Biography And Photos: Sofia Vergara

Sofia Margarita Vergara Vergara (born July 10, 1972) is a Colombian actress, television hostess, model, and entrepreneur.

Vergara had been widely known for co-hosting two TV shows for Univisión in the late 1990s. Her TV career opened up for her a window of exposure to North American audiences prior to her first notable acting job in English, the 2003 film Chasing Papi. Subsequently, she appeared in films, including two Tyler Perry films, Meet the Browns (2008) and Madea Goes to Jail (2009), receiving an ALMA Award nomination for the latter.

Vergara currently stars on the critically acclaimed ABC series Modern Family as Gloria Delgado-Pritchett, for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and three Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Early life
Vergara was born in Barranquilla, Colombia. Her mother, Margarita Vergara Dávila de Vergara, is a homemaker, and her father, Julio Enrique Vergara Robayo, produced cattle for the meat industry. "Toti" was the nickname given to Vergara by her five brothers and sisters and many cousins, including television news anchor and reporter Carlos Vergara. She grew up in her hometown of Barranquilla, and was raised as a devout Catholic in a well-off family, attending a private bilingual Spanish/English school.

After her divorce, Vergara studied pre-dentistry at a university in Colombia for three years. Then, many opportunities arose to work in modeling and in show business, and Vergara decided to pursue these in Latin America, leaving two semesters shy of graduating from dental school. Soon she decided to move to Miami, Florida, to take advantage of opportunities and to move away from unrest in Colombia (her older brother had been murdered in 1998 during an attempt to kidnap him). She brought her son, mother and sister with her. Her sister, Sandra, is now a minor movie and television actress in the United States.

Sofia Vergara