Sofia Vergara: Snapshot

Name
Sofia Vergara
Date of Birth
July 10, 1972
Birth Place
Barranquilla, Colombia
That accent! That laugh! Those curves! It's hard to ignore Sofia Vergara, whose outrageous portrayal of Modern Family's Gloria Delgado-Pritchett has everyone cracking up – most of all, the Colombian bombshell herself.

With her good looks, Vergara began modeling as a teen but took a break in 1990, when she married her high school sweetheart. Two years later, she welcomed son Manolo.

Following her divorce, Vergara (who's been linked to Tom Cruise and Enrique Iglesias) moved to Miami in 1998 to pursue a career on the Spanish-language cable network Univision, which led to roles in 2002's Big Trouble and 2003's Chasing Papi. But her big break came in 2009, when Vergara joined the hit ABC sitcom Modern Family, which earned her Golden Globe and Emmy nominations.

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Sofia Vergara:From the PEOPLE TV Archive

Sofia Vergara: Five Fun Facts

  1. Sofia Vergara dyed her natural blonde locks brunette when she began acting in Hollywood. "I wasn't getting any jobs in L.A.," she told Esquire. "They have this stereotype that Latin people have to look like Salma Hayek. The minute I made my hair dark, then they believed that I am Latina."
  2. Following Modern Family's 2010 Emmy win for outstanding comedy series, Sofia Vergara claimed she made good on a bet to run naked down L.A.'s Sunset Boulevard. "I did the run and I came back," she said after the ceremony. "I run fast."
  3. Sofia Vergara's son, Manolo, is named after actor Steven Bauer's character in 1983's Scarface (he was best friend to Al Pacino's Cuban drug lord, Tony Montana).
  4. Sofia Vergara stopped eating red meat when she moved to the United States. "The meat tasted really funny to me," she said.
  5. At one point, Sofia Vergara considered getting breast-reduction surgery but was talked out of it by her mother, who told her, "'God is going to punish you if you cut them.'"

Sofia Vergara: Biography

1989

Sofia Vergara

Model Behavior

While taking a stroll on a Colombian beach, 17-year-old Vergara is spotted by a modeling scout and drops out of dentistry school to pursue a career in entertainment. She soon lands several gigs, including a starring role in a Pepsi commercial.

1990s

Marriage & Manolo

At 18, Vergara marries high school sweetheart Joe Gonzalez and welcomes son Manolo two years later. But in 1993, the couple calls it quits. "My life as a mother has been hard, but not a nightmare," she tells Florida's Sun-Sentinel of single motherhood. "I do like all working moms do. No life is perfect. What I do, it's part of life."

1998

Sofia Vergara

What a Vision

After Vergara's older brother Rafael is murdered in Bogotá, she and her family relocate to Miami, where Vergara becomes a star as host of Univision's Spanish-language game show A que no te atreves ("I Dare You"). "I will always be grateful to Univision for giving me my start," she tells the Miami Herald. "Nobody knew me before I started working [there]. But there are a lot of offers now and I want to move on. This is the time."

Read More on Sofia Vergara's Life

Photo Credits

Top Left: Marc Royce/Corbis

Edited by Julia Wang

Sofia Vergara

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