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Sarah Hyland praises fellow former child actresses Dakota Fanning and Emma Watson

By Karen Butler
Actress Sarah Hyland arrives for the 68th annual Primetime Emmy Awards on September 18, 2016. Season 8 of her sitcom "Modern Family" is to premiere Wednesday. Photo by Christine Chew/UPI
1 of 6 | Actress Sarah Hyland arrives for the 68th annual Primetime Emmy Awards on September 18, 2016. Season 8 of her sitcom "Modern Family" is to premiere Wednesday. Photo by Christine Chew/UPI | License Photo

NEW YORK, Sept. 21 (UPI) -- Sarah Hyland, who has been acting since she was four, says she greatly admires how Dakota Fanning and Emma Watson have transitioned from child to adult roles, but admits she is glad she personally didn't become famous until she was a little older.

Hyland opened up to UPI recently about her long career while she was promoting her Netflix movie XOXO, which is now streaming.

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"I've always had tremendous support from my family and friends and fans who have been there along the way, especially the past eight years," the 25-year-old actress said in a phone interview. "But I think I was very lucky in the sense that when I was a child actor, it's not like I was [famous] like Dakota Fanning and she has made a very seamless transition from child actor to adult, as well. I really admire what she has done with her career, what she has done with her life. I don't know her, but she seems like a very, very strong, independent, talented woman, who knows what she wants. Same with people like Emma Watson, you know? But I was never in the public eye like they were when they were 10 years old or when they were five years old. I was very lucky to be steadily working, but just be somewhat under the radar. I think that helped my transition a lot. I was still really, really able to be a kid and make mistakes without people noticing.

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"If you knew me when I was a teenager, growing up in New York City, oh man! The press would have had a field day," she teased. "But I'm very glad I was able to do that under the radar before I was in the public eye."

Hyland appeared in films such as Private Parts, Blind Date and Annie before breaking through as a full-fledged star in Modern Family. Season 8 of the show is to premiere Wednesday night.

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