'We should all be happy to be different': Ariel Winter stuns in unretouched photoshoot

Ariel Winter is opening up about her struggle with self confidence in a revealing new interview.

The 21-year-old “Modern Family” star posed for an unretouched photoshoot and interview with Pulse Spikes magazine.

Winter, who has starred on the hit TV series for 10 seasons, has lived most of her life in front of the camera. Although she has reaped the rewards of a lucrative career, Winter has also had to face her fair share of criticism.

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The actress admitted to worrying what was being said about her online during her high school years, even going so far as to try and change herself to avoid criticism.

“Nobody thought anything better of me, the criticism didn’t stop, nobody was ever going to be happy with the way I looked. So I realized that It didn’t matter…” she said. “The only person that matters is me because I’m the only one who has to live with me.”

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From her choice in clothes to her weight, Winter said she tries not to let trolls on social media get to her.

“These people don’t know me; they know what they see on the internet. You can’t change the way you look in a major way. You are who you are, and there’s no problem with that,” she explained. “We are always harder on ourselves than we need to be. And I also think that sometimes we think people are criticizing us, but in reality, we are just doing it to ourselves. Taking time to think about that and understand what is going on and why you feel that way, instead of brushing it aside, is important. Why live hating yourself when there is no real reason to?”

Despite being young in years, the actress has words of wisdom for other women struggling with their own self-esteem. The most important thing, she says, is to embrace your own unique beauty.

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“When we see Victoria’s Secret models, they are beautiful! There’s no reason we should hate on them. We are not going to look like that person, nor do we need to,” Winter said. “There is nothing better than looking like yourself and being unique…We all have our different strengths, and so much makes up a person. Our features are not the only things that matter in life. Everyone’s idea of beauty is different. It doesn’t matter if you think one person’s beauty is the beauty you think every person should be. We should all be happy to be different.”

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