Growing up, she was raised by her mother, a stay-at-home mom, and her father, a cattle rancher, on their family farm in Colombia. She lived with her parents and four siblings, along with an array of different animals.
But as she grew older, others began to take notice of her appearance, and she was asked to begin modeling. In the ‘90s, she decided to make her way to the U.S to live the American dream – and that’s exactly what she did.
Manny's Mom
On "Modern Family," Sofia Vergara plays Manny’s mom, Gloria, wife to closet/dog-bed salesman, Jay Pritchett. Her easy-going and hilarious personality combined with gorgeous looks make her a favorite character on the show – although the show is full of great characters and lots of laughs if you haven’t seen it!
But she had to travel a long, hard road to become one of the highest-paid television actresses in Hollywood. Things weren’t always sunshine and smiles for her...
Colombia’s Golden Gate
The actress was born in Barranquilla, Colombia, which is known as Colombia’s Golden Gate and famous for its Carnival celebration. Locals refer to themselves as "quilleros" and have a lot of pride in their port city.
Vergara is no different and is proud to call Barranquilla her hometown. It’s where she went to a Catholic school that would have a huge impact on her life. But life in Colombia can be dangerous at times, as she would unfortunately learn.
She Could Have Been a Dentist?
It’s kind of hard to imagine Sofia Vergara working your everyday 9-5 job. Take, for instance, your local dentist's office. She almost went that route before winding up in Hollywood, and she even spent three years studying in dental school back in Colombia.
It’s no wonder she has perfect teeth – she should; she certainly knows how to care for them more than most people in the world! But before she would’ve graduated, life in her home country was flipped upside down, and she knew she had to make some changes in her life.
Tragedy in the Vergara Family
Moving to the United States wasn’t something that she was necessarily planning on, at least, not soon, at the time, but soon after she did, tragedy struck and changed everything. Sofia’s brother, Rafael, was just 27-years old in 1998 when he was shot in an attempted kidnapping.
Since her family was well-known and successful in the area, it made them a prime target. Unfortunately, Rafael was killed and became a member of the infamous 27 Club.