Honestly, you’ve probably spent a decade of your life watching Sarah Hyland grow up on your television screen without even realizing the sheer amount of chaos she was navigating behind the scenes. Most people see her and immediately think "Haley Dunphy." It's hard not to. For 11 seasons on Modern Family, she played the boy-crazy, fashion-obsessed oldest sibling with such a specific, relatable energy that it basically became her brand. But if you’re asking who is Sarah Hyland today, in 2026, the answer is a lot more complex than just a sitcom star. She’s a Broadway powerhouse, a chronic illness advocate, and a woman who has essentially had three different "first days of life."
The Modern Family Legacy and the Hidden Struggle
We should probably start with the show that made her a household name. From 2009 to 2020, Sarah was a fixture of ABC’s Wednesday night lineup. But here’s the thing that most fans totally missed while they were laughing at Phil Dunphy’s "Phil-osophies": Sarah was often filming in excruciating pain.
She was born with kidney dysplasia, a condition where the kidneys don't develop properly in the womb. Basically, her body was working against her from day one. By the time she was 21, her kidney function had dropped so low that she needed a transplant. Her father, Edward James Hyland, stepped up and donated his in 2012.
You’d think that would be the end of the story, right?
Not quite.
A few years later, her body started rejecting that kidney. It’s a terrifying process where your immune system treats the donated organ like an intruder. She had to go on dialysis, which is basically being hooked up to a machine to clean your blood for hours at a time, multiple times a week. She’s talked about how she’d sometimes sleep between takes on the Modern Family set because she was just that exhausted. Her costars even wore surgical masks to protect her fragile immune system.
A Second Chance and Moving Forward
In 2017, she got what she calls her "third chance at life" when her younger brother, Ian, donated one of his kidneys. It worked. But the physical toll wasn’t the only hurdle. Sarah has been incredibly open about the mental health struggles that come with chronic illness. She once told Self magazine that she felt like a "burden" to her family during the rejection period. It’s that kind of raw honesty that has turned her from just another celebrity into a genuine advocate for domestic abuse survivors and people living with "invisible" illnesses.
Fast forward to 2026, and she’s looking healthier and more active than ever. She’s recently been seen anchoring a national ad campaign for Albert, a personal finance app, where she plays a relatable version of herself trying to figure out a budget with an AI assistant named Genius. It’s a bit of a departure from her usual acting roles, but it fits her current vibe: approachable, funny, and very "real world."
Owning the Stage: From Little Shop to Gatsby
If you haven’t been keeping up with the New York theater scene, you’ve missed Sarah’s total transformation. She didn't just disappear after Modern Family ended. She went back to her roots. People forget she made her Broadway debut at 16 in Grey Gardens.
Recently, she’s been on a literal tear through Broadway and Off-Broadway:
- Little Shop of Horrors: She played Audrey (the one with the "Somewhere That's Green" dream) in the Off-Broadway revival. Critics loved the chemistry between her and Andrew Barth Feldman.
- The Great Gatsby: In early 2025, she took on the iconic role of Daisy Buchanan. Think about that for a second—going from the bubbly Haley Dunphy to the tragic, complex Daisy. It showed a range that a lot of people didn't know she had.
- Just in Time: As of late 2025, she stepped into the role of Connie Francis in the Bobby Darin musical, starring alongside Jonathan Groff.
She’s basically proving that she can hold her own with Tony winners. It’s pretty impressive for someone who spent years being told they were "just" a TV actress.
Love Island and the Wells Adams Era
We also have to talk about her stint in reality TV. Sarah hosted Love Island USA for seasons 4 and 5. It was a polarizing time for fans. Some loved her bubbly energy, while others on Reddit complained she stood too far away from the contestants (which, honestly, was likely a health precaution to protect her immune system). She eventually handed the reins over to Ariana Madix, but it showed she was willing to take risks and try new formats.
On the personal side, her marriage to Wells Adams (yes, the guy from The Bachelorette and the bartender on Bachelor in Paradise) seems to be going strong. They finally tied the knot in August 2022 at a winery in California after COVID-19 messed up their original plans. They celebrated their third anniversary in 2025, and they’re basically that couple on Instagram that makes you feel both single and slightly entertained by their banter.
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What You Can Learn from Sarah's Journey
Sarah Hyland’s story isn’t just about being famous; it’s about resilience. She’s undergone 16 surgeries since birth. Sixteen! Most people can’t handle a root canal without wanting to stay in bed for a week.
If you're looking to follow in her footsteps—or just manage your own hurdles—there are a few takeaways here:
- Advocate for yourself. Sarah has famously told doctors "to go to hell" when they didn't take her pain seriously. If you have a chronic condition, you have to be your own loudest voice.
- Pivot when you need to. When her TV career transitioned, she didn't just wait for the next sitcom. She went to Broadway. She started a chocolate vitamin company called SOURSE. She kept moving.
- Be vocal about the "ugly" stuff. Sharing her struggles with mental health and organ rejection didn't hurt her career; it made her more human.
The best way to keep up with what Sarah is doing next is to watch for her upcoming theater dates or check out her work as Creative Director for Sourse. She’s living proof that a "medical history" doesn't have to define your future.
To get a better sense of her range, you might want to look up clips of her performance as Connie Francis or check out her advocacy work with the Kindred Foundation for Adoption. Staying informed about organ donation through groups like the National Kidney Foundation is another great way to support the causes she champions.