Ariel Winter

A child star with a strong screen presence, Ariel Winter played the younger versions of Tori Spelling on the misbegotten "reality" show "So noTORIous" (VH1, 2006) and Christina Ricci in the feature film "Speed Racer" (2008) and essayed the terrifying ghost at the heart of "One Missed Call" (2008). She broke through as Alex, the brainy middle Dunphy child, on "Modern Family" (ABC, 2009- ), where she proved herself adept at both comedy and drama. A heavily in-demand voiceover actress as well, Winter could be heard on "Phineas and Ferb" (Disney Channel, 2007-15) and "Jake and the Never Land Pirates" (Disney Junior, 2011- ), but she earned an even more massive profile boost as the voice of Disney's "Sofia the First: Once Upon a Princess" (2012). Hardworking and grounded, Ariel Winter seemed to set herself apart from her wilder peers by her focus on work and family life as a "regular" kid, as much as that was possible for a burgeoning talent.

Born Jan. 28, 1998 in Los Angeles, Ariel Winter Workman appeared in the Robert Downey, Jr. film, "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" (2005), voiced Thumper's sister in "Bambi II" (2006), and essayed the younger version of Tori Spelling on the short-lived quasi-reality show, "So noTORIous" (VH1, 2006). Working steadily, she booked roles on "Bones" (Fox, 2005- ), "Nip/Tuck" (FX, 2003-10) and "Criminal Minds" (CBS, 2005- ), as well as earning high-profile film roles as the murderous ghost who seeks revenge for her own death in the horror film "One Missed Call" (2008) and the younger version of Christina Ricci in the Wachowski Brother's "Speed Racer" (2008).

Winter recurred on "ER" (NBC, 1994-2009) as a young woman whose mother is in desperate need of a heart transplant, but landed her star-making role as middle child Alex Dunphy, daughter of Claire (Julie Bowen) and Phil (Ty Burrell) on the Emmy-winning smash "Modern Family" (ABC, 2009- ). Playing the highly intelligent but socially awkward and secretly vulnerable Alex, Winter won over fans and critics alike for both her comic and dramatic abilities. She went on to win a Young Artist Award as well as shared several Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble with her co-stars.

Voiceover work proved very lucrative as well for the actress, who lent her pipes to everything from "Horton Hears a Who!" (2008) and "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" (2009), to the "Kingdom Hearts" video game series to "Phineas and Ferb" (Disney Channel, 2007-15), "Jake and the Never Land Pirates" (Disney Junior, 2011- ) and "ParaNorman" (2012). She landed a supporting role in the Katherine Heigl/Ashton Kutcher action comedy "Killers" (2010) and the Eddie Murphy comedy "A Thousand Words" (2012) as well as appearing repeatedly on "R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour" (The Hub, 2010-14).

She made headlines when she was chosen to voice the titular young royal in Disney's animated "Sofia the First: Once Upon a Princess" (2012), the first in a massive planned franchise and the newest addition to the pantheon of Disney Princesses. Winter made unfortunate news in November of that year when she was reportedly removed from her home the month prior after her mother, Chrisoula Workman, was accused of child abuse. Only days later, Child Protective Services recommended that her older sister, Shanelle Gray, retain guardianship of Winter and that her mother be prohibited from any unsupervised contact with her daughter. By Jonathan Riggs