Sofia Vergara

Credit: Jen Lowery/Startraks

5 Things to Know About Sofia Vergara

Originally posted 11/04/2009 10:30AM

She brings laughs each week on ABC's new sitcom Modern Family – but Sofia Vergara never intended to be a comic actress. She actually went to dental school.

Calling from Los Angeles, Vergara, 37, opened up about how she got acquainted with her onscreen husband Ed O'Neill, her near career as a dentist and her own real life family.

Here are five fun facts about the Modern Family scene stealer:

1. That accent is real!
Sure, it may seem specific to her character Gloria's outsized personality but Vergara says her accent is the real deal. "I go out to a mall or restaurant and when somebody hears me they'll go, 'Oh my God, it's your real accent,'" she says. "I tell them, 'Yeah, I guess I'm not that good an actress!'" Still, she admits, her comedic instincts may, at times, cause her to emphasize certain pronunciations. "I do make the accent a little stronger," she says. "I understand English; I read and write English perfectly, but the accent won't go away."

2. She was a teenage mom.
On Modern Family, Vergara's character has a young son named Manny – and in real life, the actress has a 18-year-old son named Manolo, who's a senior in high school. "I always tried to do the best for my kid," Vergara says. "I was 19 when I had him!" As a young mother, the actress says she's "never been alone," so she's not exactly thrilled that her son will be headed off to college next year. "I joke that I want him to fail this year so he can stay home another year," she says. "He looks at me like, 'You're a freak.' "

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