Actress Ariel Winter arrives at the People Magazine Awards in Beverly Hills, California
Actress Ariel Winter has revealed that she recently had breast reduction surgery. Here, she arrives at the People Magazine Awards in Beverly Hills, California December 18, 2014. Reuters/Danny Moloshok

“Modern Family” star Ariel Winter has had a breast reduction surgery at 17. The teenage TV superstar made the decision to go under the knife in June. After fully recovering, she is finally speaking up about years of dealing with neck and back issues due to her large and heavy assets.

Winter opened up to Glamour magazine about her decision to reduce the size of her breasts and the years of difficulties she faced. She also spoke about how wonderful she feels after the procedure.

The 17-year-old actress went down to a 32D after living with a 32F chest for years. She said that while playing her role as Alex Dunphy in the hit ABC comedy series, she frequently had to be strapped down. Her wardrobe also included a lot of sweaters and other similar garments in order to suit her role.

Alex is the second child of Claire (Julie Bowen) and Phil Dunphy (Ty Burell) in the hit ABC series "Modern Family." Her older sister in the show, Haley Dunphy (Sarah Hyland), is supposed to be the attractive, sexy and seductive daughter. Alex is the sensible, super-smart over-achiever. She doesn’t care too much about her looks nor her social life.

Winter’s large breasts reportedly made it difficult for the show’s wardrobe crew, who needed to make her look like a nerd. In real life, she told Glamour about dealing with the situation as well. "It started to hurt so bad that I couldn’t take the pain,” she said.

Luckily, she didn’t have to deal with the problem alone. She revealed that she came from a family of women who had the same problem, and many of her cousins have had the surgery before her. This reportedly made it easier and the decision didn’t come as a shock to her family members.

As for her on-screen family, she revealed that she told her “Modern Family” mom Julie Bowen about the surgery. Bowen was supportive since she had always known about Winter’s issues. After six seasons of working together, Winter and the rest of the kids in the show were practically raised by the adult cast members.

After the Glamour article came out, Winter also posted a short message of thanks on her Instagram page. “HUGE thanks go to the people who support me, love me, and take care of me in every way possible,” she said.

Contact the writer at feedback@ibtimes.com.au or leave a comment below.