Childhood & Early Life
Sarah Jane Hyland was born on November 24, 1990, in Manhattan, New York, United States. Her father Edward James Hyland is a theater and film actor, while her mother Melissa Canaday is a stage acting coach. Sarah has a younger brother named Ian Hyland who is also an actor.
She has been involved in the entertainment industry from a very young age. When she was a child, she would accompany her father on his theatre trips. Her mother homeschooled her until her second grade, after which she attended a public school.
She is also a dancer and singer. She started her dance training when she was three years old. At the age of seven, she started her vocal training. She was invited to perform in 'Reel to Real' at ‘Lincoln Center.’
When she was in her sixth grade, she was accepted into ‘Professional Performing Arts School.’ She graduated from there in 2008. At the age of 18, she moved to Los Angeles, California, to pursue her acting career.
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Career
Sarah Hyland has been doing commercials and voice-over work since the age of four. Her first film role came in 1997 when she played Howard Stern's on-screen daughter in the movie 'Private Parts.'
She then acted in two films, 'The Object of My Affection' (1998) and 'Advice from a Caterpillar' (1999). In 1998, she made a brief appearance in an episode of the short-lived drama series 'Trinity.'
From 1997 to 1998, she appeared as ‘Rain Wolfe,’ an abandoned child, in the popular TV series 'Another World.' She would later work with her foster mother Amy Carlson in the show.
In 1999, she played the role of ‘Molly’ in ABC's television movie 'The Wonderful World of Disney: Annie.' In the film, she worked alongside stars like Kathy Bates, Audra McDonald, Alan Cumming, Victor Garber, and Kristin Chenoweth.
She played the eight-year-old ‘Audrey Hepburn’ in Jennifer Love Hewitt's 'The Audrey Hepburn Story,' which released in 2000. Later that year, she appeared in the film adaptation of Joseph Mitchell's book 'Joe Gould's Secret.' She also played a role in the crime drama series 'Falcone.'
Over the next few years, she played minor roles in a few movies. She also made guest appearances in a number of television shows, including 'All My Children' (2000), 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit' (2001), 'Touched by an Angel' (2002), 'Law & Order' (2004), and 'Law & Order: Trial by Jury' (2005).
In 2007, she landed a recurring role in the American soap opera 'One Life to Live' where she appeared in seven episodes. She then appeared in the comedy-drama series 'Lipstick Jungle' for two seasons from 2008 to 2009.
In 2009, within two weeks of relocating to Los Angeles, she was cast in the lead role in the pilot of the ABC sitcom 'Modern Family.' She went on to play ‘Haley Dunphy,’ the eldest of the ‘Dunphy’ children, in 11 seasons.
In 2009, she reprised her role as ‘Jennifer Banks’ in the episode 'Hothouse' in 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.'
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In 2011, she co-starred with her then boyfriend Matt Prokop in Disney’s original movie 'Geek Charming.' The next year, she played one of the leads in the coming-of-age drama 'Struck by Lightning.'
She was cast in the fifth installment of the 'Scary Movie' franchise in 2013. One of her major roles in the early-2010s include her role in the 2014 fantasy comedy film 'Vampire Academy.' The film was a critical and commercial failure.
She worked as a voice actor in 'Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja' from 2012 to 2015. She has also done voice acting for 'The Lion Guard,' a sequel to the epic musical film 'The Lion King.' She has also voiced characters in films like 'Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League – Gotham City Breakout,’ 'Robot Chicken DC Comics Special 2: Villains in Paradise,' 'The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar,’ and its sequel ‘The Lion Guard: The Rise of Scar.’
In 2016, she was cast in the Netflix drama ‘XOXO’ alongside Graham Phillips. Three years later, she shared screen space with actor and rapper Tyler James Williams in the romantic comedy ‘The Wedding Year.’
Over the years, she was seen making guest appearances in various TV series, such as ‘Repeat After Me,’ ‘Shadow Hunters,’ and ‘Veronica Mars.’
In 2020, she was seen in the popular American reality competition television series ‘RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars’ where she appeared as a guest judge.
Personal Life & Legacy
Sarah Hyland dated Matt Prokop from 2010 to 2014. They met while auditioning for 'High School Musical 3: Senior Year.' They later worked together on the sets of the television movie 'Geek Charming.' They lived together from 2011 to 2014, after which they broke up amidst claims that he abused her physically and verbally. She even got a temporary restraining order against Prokop; the restraining order later became permanent.
The actress was in a relationship with her 'Vampire Academy' co-star Dominic Sherwood from 2015 to 2017, during which they made multiple public appearances.
She is currently engaged to ‘The Bachelorette’ contestant Wells Adams whom she started dating in 2017.
When she was nine years old, she was diagnosed with kidney dysplasia, which could eventually cause the organ to malfunction. She underwent kidney transplant surgery in 2012, when her father donated one of his kidneys.
Four years after the surgery, her body started rejecting the kidney. Eventually, her brother Ian offered her his kidney and she underwent another transplant in 2017. In addition to that, she also suffered from endometriosis and an undiagnosed abdominal hernia.
Trivia
As a child, Sarah Hyland was unable to attend summer camps because of health issues. She later got involved with the ‘Lopez Foundation,’ which helps kids with kidney diseases. The foundation provides medical attention to the kids whenever required.
In September 2012, she became part of a ‘Nintendo 3DS’ ad campaign along with Dianna Agron and Gabby Douglas. She said that she has always been a fan of ‘Nintendo’ and that she played 'Mario Kart' as a child. She also said that she was later fascinated by the fashion game 'Style Savvy Trendsetters.'
In her interview to online women magazine ‘Self,’ the beautiful actress confessed that she contemplated suicide while enduring health problems. She has undergone a total of 16 surgeries.
