Sofia Vergara - The Naked Truth

- Lori Majewski and Gemma Calvert

Sofía Vergara hastily swallows a gulp of jasmine tea before her hearty cackle fills the room. “It was awful!” she roars, recalling the moment she was invited to front Women’s Health’s inaugural Global Naked Campaign. Er, surely she means flattering? Gratifying? An honour? Nope, that’s not how Sofía rolls. “I told my assistant, ‘I’m going to be 45 years old! Can you just please let me age with some dignity? Why do I have to be f*cking naked at 45?’”

If Sofía is guilty of anything (aside from having a penchant for prolific swearing), it’s quite possibly her tendency to question the obvious. Yes, she’s 45; she’s also in possession of one of Hollywood’s most naturally stunning bodies – isn’t that killer figure something to be celebrated?

Happily, it seems we timed our request just right, catching Sofía in an acquiescent “in for a penny, in for a pound” mood. Just one week before our shoot, the self-confessed nudity phobe disrobed in front of an entire film set of bystanders to rehearse a shower scene for her new spy thriller Bent. Practice obviously makes perfect. For all the mock outrage, her assistant confirmed that of course she would strip off for Women’s Health covers across the world – and so Sofía finds herself naked in front of the camera for the second time in as many weeks.

The modesty that has kept Sofía largely under wraps – until now – is arguably at odds with the gregarious persona for which her fans adore her and, perhaps more significant, the remarkable achievements she can quite happily tick off her to-do list. Sure, she’s an actor first and foremost (the highest earning female on TV – $1.2-million per episode – thanks very much), but the Vergara ambition wasn’t going to stop at that.