Ariel Winter on Learning to Love Her Curves: ‘This Is Who I Am, and I Love It’
Do you hear that body-shamers? Ariel Winter has nothing but love for her shapely silhouette.
“I was very insecure when I was younger because I did grow up in the public eye,” the actress told reporters about learning to accept her body at Entertainment Weekly’s Pre-Emmy Party (sponsored by L'Oreal) on Friday in Los Angeles.
“But then as I got older, I was surrounded by people like Sofia Vergara, and people who were curvier like me and were proud of it. And who were showing it off. That really helped me to move forward and be proud of my body,” she says.
Winter, 18, has not only come to love her figure but also defend it. In June the actress took to social media in defense of a form-fitting pink dress she donned for her high school graduation party when online commentators criticized not only her outfit, but her body.
The star didn’t hesitate to shoot back. “Dear sorry body-shamers, I looked HOT in that dress,” she wrote on Twitter. “And if you hate it, don’t buy it. But please get a hobby. XOXO Ariel #EmbraceYourBody.”
And Winter has been embracing and celebrating her body all summer. She posed nude in the bathtub while on set for her new film Dog Years in June, posted a sexy bikini shot on the Fourth of July, shared a behind-the-scenes topless photo of her back tattoo from a magazine shoot in August, and braved the end of summer heat in a strappy chest-baring army green swimsuit.
“It was definitely a journey for me to learn to accept my body,” says Winter. “I finally said to myself, ‘This is who I am. There’s no way I’m changing, and I should learn to love and accept it. And I did. It just took me awhile.”
Winter’s shape does inform her fashion choices, however. While describing her pretty LBD at Friday’s event, she told reporters that it showcases what needs to be showcased.”
“Sometimes it’s either the boobs, sometimes it’s the legs,” she explained. “You’ve got to pick one. When you’re a curvy girl, one’s got to be out.”
However, she did admit that red carpets can be “nerve-wracking.”
“They are so nerve-wracking because there’s lights everywhere, and sometimes I’ll like turn and be talking and I’ll see a photo the next day and I’ll be like, ‘Aaaah’ , and being crazy,” she said. “So it’s definitely interesting, but it’s a lot of fun. I’m really lucky at the age I am to be able to be here and to be doing what I love.”•
Reporting by REAGAN ALEXANDER
