Inside Ariel Winter's Full Life Away From Hollywood

After spending a decade playing Alex Dunphy and basically growing up on the set of Modern Family, Ariel Winter has spent the past few years leaning into the most important role of her life.

"I only felt recently like I found my purpose," the actress and activist told E! News in October when she was honored with the Legacy Youth Leadership Award at the 4th Annual Legacy Ball. "As a kid, I wanted to be a doctor, then a lawyer—and now here I am an entertainer. So I can use that platform to help people, but that's just kind of always been my vibe."

What wasn't ever really her vibe, however, was Los Angeles, despite it being where it all started for the Virginia native as an entertainer, booking her first commercial at 4 and making her movie debut at 7.

Even being on a hit sitcom had its downsides, Winter's fame ensuring that her personal family drama—including becoming legally emancipated at 17—was well-documented. And as she said on her Modern Family mom Julie Bowen's podcast Quitters in 2022, she really didn't like having her "space invaded" by paparazzi.

"I don't like pictures of me when I haven't signed up for pictures of me," Winter explained. "I don't like feeling watched. I've always just wanted to live a very, very normal life."

But it wasn't until after Modern Family ended in 2020 that she realized her platform was mobile.

That wasn't a realization that came easily, either, Winter telling E! in October that she always admired "people that go away for college and have to start all over, new friends, new life, new place," but never considered herself brave enough to make such a move herself.

She wanted to leave L.A., she said, "but I just was nervous. And then this opportunity presented itself and I was like, You know what? I'm in a season of change, and I'm really trying to heal and grow and evolve, and maybe this is it. Maybe this is what I need to propel myself forward."

So in 2022, she sold her house and hit the road with boyfriend Luke Benward and an Escalade full of dogs. (Their latest batch of Christmas photos shows a family of eight: two humans and six fur babies.)

Hence Winter celebrating her 27th birthday on Jan. 28 many miles away from where she started, literally and figuratively.

"Moving has been an amazing change, and I have really been able to jump into a whole lot of things that I don't think I would have tried before," she said. "It's opened up my world a lot."

Not that she felt closed off before, exactly. "It's a mindset," she added, "moving and starting anew."

And supporting her every step of the way has been Benward, her longtime pal turned boyfriend of five years and counting.

"If you have that foundation, you really can weather a lot of storms," Winter told E!, referring to the "best friendship" that serves as the bedrock of their romance. Which didn't mean they'd had that many storms. Rather, she stressed, "I'm saying that life throws a ton of things at you, nothing is a fairy tale, a happily ever after."

And, she continued, "It's respect, it's work. You can't just love somebody."

At the same time, Winter added, "I just love him. And whatever the future is for us, it is for us. We got our dog-kids and we love our life here. It's been great." (And for the online critics who expressed concern last year that Winter's household was looking a tad patriarchal, 'cause she called Benward nicknames like "grill daddy," she clapped back on TikTok, "He's a great man, and if he wasn't, the dogs would take his ass outside.")

Meanwhile, the much-needed change of scenery did not mean that Winter—who shared in four SAG Award wins with the Modern Family cast for best performance by an ensemble in a comedy series—was putting acting behind her, though she was warned that moving could take its toll on her career.

"It was like, 'Oh, so you're done,'" she recalled hearing. "Like, 'You're not going to work again, that's great, so you're done in the entertainment industry.'"

But, Winter said, "It hasn't ruined anything for my work." 

Since the pandemic, "nothing's in person anymore," she noted. "I can do anything I want, anywhere. And so it's been beautiful to be able to do that, do new things, do everything, wherever I want to be."

That has included doing voice work—she's bringing the beloved titular Disney Jr. princess back in a new series, Sofia the First: Royal Magic, much to the delight of her eight nieces—producing and using her spacious kitchen to shoot mouth-watering cooking demos she posts on social media.

And in addition to the activism that landed her on a podium at the Legacy Ball being honored by Benward and fellow Modern Family alum Nolan Gould, she's been working on the upcoming docuseries SOSA Undercover, about the nonprofit SOSA's efforts to combat online child sex abuse and trafficking.

"I am just so proud of this freakin’ team and to be a part of something so impactful," Winter posted on Instagram Jan. 13. "It was harder than I thought [to participate] because it brings up so much from childhood, but it also heals a little bit of my inner child knowing that what we’re doing may prevent just one kid from experiencing that kind of trauma. I’m just grateful."

As she told E!, "2025 is going to be the year for me that I really put myself out there and have that confidence. I'm ready to go. It's girl power. I'm ready to vibe. Let's go, it's time."

And Winter's not the only one making the most of her post-Hollywood chapter. See more stars thriving in alternate surroundings:

The Ellen DeGeneres Show host's eponymous talk show ended in 2022 after a 19-season run amid allegations of a toxic work environment that prompted an internal investigation, multiple firings of executives and public ire.

The Finding Dory actress returned to the spotlight for her final  standup special For Your Approval, which released on Netflix in September 2024. During the lead up to that special, she revealed she would be leaving Hollywood altogether.

“This is the last time you’re going to see me,” she told a crowd during her “Ellen’s Last Stand…Up” tour, per SFGate. “After my Netflix special, I’m done.”

Ellen and her wife Portia de Rossi have since moved to England, reportedly in response to Donald Trump’s 2024 election win, according to multiple outlets. 

After appearing in such projects as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and 2000's Bring It On, Eliza revealed in September 2024 that she had become certified in psychedelic-assisted therapy and is furthering her studies as a mental health professional.

“I had the means to shift directions and choose a course in my life that focused on healing myself so that I could help heal others,” she told Boston Magazine. “I would be remiss if I didn’t now share the transformation and the peace and the passion that I have. This is just absolutely so clearly my real calling, my real purpose.”

The Ant-Man and the Wasp star announced she's taking an indefinite hiatus from acting after 20 years in the industry.

"I am so filled with joy and contentment today as I live out my vision," Evangeline wrote on Instagram in June 2024. "I feel so grateful for my blessings. Stepping away from what seems like the obvious choice (wealth and fame) can feel scary at times, but stepping into your dharma replaces the fear with fulfillment."

But she isn't necessarily shutting the door, either, adding, "I might return to Hollywood one day, but, for now, this is where I belong."

The Vampire Diaries alum hasn't sunk his teeth into a new role since Netflix's 2019 series V-Wars. Instead, the dad of two (with wife Nikki Reed) has dug a little deeper into a passion project, namely his mission to combat climate change by improving the world's soil.

"I stepped away from acting a little over four years ago to raise my kids, build my companies and get these films launched," Somerhalder told E! News in November 2023 of launching the 2020 documentary Kiss the Ground and its follow up Common Ground, each detailing the need for regenerative farming.

When he looks years down the road, he continued, "I will be a rancher and building legacy brands, whether it's my bourbon or my health and wellness company, and the regenerative agriculture and healthy soil management practices that I live by and our family lives by. That's where my life was going. So when people say 'Why do you care?' That's why I care. Because that's who I am, that's what I'm going to become."

On a February 2021 episode of her podcast Empty Inside, the iCarly alum told guest Anna Faris that she decided to stop acting a few years back and is now focused on opportunities in writing and directing, in addition to hosting the podcast.

"My experience with acting is, I'm so ashamed of the parts I've done in the past," revealed Jennette, who detailed her experience in her 2022 memoir I'm Glad My Mom Died. "I resent my career in a lot of ways. I feel so unfulfilled by the roles that I played and felt like it was the most cheesy, embarrassing. I did the shows that I was on from like 13 to 21, and by 15, I was already embarrassed. My friends at 15, they're not like, 'Oh, cool, you're on this Nickelodeon show.' It was embarrassing."

Though she hasn't totally written off a second act. "I do feel like only through writing the book have I gotten to a place where I think there might be a way of exploring acting that doesn't carry that baggage that I carried with me for so long," she told E! News in October 2022. "Maybe if I write something for myself. I think that'd really be maybe one of the only ways I could kind of try exploring it again."

This felt like something of a no-brainer. If we had a shot to marry Prince Harry, dedicate our life to the philanthropic causes that matter most to us and gain access to the Queen's impressive collection of tiaras, bidding ta-ta to Tinseltown would feel like an okay sacrifice.

Following in the path Grace Kelly took from Hollywood to the Palace of Monaco, Markle left behind her home in Toronto—and her breakout role on Suits—for a life in The Firm. Though, now that she and Harry have shed their senior roles, she's edging back into the business thanks to business moves like their multi-year production deal with Netflix. 

Having made upwards of 40 movies since her debut in 1994's The Mask, the actress was long overdue for a break when filming wrapped on 2014's Annie.

"I just decided that I wanted different things out of my life," she explained to pal Gwyneth Paltrow of her ultimate act of self-care. "I had gone so hard for so long, working, making films and it's such a grind. When you're making a movie—it's a perfect excuse—they own you. You're there for 12 hours a day for months on end and you have no time for anything else."

And there was plenty more she'd like to explore, from writing (she followed up her 2013 New York Times best-seller The Body Book with 2016's The Longevity Book) to starting a family with husband Benji Madden. But while she confessed to InStyle in 2019, "I don't miss performing. Right now I'm looking at the landscape of wellness and all that," apparently she could be swayed into making at least one encore.

"We just begged and pleased on my knees, like, 'Just give the people one more again,'" Jamie Foxx told E! News of getting Diaz to sign on for the upcoming Netflix film Back in Action. "We love her, we've been waiting on her and this is just gonna be fantastic."

The actor insisted there'd be no encore after he finished his five-year run on Empire. When Extra asked the Oscar nominee about his future ahead of the musical drama series' sixth and final season in 2019, he responded, "Oh, I'm done with acting. I'm done pretending."

And though he returned to set for a handful of projects, he again announced his plans to quit acting while promoting his Peacock series The Best Man: The Final Chapters in 2022. "I've gotten to the point where now I've given the very best that I have as an actor," he told ET. "Now I'm enjoying watching other new talent come around, and I don't want to do an impersonation of myself."

Despite these comments, though, Howard has since returned to appear in a few projects, including the TV series Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist and Netflix film Shirley, with multiple projects lined up in the future.

Once his time as King Joffrey came to a sudden, purple-faced end in 2014, the then-21-year-old told EW he was getting out of the game. "I've been acting since age 8," the Game of Thrones star explained of his decision. "I just stopped enjoying it as much as I used to."

No longer a child star, a bit of the magic had worn off. "Now there's the prospect of doing it for a living, whereas up until now it was always something I did for recreation with my friends, or in the summer for some fun," he continued. "I enjoyed it. When you make a living from something, it changes your relationship with it. It's not like I hate it, it's just not what I want to do."

But after a six-year break, he was ready to resume his reign, joining the cast of BBC's series Out of Her Mind in 2020. 

When Fast Times at Ridgemont High's dream girl (Jennifer Aniston took on her part in September 2020's virtual table read) wed fellow actor Kevin Kline in 1989, they "agreed to alternate so that we're never working at the same time," he told Playboy of their plan to care for son Owen and daughter Greta (a singer who now goes by the stage name Frankie Cosmos).

However, he continued, "whenever it's been her slot to work, Phoebe has chosen to stay with the children." Though she made a cameo in pal Jennifer Jason Leigh's 2001 indie The Anniversary Party, Cates devotes most of her time to operating her New York City boutique Blue Tree. 

At the height of his Ghostbusters and Honey, I... fame, the '80s star stepped away from filmmaking not long after his wife passed away from breast cancer in 1991 to focus on raising his kids Rachel and Mitchell. 

Though he hasn't had a live-action role since 1997, even passing on a cameo in Paul Feig's 2016 Ghostbusters remake, he's remained a treasured cultural icon, as evidenced by the outrage over reports that he'd been assaulted while walking in New York City Oct. 1.

Thankfully there's good news for fans: he'll make his triumphant return alongside Josh Gad in the forthcoming Disney reboot Shrunk.

Once she wed fashion designer Adam Kimmel in 2010, the Never Been Kissed standout hinted that she was maybe kinda done with movies. "Ninety percent of acting roles involve so much sexual stuff with other people, and I don't want to do that," she explained to Vogue. "It's such a strange fire to play with, and our relationship is surely strong enough to handle it, but if you're going to walk through fire, there has to be something incredible on the other side."

Her decision was solidified after son Martin joined older sister Louisanna in 2014. "I don't do movie stuff anymore. I am totally an outsider! I … am just a mom and an outsider," she noted to Us Weekly at a 2016 event, explaining that she helps Kimmel with his business and paints on the side. "I am just focused on my kids. I think that's mainly why I stopped." 

She'd done Ally McBeal. And Nip/Tuck. Then Arrested Development and finally Scandal when the Aussie realized that maybe she was ready to turn the dial. 

"I was approaching 45 and I just kind of…was wondering is there something that I could tackle now that I've never done before that would be really challenging and different," she explained on wife Ellen DeGeneres' eponymous talk show in 2018. "I kind of knew what acting would look like for me for the next 10, 20 years, so I decided to quit and start a business."

Her consumer-art company, General Public, already a work in progress, she had just one piece to finish. 

"I called Mitch Hurwitz, who's the creator of Arrested Development and I said, 'If there is a season 5, I won't be doing it because I quit acting. And he seemed really understanding and he totally got it. We had a great conversation, and then he wrote me into five episodes."

To be fair, once you've won three Academy Awards, what's left to accomplish? Shortly after receiving his sixth Oscar nod for his final film, 2017's Phantom Thread, the thespian had his rep issue a statement informing fans that he "will no longer be working as an actor. He is immensely grateful to all of his collaborators and audiences over the many years. This is a private decision and neither he nor his representatives will make any further comment on this subject."

But just when he thought he was out, his son pulled him back in, production company Focus Features announcing in October 2024 that the Oscar winner would star in Anemone, the film he wrote alongside son Ronan Day-Lewis, who will also direct.

The Good Luck Charlie alum took a step back from the spotlight in 2018 when she began pursuing a master's degree from MIT, later earning a PhD from the institution. She's also pursuing a law degree from Harvard Law School.

And as if that weren't enough, Bridgit also launched her own startup Northwood Space, which aims to build ground satellite stations to help send and receive data from space, becoming CEO of the brand in February 2023. 

—Reporting by Sasha Wayman