Mom of 'Modern Family' teen star accused of abuse
LOS ANGELES (AP) - The mother of "Modern Family" star Ariel Winter has temporarily lost custody of the actress amid claims she's been physically and emotionally abusive to the teenager, court records show.
The allegations are contained in a guardianship petition filed last month in Los Angeles by Winter's 34-year-old sister, Shanelle. A judge ordered the 14-year-old's mother, Chrisoula Workman, to stay away and have no contact with her daughter until a Nov. 20 hearing. Winter's sister, also a TV actress, was appointed as a temporary guardian but does not have access to Winter's earnings, according to the judge's order.
Winter, who started acting in films and TV shows at age 7, currently plays Alex Dunphy on the hit ABC comedy.
Winter's mother was accused in the filings of "ongoing physical abuse" described as slapping and hitting, as well as name-calling and personal insults. Reached by phone, Workman said she was in the process of hiring an attorney.
An independent attorney has been appointed to oversee Winter's interests in the case.
Attorneys handling the guardianship had sought to transfer control of the young star's earnings from an account her mother can access to a blocked account. A judge did not grant that request, but it may be renewed at a later date.
Winter has appeared in several TV series, including "ER" and "Phineas and Ferb," and movies such as "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang," ''Ice Age: The Meltdown" and "ParaNorman."
The filing was first reported by celebrity website TMZ.
The allegations are contained in a guardianship petition filed last month in Los Angeles by Winter's 34-year-old sister, Shanelle. A judge ordered the 14-year-old's mother, Chrisoula Workman, to stay away and have no contact with her daughter until a Nov. 20 hearing. Winter's sister, also a TV actress, was appointed as a temporary guardian but does not have access to Winter's earnings, according to the judge's order.
Winter, who started acting in films and TV shows at age 7, currently plays Alex Dunphy on the hit ABC comedy.
Winter's mother was accused in the filings of "ongoing physical abuse" described as slapping and hitting, as well as name-calling and personal insults. Reached by phone, Workman said she was in the process of hiring an attorney.
An independent attorney has been appointed to oversee Winter's interests in the case.
Attorneys handling the guardianship had sought to transfer control of the young star's earnings from an account her mother can access to a blocked account. A judge did not grant that request, but it may be renewed at a later date.
Winter has appeared in several TV series, including "ER" and "Phineas and Ferb," and movies such as "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang," ''Ice Age: The Meltdown" and "ParaNorman."
The filing was first reported by celebrity website TMZ.
Discipline by slapping or hitting at this age is not discipline, it is abuse.  We're not talking a about a spank to get some attention.  It doesn't matter how the kid acts.  I would always council dialog over a smack down or even a dirty look.  Sound too soft, try it.  Be consistent from the get-go and see what happens.
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I would really like to know the whole situation before saying this was abuse. The girl is 14 and I know that teenagers can have no respect and with her being a star did it go to her head, and disrespect her mom to get slap. Did the 14 year old want to dress all trashy and the mom said she looks like a trashy s**t? Did the 14 year old bad month her mom to her sister and made herself look good? Now the sister has her. OR did the mom really do all of this stuff out of anger?Â
Have to wonder if the sister would have fought for custody if her sister wasn't $$$$.
She's 14?!? Sheesh... doesn't quite look like it in that picture, I had to Wikipedia that one... true. Now I feel like an old dirty man.
 @Ron Burgandy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnpTcrtsN3U here ya go :D i love this video.
 @Ron Burgandy I know there is such things as growing up too fast ... shining example here -_-
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 @Ron Burgandy I swear, over the past year this girl has definitely grown up.  The show is going to have a real issue playing that down with her character.  She did a really funny video as a real life Dora the Explorer, you should check it out.