress
Years active 2002–present
Relatives
  • Shanelle Workman (sister)
  • Jimmy Workman (brother)

Ariel Winter Workman (born January 28, 1998) is an American actress and voice actress. She starred as Alex Dunphy in the ABC comedy series Modern Family, for which she and her co-stars won four consecutive Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy Series. She also voiced the titular character in the Disney Junior show Sofia the First, Gretchen in the Disney Channel and Disney XD show Phineas and Ferb and Penny Peterson in the 2014 animated film Mr. Peabody & Sherman.

Early life

Winter was born on January 28, 1998, the daughter of Chrisoula (née Batistas) and Glenn Workman. Through her mother, she is of Greek descent, and through her father, of German descent. She is the younger sister of actors Shanelle Workman and Jimmy Workman.

Career

Winter obtained her first entertainment industry job in a Cool Whip commercial advertisement in 2002 when she was four years old. She had her first television role in an episode of Listen Up, and followed it with appearances in a variety of television shows such as Freddie, Monk, Bones, and ER.

In the animated children's show Phineas and Ferb, she voiced the character of Gretchen before winning the regular role of Alex Dunphy in the series Modern Family, which premiered in 2009 and ended in 2020. She has continued to work in TV animation, including providing the voice of Marina the Mermaid on Disney Junior's Jake and the Never Land Pirates. In 2012, Winter was cast as Sofia, the lead character in a then-new Disney animated franchise Sofia the First. The series premiered in January 2013 on Disney Junior.

Ariel Winter Emmys 2016
Winter at the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards in September 2016

In 2014, she voiced Penny Peterson, Sherman's adversary turned friend in the DreamWorks Animation film Mr. Peabody and Sherman. She also lent her voice to characters in the animated films, Disney's Bambi II and Blue Sky's Ice Age: The Meltdown.

Winter has appeared in feature films, most notably in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Speed Racer, Duress, and Opposite Day. She also appeared on the Halloween-themed TV film Fred 2: Night of the Living Fred. For her leading role in the film The Chaperone, she was nominated at the Young Artist Awards 2012 as "Best Actress in a Motion Picture".

Personal life

In 2012, Winter's sister Shanelle Workman filed to become her guardian, alleging that their mother had been physically and emotionally abusive. In 2014, the court awarded guardianship to Workman and permanently removed Winter from her mother's guardianship. Their mother later released a statement saying that "the family has moved beyond the conflict".

Winter attended Campbell Hall School in Los Angeles, graduating in June 2016. She was accepted to University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and scheduled to begin there in the fall quarter of 2016. However, she later confirmed that she planned to attend UCLA in fall 2017. On her decision to attend college, she explained, "You gotta have something else you can do. I've always been interested in law, so I think it'll definitely be something that I'll love to do and also go to school for." In 2018, Winter took an indefinite hiatus from UCLA to focus on her work.

Winter is a member of the Greek Orthodox Church.

She dated Canadian actor Levi Meaden for three years; they split in 2019. The couple lived together in Winter’s 3,200-square-foot home in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles. Since 2020, she has been in a relationship with Luke Benward.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2005 Kiss Kiss Bang Bang Young Harmony Faith Lane
2006 Curious George Kid Voice
Bambi II Thumper's Sister
Ice Age: The Meltdown Various characters
2008 One Missed Call Ellie Layton
Speed Racer Young Trixie
Horton Hears a Who! Various characters Voice
2009 Tales from the Catholic Church of Elvis! Little girl
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete Marlene Wallace Voice
Life Is Hot in Cracktown Suzie
Duress Sarah Barnett
Opposite Day Carla Benson
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs Various characters Voice
Afro Samurai: Resurrection Young Sio Voice, English dub
2010 Killers Sadie
Nic & Tristan Go Mega Dega Lisa
DC Showcase: Green Arrow Princess Perdita Voice
2011 Chaperone, TheThe Chaperone Sally
Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension 2nd Dimension Gretchen, additional voices Voice
Fred 2: Night of the Living Fred Talia
2012 Excision Grace
Tad, The Lost Explorer Sarah Lavrof Voice, English dub
ParaNorman Blithe Hollow Kid Voice
Sofia the First: Once Upon a Princess Sofia Voice, television film
2012–2013 Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Carrie Kelley / Robin Voice, direct-to-video
2013 Dora the Explorer and the Destiny Medallion Dora YouTube short film series by CollegeHumor
Scooby-Doo! Stage Fright Chrissy Damon Voice
Sofia the First: The Floating Palace Sofia Voice, television film
Tad, The Lost Explorer Sara Lavrof
2014 Mr. Peabody & Sherman Penny Peterson Voice
2015 Safelight Kate
2016 Elena and the Secret of Avalor Sofia Voice, television film
2017 Smurfs: The Lost Village Smurf Lily Voice
The Last Movie Star Lil

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2005 Listen Up Little Girl Episode: "Last Vegas"
Tickle-U Pipoca Voice
Freddie Hobo Episode: "Halloween"
2006 Monk Donna Cain Episode: "Mr. Monk and the Astronaut"
So NoTORIous Little Tori 5 episodes
Jericho Julie Episode: "Pilot"
Bones Liza Episode: "The Girl with the Curl"
Nip/Tuck Kid Episode: "Reefer"
2007 Crossing Jordan Gwen Episode: "Faith"
Shorty McShorts' Shorts Taffy Voice, episode: "Flip-Flopped"
Criminal Minds Katie Jacobs Episode: "Seven Seconds"
2007–2015 Phineas and Ferb Gretchen, additional voices Voice, recurring role
2008 Ghost Whisperer Natalie Episode: "Imaginary Friends and Enemies"
2009 ER Lucy Moore 5 episodes
Penguins of Madagascar, TheThe Penguins of Madagascar Little Girl Voice, episode: "What Goes Around / Mask of the Raccoon"
2009–2020 Modern Family Alex Dunphy Main cast
2011 Jake and the Never Land Pirates Marina the Mermaid Voice, 15 episodes
Minnie's Bow-Toons Roxie Squirrel Episode: "Pom Pom Problem; Pet Adoption"
WWE Raw Herself Guest star (airdate: February 14)
The Haunting Hour: The Series Jenny Episode: "Fear Never Knocks"
2012 The Haunting Hour: The Series Gracie Episode: "Headshot"
Young Justice Queen Perdita Episode: "Coldhearted"
2013–2018 Sofia the First Sofia Voice, main role
2016 Milo Murphy's Law Jackie Voice, episode: "The Wilder West"
2019 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Raegan James Episode: "The Darkest Journey Home"
Robot Chicken Various characters Voice, episode: "Ginger Hill in: Bursting Pipes"
2020 Elena of Avalor Sofia Voice, episode: "Coronation Day"
2023 Stars on Mars Herself Contestant

Video games

Year Title Role Notes
2010 Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Young Kairi
2012 Final Fantasy XIII-2 Mog
Guild Wars 2 Cassie
2014 Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix Young Kairi Archival footage
2015 Final Fantasy Type-0 HD Moogle
2020 Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory Young Kairi Archival footage
2022 The Quarry Abigail "Abi" Blyg Voice, motion-capture and likeness

Awards and nominations

Screen Actors Guild Awards

Year Category Nominated work Result
2009 Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Modern Family
(shared with Ed O'Neill, Sofía Vergara, Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Eric Stonestreet, Sarah Hyland, Rico Rodriguez, and Nolan Gould)
Nominated
2010 Won
2011 Won
2012 Won
2013 Won
2014 Nominated
2015 Nominated
2016 Nominated

Young Artist Awards

Year Category Nominated work Result Ref.
2010 Outstanding Young Ensemble in a TV Series Modern Family Won
2011 Nominated
2012 Best Leading Young Actress in a Feature Film The Chaperone Nominated

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Ariel Winter para niños

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