Modern Family made her famous, but could Sarah Hyland's legacy be in vitamin-infused chocolates? It's a side project the former sitcom star is passionate about, for an unexpected reason.
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00:00Modern Family made her famous, but could Sarah Hyland's legacy be in vitamin-infused chocolates?
00:05It's a side project the former sitcom star is passionate about for an unexpected reason.
00:10Although Sarah Hyland has previously said she has almost nothing in common with Hayley,
00:15her Modern Family character, they do share an affinity for fashion.
00:18As Hyland told Vanity Fair,
00:20"'As I get older, I'm becoming more like Hayley, where I really am starting to appreciate fashion.'"
00:25And for a brief period of her career, Hyland had the opportunity to design clothing her
00:29self.
00:30In 2016, Hyland was not only asked to join the list of celebrities modeling and promoting
00:35Kandi's clothing line, she also became the first celebrity to hold a leadership role
00:39in the company, when she was appointed creative director of the junior brand.
00:43"'Hi, this is Sarah Hyland taking you behind the scenes at my Kandi's photo shoot available
00:47at Kohl's."
00:48Katie Reeves, a representative of Kandi's parent company, told Women's Wear Daily,
00:53"'We've normally just had a face for the brand, but we've evolved Sarah's role into a more
00:57integrated one because she's a fashion authority in her own right, and we're excited that she
01:02can lend that to Kandi's.'"
01:04Hyland was featured in Kandi's ad campaigns from 2016 to 2018, and she also helped design
01:10various items for Kandi's clothing line, an experience that has been surreal for her.
01:14She told the Daily Mail,
01:15"'It's so crazy to see something go from a sketch to actually in Kohl's.'"
01:21In an interview with Self, Hyland opened up about her history with medical problems.
01:25"'I've always had health issues, and it's a really helpless feeling.'"
01:30The actor estimates that she has gotten at least 16 surgeries in her lifetime.
01:35Ever since birth, Hyland has experienced kidney dysplasia, and her kidney problems were present
01:40even as she was working on early seasons of Modern Family.
01:43In fact, she was so exhausted during certain episodes that she doesn't even remember filming
01:48them.
01:49In 2012, she started to experience kidney failure, so her father donated a kidney to
01:53her.
01:55Meanwhile, it seemed like Hyland was recovering.
01:56Yet in 2016, her body's immune system began attacking the kidney her father had donated.
02:01The actor spent several months on dialysis, and when she needed another kidney transplant,
02:06her younger brother stepped forward to donate.
02:09However, complications required her to get two more surgeries in 2018 to treat her endometriosis
02:15and an abdominal hernia.
02:17Thankfully, Hyland's second kidney transplant was successful, and she is now able to go
02:21horseback riding and resume other physical activities that she couldn't do while she
02:25was recovering.
02:26But her health journey is far from over.
02:28Hyland's endometriosis is still an ongoing condition, and the scars on her abdomen will
02:33be with her for the rest of her life.
02:35She told Refinery29,
02:36"...having scars and going through a lot of medical issues has only made me stronger."
02:40Unfortunately, Hyland's health concerns mean that she has endured constant public scrutiny.
02:46For instance, when she was seen with curly hair, as opposed to the straighter style Hayley
02:50usually wore on Modern Family, some fans immediately jumped to the conclusion that
02:54she had gotten a perm.
02:56Hyland needed to explain that it was her natural hair, and the real reason it looked different
03:00in Modern Family was because she wore extensions to hide potential side effects of her medications.
03:06Hyland has also faced more toxic comments.
03:08When it appeared as if she had lost weight, some internet trolls accused her of promoting
03:12anorexia.
03:14Hyland responded that it was just where her body was at, due to her long-term health issues.
03:19She wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter,
03:21"...my circumstances have put me in a place where I'm not in control of what my body looks
03:25like, so I strive to be as healthy as possible, as everyone should."
03:29She even needed to address baseless rumors that she had gotten plastic surgery.
03:33In reality, Hyland's moon phase was the result of her taking prednisone, a medication that
03:38causes facial swelling.
03:39Yet for every fan that makes hurtful comments, there are twice as many that support her.
03:43As Hyland proclaimed to Refinery29, many of her fans are quick to shut down the hate,
03:49while others share their own stories of dealing with health issues.
03:52Speaking with Self, she said of her supporters,
03:54"...they're lovely, amazing human beings.
03:57If someone says a remark that's mean or ignorant or something that shouldn't be asked because
04:01it's already been answered in the past, my fans go to town.
04:05They're my warriors."
04:06Impressively, Hyland managed to find love on a reality dating show, and she wasn't even
04:11a contestant.
04:12Instead, she was just an audience member tuning in to The Bachelorette.
04:16Watching from home, Hyland was smitten with contestant Wells Adams, and said she could
04:20tell right away that she and Adams were on the same wavelength.
04:23Although he was eliminated before the end of the season, Adams still commented on the
04:27show via social media.
04:28This gave Hyland a chance to introduce herself.
04:31The pair exchanged flirty comments online, until pretty soon they were sending each other
04:35DMs.
04:36In an interview with Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Hyland recalled some of Adams' very forward correspondences.
04:42Like, next time I'm in L.A. I'm taking you out for, like, drinks and tacos, and that's
04:45like, I love tacos."
04:47Oh, you love tacos.
04:49Although Hyland was in Los Angeles and Adams was in Tennessee at the time, the two stayed
04:53in touch via DMs and FaceTime.
04:55When Hyland started dating Adams, she had been preparing for her second kidney transplant.
05:00As her crucial surgery approached, Hyland debated how soon she should share this deeply
05:04personal part of her life.
05:06Ultimately, she decided to trust Adams, who immediately flew to Los Angeles to support
05:11This sweet gesture only confirmed for Hyland that Adams was the one, and the pair got engaged
05:16less than two years later.
05:18Sarah Hyland has done her share of celebrity endorsement.
05:20Before she landed her big role in Modern Family, she appeared in an Olive Garden commercial,
05:25and she continued to do TV spots for companies like Domino's Pizza and Nintendo during the
05:29show's run.
05:30Even after the series ended, Hyland has been using her celebrity status to promote various
05:34companies and events.
05:36She shot two commercials for Afterpay in 2020, and has also frequently participated in the
05:41InStyle elevator shorts to promote the Golden Globes.
05:44In what is perhaps her most memorable short, the elevator doors open to reveal Hyland as
05:49she plays a very claustrophobic game of Twister with her fiancé on the elevator floor.
05:54Of course, we would be remiss not to mention that Hyland is featured in a Taco Bell commercial.
05:58Hilariously shot like a horror movie, the ad allowed Hyland the opportunity to work
06:03alongside Stranger Things star Joe Keery.
06:05He can't escape the Kraven.
06:08As an actor, Hyland hasn't limited herself to just TV and movies.
06:11She also lent her voice to the fiction podcast Bone, Mary, Fury.
06:16In this mock true crime story with a healthy helping of dark comedy, Hyland narrates alongside
06:21what we do in The Shadow Star, Harvey Guillen.
06:24The premise for the podcast is that Hyland's character, Allie, attends a New Year's Eve
06:28party, and the narrator, Guillen, warns listeners that within a single month, Allie will sleep
06:33with one person, marry another, and kill a third.
06:36What's more, each of these characters is attending the same party.
06:39What follows is a delightful screwball whodunit story that Hyland told the Not Skinny Not
06:45Fat podcast broke her out of her comfort zone.
06:48I never really saw myself as having a podcast.
06:53I think there are people that are better at it than I."
06:57Hyland explained that she was fascinated by the format.
07:00She had a lot of fun playing off her co-star despite the fact that she was recording her
07:04part in L.A. and he was tracking his in Canada.
07:06She reflected that the two still had plenty of room to improvise, but somehow always managed
07:11to bring their tangents back to the script.
07:14Selling vitamin-infused chocolates is far from Hyland's first side hustle, but it's
07:18arguably her sweetest.
07:20Hyland's company, Source, makes snacks that also double as nutritional supplements.
07:24For example, these chocolate treats are a good source of vitamin B12 and biotin, among
07:29other things.
07:30Hyland approached the company in 2021 and proposed two new product ideas, Beauty Bites
07:36and Mood Bites.
07:37The company's founders liked her contributions so much that they soon made Hyland a co-founder
07:42and Source's creative director.
07:43Good health is an especially important topic to Hyland, since she has dealt with such a
07:47myriad of other health concerns.
07:49As she told Refinery29,
07:51"...being a two-time kidney transplant recipient, you want to treat your body as well as you
07:56can."
07:57These vitamin-infused chocolates were a refreshing change of pace.
08:01As she explained to The Hollywood Reporter,
08:02"...because of all of my health issues, I probably take 30 pills a day, inclusive of
08:07supplements I have to take.
08:09I've actually been able to cut back on some of the pills because now I'm able to take
08:13them with Source.
08:14Now I can just have a treat before going to bed."
08:16Hyland is no stranger to celebrity endorsements, but she was still thrilled when the products
08:21that she helped design finally arrived on the shelves.
08:23In one Instagram post, she gleefully showcased a display of Source chocolates with her face
08:28on it.
08:29Since Modern Family ended in 2020, Hyland's schedule hasn't exactly been booked with movie
08:34and TV projects.
08:36In fact, she has only done a couple of movies and TV shows since the beloved sitcom ended.
08:41In 2022, Hyland appeared in the Amazon original My Fake Boyfriend and starred as Heidi in
08:47the TV show Bumper in Berlin.
08:49This pitch-perfect spinoff turned out to be a Modern Family reunion, because Hyland was
08:53working alongside Adam Devine, who played Andy for Modern Family.
08:57The two played a couple yet again in the series, with Devine's character, Bumper, falling in
09:02love with Hyland's Heidi.
09:03Bumper in Berlin also gave Hyland a chance to show off her singing chops, something she
09:07hadn't really had a chance to do since she was on Broadway in the 2000s.
09:11Speaking with ScreenRant, she said,
09:13"'It was just such a joy to be singing again.
09:16That's not just in my shower.'"
09:17For Hyland, playing this pitch-perfect character was surprisingly personal for her.
09:22As she told PureWow,
09:23"'Heidi is afraid to sing because she is a perfectionist, and I very much relate to that.'"
09:27In 2022, Hyland was invited to host the reality TV show Love Island, a fitting choice, seeing
09:34as she met her husband thanks to another reality dating show.
09:37While she was host, Hyland tried to maintain a professional, amicable environment.
09:42Discussing her approach, she told The Wrap,
09:44"'I think it's really important to be able to build a strong foundation and relationship
09:48with your girls and really be there for each other.
09:51Nothing can be pitted against each other, and what I really love about our show is what
09:55you saw last season.
09:56The girls, they're still friends.'"
09:58Her tenure on Love Island was not without controversy.
10:01After Season 5 contestant Kenan Anuneh was eliminated from the game, his partner, KK
10:06Gray, volunteered to leave the show with him.
10:09When Hyland asked Gray a question to confirm that she understood this decision was final,
10:13a third contestant interrupted, accusing Hyland of questioning Gray's choice.
10:17"'Yeah, that sounded mad disrespectful.'"
10:19However, fans on social media were quick to defend Hyland.
10:23Even so, after two seasons, Hyland needed to pass the torch to a new host.
10:27The shooting schedule for the next season of Love Island conflicted with another project
10:31Hyland was working on, so she had to bow out.
10:34It took years, but Sarah Hyland finally married Wells Adams.
10:38When the pair were ready to commit, Adams not only asked Hyland's parents for their
10:42blessing to marry her, he also asked her TV parents, Julie Bowen and Ty Burrell.
10:47When the pandemic hit, Hyland and Adams realized that their wedding wouldn't happen that year.
10:51COVID-19 pushed back their ceremony, though the couple did at least take some fake wedding
10:56photos on their would-be wedding day.
10:58The pair rescheduled the nuptials to 2021, but it got postponed again.
11:02Hyland shared that she had considered skipping the ceremony and just tying the knot.
11:06Ultimately, though, she and Adams decided they were in no hurry, and they could wait
11:09until they had the chance to celebrate with their families.
11:12Hyland and Adams finally got to have their wedding in August 2022.
11:16Ty Burrell was originally going to be the one to read the couple their vows, but due
11:20to a last-minute situation, he couldn't attend the wedding.
11:23Luckily, they found another Modern Family member, Jessie Tyler Ferguson, to step in
11:27instead.
11:28Early in her career, Hyland performed in several musicals.
11:31As a child, she played a supporting character in the 1999 TV movie Annie, and she later
11:36starred as Annie in a regional theater production of the show as well.
11:40From there, she went on to perform in the Broadway musical Grey Gardens.
11:44Once she joined Modern Family, however, Hyland didn't have much time for this particular
11:48passion.
11:49Outside of a TV movie remake of Dirty Dancing, she didn't appear in any movie musicals, and
11:54she certainly didn't perform on stage.
11:56Even so, she told Refinery29 in 2017,
11:59"...I'm such a music theater junkie, unfortunately, I actually had to turn down a movie musical
12:05this summer for personal reasons, but I would love to do something like that again."
12:09Luckily, Hyland found another opportunity to return to musical theater.
12:14After Modern Family ended, she landed the role of Audrey in an off-Broadway revival
12:18of Little Shop of Horrors, bringing to life a childhood aspiration in the process.
12:22As she told Today,
12:23"...Audrey's been a dream role of mine since I was a little girl."
12:27Hyland added that she loves the experience of performing live on stage for a new audience
12:31each night.
12:32And now that she gets to be swallowed by a man-eating plant on a daily basis, she must
12:36truly be living the dream.