Alex Dunphy From Modern Family Is Gorgeous In Real Life (& So Different From Her Role)

We'll never forget the magic of "Modern Family," with the lovable Dunphy family at the helm with their on-screen relatives, like Cameron Tucker, Mitchell Pritchett, and, of course, Gloria Delgado-Pritchett. The beloved show introduced us to its stellar cast, most notably Ariel Winter, who played Alex Dunphy, the brainy, overachieving middle child of Phil and Claire Dunphy. She's high-functioning and lovably nerdy on "Modern Family," and much more ambitious than her siblings. On the show, Winter's character embodies these characteristics by wearing statement glasses and toning down her wardrobe, favoring roomy sweaters and simple jeans over the feminine glamor that her superficial sister, Haley, seems to love.

But in real life, Winter opts for a completely different style from her on-screen character. Winter is stunningly beautiful, loves fashion, and can dominate a red carpet. She has passions and hobbies — Winter loves cooking and often shares her masterpieces on social media — but she's much more confident and self-assured than Alex. She's also grown as a celebrity; Winter's undergone a stunning transformation and is in good company with her "Modern Family" castmate, Sarah Hyland, whose transformation is a sight to see. In fact, many of the "Modern Family" stars have changed, as has Sofia Vergara, especially with her commentary on aging and plastic surgery. This cast is in good company, but Winter might be the most shocking of them all, judging by how different she looks in real life. 

Ariel Winter's style is nothing like her "Modern Family" character, Alex Dunphy. Unlike her on-screen persona as a scholarly wallflower, Winter has had a much more corporeal upbringing, staying candid about her journey with her evolving body image. In an op-ed for Today in 2016, Winter wrote that her body transformed almost overnight, and she didn't know how to face the changes. "I suddenly had D-cups and my body was filling out, and it was really hard for me [to] accept a lot of the criticism I faced online," Winter wrote. Thankfully, castmate Sofia Vergara supported her. "I had Sofia Vergara, for one thing," Winter went on. "Growing up working with her was amazing because I got to see how confident she was in her body and how much she embraced her curves." 

While Winter still embraced her own body, she underwent a breast reduction in 2015 because media attention was overly fixated on her body. "Walking down the red carpet and seeing the photos afterward and having every headline be about my cleavage and — not about my talent [...] Not about what I was really there for ... ," Winter shared with Good Morning America as to why she made this decision. The "Modern Family" star did what was best for her, and judging from her active presence on Instagram, she's happy with how she looks.