Ariel Winter Says Sofia Vergara Helped Her Accept Her Amazing Curves

Ariel Winter is opening up more about the importance of body positivity.

The 18-year-old actress struggled with those very issues growing up, but found a place of acceptance.

“It’s been a long journey. I started in the industry when I was 4 years old, but I started in the spotlight when I was 11 years old, when I got Modern Family,” Ariel told New York Magazine. “I remember being completely flat everywhere � I had no curves, and I was getting hate for that. But then, when I was 12, my body changed, and I had boobs and a butt and these new curves. At first I was like, ‘Oh, wow, I like this,’ but soon pictures started surfacing of me online and I got the worst comments. I was called fat and ugly and a slut and all the worst possible things. It was really, really hard for me.”

She continued, “So for years, when I was younger, I would try to change the way I looked. I would do these weird crash diets and I wanted to changed the way I dressed so people would like me on social media, and it never worked. It was always like, no matter what I did, I was always getting this negative, negative, negative backlash. After a while I was kind of like, if I can’t please them in any way, I might as well just start doing what makes me happy.”

“Working with Sofia Vergara and growing up with her was great, because she was, you know, a really amazing, curvy role model for me,” Ariel added. “She helped me learn to accept the way I looked and love it and dress for it, and feel good about myself…That was really incredible for me to see. Over the years it was really depressing for me to feel that way, looking back on it, the way I felt about myself and trying to change the way I was. But when I started to accept it and move on, and realize the most important relationship I had was with myself, things really started to change for me.”

Ariel is such an inspiration for all of us!