# Anne Winters (actress)
**Anne Winters** (full name Anne Christine Winters, born 1994) is an American actress from Dallas, Texas, known for playing Emma Al-Fayeed in FX's drama *[Tyrant](https://www.edgepedia.org/tyrant-tv-series)*, Chloe Rice in Netflix's *13 Reasons Why*, Mia Phillips in *Zac & Mia*, a role that earned her a Daytime Emmy Award, and Ensign Charly Burke in the third season of *The Orville*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3453476) • [2](https://www.ladygunn.com/film/anne-winters-follows-her-dreams-straight-to-the-top/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1994, Dallas, Texas; full name Anne Christine Winters[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3453476) |
| Breakout role | Recurring "mean girl" Kelsey on ABC Family's *The Fosters*, 2013–2014[3](https://adamcschrader.com/2016/01/14/21-year-old-lewisville-native-anne-winters-pursues-acting-dream-in-los-angeles/) |
| Main TV roles | Emma Al-Fayeed in *Tyrant* (FX, 2014–2016); Vicki Roth in *Wicked City* (ABC, 2015); Ingrid in *Grand Hotel* (2019, 13 episodes)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3453476) • [4](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/33131/anne-winters) |
| *Zac & Mia* | Played Mia Phillips, the title role in a drama about two teenagers facing cancer; won the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Digital Daytime Drama Series[2](https://www.ladygunn.com/film/anne-winters-follows-her-dreams-straight-to-the-top/) |
| *13 Reasons Why* | Chloe Rice, a popular cheerleader with a dark secret, in 19 episodes from 2018 to 2020[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3453476) |
| *The Orville* | Ensign Charly Burke, 9 episodes of the third season in 2022[4](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/33131/anne-winters) |
| Film work | *A Christmas Snow* (2010), *Sand Castles* (2014), *The Bride He Bought Online* (2015), *Mom and Dad* (2017), *Night School* (2018), *Countdown* (2019)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3453476) • [5](https://biographyhost.com/p/anne-winters.html) |
## Early life and start in acting
Winters grew up in the Dallas area and began performing as a small child. At the age of four she appeared in her first musical production, and at ten she sang her first solo to a crowd of more than 24,000 at the [American Airlines Center](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-airlines-center) in Dallas.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3453476) She also spent six years as a competitive cheerleader.[2](https://www.ladygunn.com/film/anne-winters-follows-her-dreams-straight-to-the-top/)
**Commercials came first.** In high school she persuaded her mother, Karen Winters, to help her find commercial work, and she appeared in more than a dozen national commercials while splitting her time between Dallas and Los Angeles.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3453476) • [3](https://adamcschrader.com/2016/01/14/21-year-old-lewisville-native-anne-winters-pursues-acting-dream-in-los-angeles/) At 15 she won a Los Angeles talent competition, which brought a contract with a manager. In her sophomore year she missed about 75 days of school while returning to Los Angeles for pilot season and callbacks.[3](https://adamcschrader.com/2016/01/14/21-year-old-lewisville-native-anne-winters-pursues-acting-dream-in-los-angeles/)
Her early screen credits were small local and direct-to-video projects: the 2009 short film *Gloria*, in which she played a student; the TV movie *A Christmas Snow* (2010) as Young Kathleen; and *Cooper and the Castle Hills Gang* (2011), filmed in her own Castle Hills neighborhood.[3](https://adamcschrader.com/2016/01/14/21-year-old-lewisville-native-anne-winters-pursues-acting-dream-in-los-angeles/) • [5](https://biographyhost.com/p/anne-winters.html)
**Choosing Hollywood over college.** After graduating from Prestonwood Christian Academy in Plano, Winters planned to attend [Southern Methodist University](https://www.edgepedia.org/southern-methodist-university), but instead moved to Los Angeles to act full time.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3453476) She briefly enrolled at the College of the Canyons in California, then booked the role of Lauren in *Sand Castles* and, as she put it, never went back to school.[3](https://adamcschrader.com/2016/01/14/21-year-old-lewisville-native-anne-winters-pursues-acting-dream-in-los-angeles/) In interviews she said she had told people in Dallas she was going to SMU to avoid criticism for leaving the expected path.[2](https://www.ladygunn.com/film/anne-winters-follows-her-dreams-straight-to-the-top/)
## Television career
Winters's breakout came as Kelsey, a recurring role across two seasons of ABC Family's *The Fosters*.[3](https://adamcschrader.com/2016/01/14/21-year-old-lewisville-native-anne-winters-pursues-acting-dream-in-los-angeles/) She then held two main roles in the same period: Emma Al-Fayeed in FX's *Tyrant* (2014–2016), a drama about an unassuming American family drawn into a turbulent Middle Eastern nation, and Vicki Roth, the daughter of an LAPD officer hunting a serial killer, in ABC's *Wicked City* (2015).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3453476) • [6](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/anne-winters/) *Tyrant* filmed in Morocco and [Tel Aviv](https://www.edgepedia.org/tel-aviv); she lived alone in Israel for six months during the first season, her first time living alone, and has described it as a formative experience.[2](https://www.ladygunn.com/film/anne-winters-follows-her-dreams-straight-to-the-top/) • [3](https://adamcschrader.com/2016/01/14/21-year-old-lewisville-native-anne-winters-pursues-acting-dream-in-los-angeles/)
**Emmy recognition with *Zac & Mia*.** In 2017 she took the title role of Mia Phillips in *Zac & Mia*, a drama about two teenagers navigating young love and cancer diagnoses. The role won her the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Digital Daytime Drama Series.[2](https://www.ladygunn.com/film/anne-winters-follows-her-dreams-straight-to-the-top/)
**Chloe Rice and *The Orville*.** From 2018 to 2020 she played Chloe Rice, a popular cheerleader with a dark secret, in *13 Reasons Why*, appearing in 19 episodes across the show's last three seasons.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3453476) • [4](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/33131/anne-winters) She also starred as Ingrid in all 13 episodes of the 2019 ABC mystery drama *Grand Hotel*.[4](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/33131/anne-winters) In 2022 she joined the third season of [Seth MacFarlane](https://www.edgepedia.org/seth-macfarlane)'s science fiction series *The Orville* as Ensign Charly Burke, appearing in 9 episodes.[4](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/33131/anne-winters)
## Film work
Winters's feature credits include *Sand Castles* (2014), as Lauren Daly, a young woman who returns mute to her family in rural Indiana a decade after being kidnapped; *Pass the Light* (2015); *The Tribe* (2016); *Mom and Dad* (2017), a horror comedy with [Nicolas Cage](https://www.edgepedia.org/nicolas-cage) and [Selma Blair](https://www.edgepedia.org/selma-blair); *#REALITYHIGH* (2017); *Night School* (2018), opposite [Kevin Hart](https://www.edgepedia.org/kevin-hart) and Tiffany Haddish; and *Countdown* (2019).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3453476) • [6](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/anne-winters/) • [2](https://www.ladygunn.com/film/anne-winters-follows-her-dreams-straight-to-the-top/) She also led the 2015 Lifetime thriller *The Bride He Bought Online* as Avery, one of three girls whose prank on a man through a fake dating profile turns to revenge.[6](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/anne-winters/) An upcoming project, *Atlas King*, is listed for 2026 with her in the role of Colette.[6](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/anne-winters/)
## Other work and recent years
Beyond acting, Winters has recorded music: with her then boyfriend Taylor Beau she released the single "FADED."[2](https://www.ladygunn.com/film/anne-winters-follows-her-dreams-straight-to-the-top/) In May 2024, at age 29, she announced on Instagram that she was entering a treatment facility seeking help for malnutrition.[7](https://www.justjared.com/tags/anne-winters/) In a 2025 podcast interview she spoke publicly about an eating disorder and addiction, her time in rehab, and her recovery, and has since lent support to Hollywood & Mind, an industry mental health coalition.[8](https://podcasts.apple.com/no/podcast/anne-winters-from-netflix-to-rehab-to-recovery/id1807001439?i=1000730992192)
## References
1. [Anne Winters, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3453476)
2. [Anne Winters Follows Her Dream(s) Straight to the Top, LADYGUNN (April 11, 2019)](https://www.ladygunn.com/film/anne-winters-follows-her-dreams-straight-to-the-top/)
3. [21-year-old Lewisville native Anne Winters pursues acting dream in Los Angeles, Adam Schrader for The Dallas Morning News (January 14, 2016)](https://adamcschrader.com/2016/01/14/21-year-old-lewisville-native-anne-winters-pursues-acting-dream-in-los-angeles/)
4. [Anne Winters, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/33131/anne-winters)
5. [Anne Winters: Age, Net Worth, 'Zac and Mia', Biographyhost](https://biographyhost.com/p/anne-winters.html)
6. [Anne Winters, Actress, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/anne-winters/)
7. [Anne Winters Archives - Just Jared, Just Jared](https://www.justjared.com/tags/anne-winters/)
8. [Anne Winters: From Netflix to Rehab... to Recovery, Is There More? with Megan A Tully (October 2025)](https://podcasts.apple.com/no/podcast/anne-winters-from-netflix-to-rehab-to-recovery/id1807001439?i=1000730992192)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 2000s onward › Surnames Wh to W*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license