Ariel Winter, who played Alex Dunphy in "Modern Family," is reflecting on the way that body shaming comments damaged her self-esteem.

The actress, who publicly endured family strife and endless bullying online as a child star, has found joy and a new sense of purposeAriel Winter opens up about her decision to move out of her hometown of Los Angeles in PEOPLE's latest cover story Winter says she's still very much involved in acting and producing,

Ariel Winter has been acting since the age of four and is best known for playing Alex Dunphy in Modern Family. Her experience as a child star who is still acting today is unique because she left Tinseltown behind by moving to Virginia.