Many of us may recognize Sofia Vergara from Modern Family, Covergirl commercials and even movies like Four Brothers, Madea Goes to Jail, and Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns. It’s hard not to notice Vergara with her strong Colombian accent along with her gorgeous looks. However, Sofia Vergara is much more than a pretty face with a great sense of humor. What’s special about Sofia Vergara? I’m glad you asked! Sofia Vergara was named the top-earning actress on United States television by Forbes in 2012 and 2013, earning $19 million over the course of 12 months for her role as Gloria on Modern Family and has made it such a long way from where she started. Read on to learn more a bit about Vergara’s background.
Sofia Vergara was born in Barranquilla, Colombia to a Roman Catholic family on July 10, 1972. Her mother was a homemaker, while her father was a cattle rancher. Vergara grew up with five siblings. However, when her older brother was murdered in 1998, Vergara decided to pick up and move from Colombia to Miami.
Little is it known, but Vergara studied dentistry at a Colombia college, but only for two semesters. It didn’t take her long to realize that she was more interested in modeling and show business instead.
Vergara was first discovered on a beach in Colombia by a photographer who offered her a career in modeling as well as television. At the young age of only 17 years old, she made her first appearance on television which was a Pepsi commercial that was widely broadcast in Latin America. At the age of 20, Vergara started working as a runway model and television actress in Bogota, Colombia. Her first television series was as a co-host on a travel series. Although she wasn’t known in the U.S. yet, the travel series made her very well known in Latin American television. It wasn’t until Vergara appeared as a guest star in the season four premiere of HBO’s Entourage that she was exposed as a U.S. television actress. In the meantime, she also did work as a poster and swimsuit model. Vergara then went on to work as an actress for ABC in the U.S.
Vergara was first married at the age of 18 to her high-school sweetheart. The lovers had a son in September 1992, and divorced the following year. She is currently married to Magic Mike and True Blood actor Joe Manganiello, who she married this past November.
In 2000, Sofia Vergara was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, which required that she had her thyroid removed. She went through radioiodine therapy and made a complete recovery. To this day, she takes medication to prevent hypothyroidism.
Throughout her career, Vergara has been nominated for 27 awards and has won seven during her acting career. In 2011, she launched a clothing line for Kmart and has endorsement contracts with Diet Pepsi, Rooms to Go, and Synthroid. Vergara was also named the 32nd most powerful woman by Forbes in 2014.
Vergara is so admirable because she stays true to herself. She never tries to tone down her accent in any of her roles, nor does she alter her appearance to make herself appear less Hispanic. She has, however, been asked to dye her hair darker to make some of her characters appear “more Hispanic,” since she is naturally blonde.
She made it through the tough streets of Colombia, she’s battled and defeated cancer, and she continues to fill our homes with laughter every Wednesday night. In my eyes, Sofia Vergara isn’t a star, she’s a queen.
**This information was obtained from Wikipedia**
HCXO!