Ariel Winter has grown up in the media, starring in the critically acclaimed hit television show, "Modern Family," from age 11 to 17. The child actress recently revealed to Glamour why she underwent breast reduction surgery at such an early age.
Winter disclosed her thoughts on the perception of women in the media, saying they are always objectified and she felt the same, even as an underage pre-teen. In order to combat the emotional and physical pain associated with her breasts, she publicly announced her dramatic change in cup size.
The 17-year-old revealed she endured back pain from her size 34F breasts and often found herself "hunched over" on set because she could not stand any longer: "It started to hurt so bad that I couldn't take the pain."
Winter comes from a long line of large-chested women and admitted many of her family members were not surprised by her decision to go under the knife. "A few of my cousins have had breast reductions, so it wasn't a shock when I decided to get one," she said.
The young actress had her breasts reduced to a 34D on Jun. 4.
In the interview, Winter also touched on the cyberbullying she endured and how acting helped her get through it.
"The Internet bullies are awful. I could post a photo where I feel good, and 500 people will comment about how fat I am and that I am disgusting," she confessed. "I definitely seemed confident; I'm an actress, that's what we do. But on the inside, I wasn't feeling so happy."
The "Modern Family" star said she felt her breasts shadowed her talent. "That's pretty much all I was known for and that upset me," she said. "It made me feel really uncomfortable because 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 always had to do with 'Ariel Winter's Crazy Cleavage!' Or 'Ariel Winter Shows Huge Boobs At An Event!'" she continued. "That's all people would recognize me by, not, 'Oh, she does great work on 'Modern Family'.'"
Winter made it clear she did not get the breast reduction, solely based on cyberbullies or the pain, but for herself. "It's amazing to finally feel right," she added. "This is how I was supposed to be."