India, July 11 -- American actor Ariel Winter is speaking out about a disturbing part of her childhood in the spotlight - receiving inappropriate messages from adult men while still a minor. In an with British tabloid The Daily Mail, the 27-year-old revealed, "I don't wanna say too much about it, but by the time I was on a laptop and cell phone, I was getting inappropriate messages from older men. And it caused trauma."

Ariel was just 11 years old when she began her role as Alex Dunphy on Modern Family, a sitcom that became a massive hit over its 11-season run. While the show brought her fame and recognition, Ariel said, it also exposed her to darker elements of the industry - and the internet - at a very young age.

Though she was surro...