Emmy Award Winning Actress

Anne Winters | Biography

Cast Of Series Like '13 Reasons Why' and 'Zac and Mia'

• By Reena Chikanbanjar
• Update : November 28, 2021

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Anne Winters is an Emmy Award-winning American actress best known for starring as Mia Phillips in the television series Zac & Mia.

Who Is Anne Winters?

Anne Winters began her acting career during her teenage years while she was still in high school. In 2009, the actress made her acting debut in the short sci-fi drama Gloria. After that, she starred in notable films, including Sand Castles (2014), Pass the Light (2015), The Tribe (2016), Reality High (2017), Mom and Dad (2017), Night School (2018), and Countdown (2019).

In 2017, she made her breakthrough performance as a cancer patient Mia Phillips in the drama series Zac and Mia, which earned her the ‘Daytime Emmy Award’ in 2018. She is also known for her other television series, such as Kelsey in ABC Family’s The Fosters, Emma Al-Fayed in Tyrant, Chloe Rice in Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why, and Ingrid in ABC’s Grand Hotel.

Early Life and Education

Born in Dallas, Texas, USA, on 3 June 1994, Anne Winters grew up nearby Lewisville, Texas. She began performing at a young age. At 4, she performed her first musical a. Then, at age 10, she sang her first solo at the American Airlines Center in front of thousands of people. Her mother, Karen, stated that Anne was always willing to perform in front of people in a 2016 interview. 

According to Winters, Miley Cyrus and Cara Delevingne were among the people who influenced her to enter the Hollywood industry. “I am influenced by people who remain true to themselves despite their success. At a young age, I was influenced by Miley Cyrus. “Hannah Montana” was the show that made me believe that I was made for this industry. I thought I WAS Hannah Montana haha! I also love Cara Delevingne. I think she is a perfect example of an artist that has pursued ALL of her passions and is still different and unique in Hollywood,” she recalled.

Winters began acting when she was still in high school. She booked many commercials and also appeared in independent films during high school. Upon graduating from Prestonwood Christian Academy in 2012, she planned to enroll in Southern Methodist University for an acting program. However, she subsequently moved to Los Angeles at age 19 to pursue her career in Hollywood.

Early Career

During her high school, Winters, aged 15, won a Los Angeles talent competition that begot her a contract with a manager for pilot season. That year, she also bagged commercials across Dallas and a Nickelodeon pilot. “My sophomore year, I missed like 75 days of school, and that was tough,” she said. “I missed homecoming and all the fun things a high-schooler gets to do.” 

During her senior year, Winters auditioned for Southern Methodist University to study an acting program. However, because of her established acting profession, she was advised to continue on her Hollywood route rather than attend school. “That’s when I chose to move and pursue acting for real,” Winters said. “If things didn’t work out after a year, I could always come back.”

After graduating high school in 2012, she moved to California and went to College of the Canyons. Shortly after she enrolled at the college, she booked the role of Lauren in the film Sand Castle, filmed in rural Indiana. She said, “Professors told me I had to choose,” she continued, “I never went back to school.”

Films

Winters made her film debut in the 2009 short sci-fi drama Gloria, portraying the role of a student. Her small-screen debut came in 2010 when she appeared as Beth in the television movie Summer Camp. That year, she also played the role of Young Kathleen in the direct-to-DVD independent Christmas film A Christmas Snow. She made her big-screen debut in 2011 in In My Pocket. In the same year, she popped up in the role of Lauren in the feature film Cooper and the Castle Hills Gang. 

In 2014, she starred as Lauren Daly in the thriller film Sand Castles, portraying a young woman kidnapped and returned mute after a decade to her family in rural Indiana. It was filmed in 2012 and premiered at a film festival in 2014. That same year, she appeared in the action film Fatal Instinct, portraying the role of Kelly Decker. In 2015, Winters played the role of Gwen in the faith-based film Pass the Light. In addition, she starred in the lead role of Avery Linderstrom in the Lifetime television thriller film The Bride He Bought Online in the same year. It was a film about three teenage girls who prank an isolated man by provoking him through a fake dating profile. The man later discovers the identities of the girls and takes harsh revenge. 

Winters then appeared in a string of films, such as the 2016 sci-fi thriller film The Tribe, the 2017 teen comedy film Reality High, the 2017 comedy horror film Mom and Dad, the 2018 comedy film Night School, and the 2019 supernatural horror film Countdown. 

Television Series

In 2013, Winters appeared in an episode of Liv and Maddie as Kylie Kramer. Then, from 2013 to 2014, she was cast in a recurring role as Kelsey in ABC Family’s series The Fosters, which featured the life of two lesbian mothers and their biological, adoptive, and foster children. “I loved being on The Fosters because it was a bunch of kids and I got to make friends,” she said.

Then Winters landed a crucial role as Emma Al-Fayed in the drama series Tyrant from 2014 to 2016. While doing Tyrant, she also starred in the significant role of Vicki Roth in the crime drama series Wicked City in 2015. In 2017, the actress earned her breakthrough role as Mia Phillips on Zac and Mia. She starred in her next significant role as Chloe Rice in the thriller teen drama series 13 Reasons Why from 2018 to 2019. In 2019, she starred as Ingrid in the crime-mystery drama series Grand Hotel. In 2020, she was cast as Charly Burke in the sci-fi comedy-drama series The Orville.

‘Zac and Mia’

Winters rose to prominence after portraying the leading role as Mia Phillips on the television series Zac and Mia, opposite Kian Lawley. The series was adapted from the young adult novel written by A.J. Betts. The series aired from 2017 to 2019 for two seasons. 

Winters portrayed a high school girl who had cancer and ended up falling in love with a fellow cancer patient in the next room. Sharing her thoughts while working on the series, Winters expressed, “I never knew how committed I could be to a role until I played Mia. The tears and the emotions were real to me and I will always have a special place in my heart for anyone that has gone through or known anyone that has been through the traumatic experiences that this disease brings.” She added, “Zac and Mia was an extremely challenging project and I felt like I gave it my all.” 

The season one finale of the series concluded on a positive note, with Zac and Mia attending prom. In the second season of the series, Mia went through a second round of chemo, had her leg amputated, and learned to walk again.

’13 Reasons Why’

In 2018, Winters began starring in season two of Netflix’s critically acclaimed teen drama series 13 Reasons Why, opposite Dylan Minnette and Katherine Langford. Selena Gomez and Brian Yorkey executively produced the series. In the series, Winters was cast as Chloe Rice, a bright high school girl who prioritizes her social life in high school and tries to hold it all together even when treated with disrespect. However, in season three, she makes a mature decision of her own. 

Sharing about her experience in the series, Winters said, “I’m always looking for something that is challenging, different, and unique, and this embodied every part of that. Every step along the way was different. I’ve never seen that done, I’ve never seen the protestors and that kind of trick that she went through, even in that first clinic that she thought was a real abortion center and it wasn’t, they were just trying to trick her. I’ve never seen that played through on screen, so I was really happy to be able to have that. That scene was intense and it really made it very real. It’s super-accurate.”

Winters originally auditioned for the lead character, Hannah, but was turned down. A year later, she auditioned for Chloe, a new character in season two. The second season of the show premiered on 18 May 2018. The premiere episode of the series garnered an average of 6.08 million viewers in the United States for the first three days of its release. 

‘Grand Hotel’

Winters portrayed the character, Ingrid, in the 2019 ABC series Grand Hotel.

Ingrid in the series represents a hotel employee who wishes to pursue any profession other than a hotel employee. She is forthright about not loving her work (or any job, for that matter) and spends a lot of time looking for alternatives to a wealthier, simpler existence.

Grand Hotel chronicles the work life and personal lives of employees who work at a family-run hotel in Miami Beach.

‘Cruel Intentions’

The 2016 movie Cruel Intentions is based on the 1999 cult movie of the same name. Winters played Valerie York in this movie. 

Cruel Intentions recounts the narrative of a malevolent Kathryn Merteuil (played by Sarah Michelle Gellar) as she attempts to corrupt her nephew, Bash (played by Taylor John Smith), and acquire control of the family corporation Valmont International following her brother's death.

The film was also scheduled to be adapted into a television series, however, NBC canceled the reboot. Nonetheless, the sequel's production firm, Sony Pictures TV, is looking for alternative channels to air it.

‘Tyrant’

Winters played Emma Al-Fayeed in the FX series Tyrant from 2014 to 2016.

Tyrant follows an ordinary American family as they become entangled in the workings of a volatile Middle Eastern country

‘Orville’

Winters' upcoming project is season 3 of the sci-fi series, The Orville, which will premiere in 2022. The first two seasons of the show were televised between 2017 and 2019. Meanwhile, the production for season three was halted for three years due to the pandemic crisis.

The Orville follows an Earth-based exploring spacecraft as it encounters interplanetary problems 400 years in the future. Winters will portray Charly Burke, a fierce navigator on The Orville who can see several dimensions quicker and more precisely than anybody else.

‘The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmes’

Winters is one of the behind-the-scenes crew in the movie version of the coming-of-age young adult novel 'The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmes', which is in the production phase as of November 2021.

The novel chronicles the sad story of Cassidy Holmes, a rising music sensation, and provides a probing look at the dark side of popularity and the system that thrives on it.

Awards

Winters won several awards for her outstanding acting performances. For her role in The Tribe (2016), she won the ‘Festival Prize’ for ‘Best Supporting Actress’ at St. Tropez International Film Festival in 2016. That same year, her role in the 2015 feature film Pass the Light won her ‘Best Actress Teen Fan Favorite’ at Christian Film Festival at the Menchville Baptist Church. In 2018, Winters won the ‘Daytime Emmy Award’ for ‘Outstanding Lead Actress in a Digital Daytime Drama Series’ for her role as Mia Phillips in the television series Zac and Mia. 

Personal Life

In 2019, Winters was dating Taylor Beau Makohoniuk, a musician and singer at Young Reckless Saints. She also did a song, ‘Faded’ together with Makohoniuk. He also gave her the moniker Lil Anne. However, she broke up with him in June 2020. Then, after being romantically linked for some time, she confirmed her relationship with actor and producer Seth MacFarlane through an Instagram story in December of the same year. They had co-worked in the television series The Orville.

What Is Anne Winters’ Net Worth?

Winters has an estimated net worth of $3 million as of September 2021.

Madonna

Winters has been told her entire life that she resembles the singer Madonna. Therefore, when Madonna revealed that she will be co-writing and directing a biopic about herself, Winters revived her passion in pursuing the role.

Rather than waiting for anyone to approach her for the role, Winters opted to seek it herself. She emulated some of Madonna's most memorable outfits in an attempt to land the main part in the biopic.

"BLOW UP @Madonna Instagram guys — I wana (sic) play her in her new biopic. I’ve been told I look like young Madonna forever, I act I sing I look like her.... cmon now." one of the captions of her Instagram post read.

Height

According to IMDb, Winters stands at the height of 5 feet 3 inches.