More than a WOMAN

While playing Modern Family's beloved character Gloria, Sofía Vergara has been building her own business empire and sharpening her skills to play her dream role. And if you're surprised, then she thinks that's on you.

- CHRISTI NORTIER

Sofía Vergara didn't want people to see a speck of Gloria Pritchett in her latest series. Heck, she didn't want them to see even Sofía Vergara! She wanted them to see only Griselda, one of the most powerful drug lords in Colombian history. Basically, Sofía wanted to disappear from view: not easy for someone who has such striking beauty and a vibrant personality to match. But if the reviews of the Netflix miniseries Griselda are anything to go by, then she pulled it off and made it look easy. Sofía's proven, once again, that she's so much more than what's on the surface. And she knows it.

COMING FROM THE CARIBBEAN

Sofía grew up along the Caribbean Sea in the port city of Barranquilla, Colombia, with four siblings and her parents, a cattle rancher and a housewife. By 17, she had made up her mind to study dentistry. But one day in 1989, while tanning on the local beach, she was approached by a photographer who encouraged her to pursue modelling. Her first gig? A leading role in a Pepsi ad that beamed across Latin America.

Modelling and acting offers came in hot and fast after this. Nevertheless, she signed up to study at the University of Colombia - but the seed had already been planted. The next few years of her life were a rollercoaster: she married her high-school sweetheart Joe Gonzalez when she was 18, started runway modelling and switched from dentistry to acting. In 1992, when she was 20, she welcomed her first son with Joe, Manolo. A year later, the two divorced.