SOFIA VERGARA

She washes her hair every day, tries any anti-aging trend and can never refuse cake. The funny and gorgeous star knows who she is and what she wants when it comes to her life, career and love

- JULIE JORDAN

“Amore! Amore!” Sofia Vergara’s unmistakable voice resonates through the retro suite at the Santa Monica Proper hotel. A teeny 4-month-old Chihuahua wearing an even tinier diamond necklace looks up from the warm lap of one of the actress’s entourage. “Where is my love?” The puppy is quickly brought to Vergara, and the two immediately begin nuzzling before the next round of photos for this year’s cover shoot. “Look, she’s posing!” someone exclaims of the dog over audible “awws” in the room. “Just like her mama.”

Vergara has all the love she needs these days. After winning over hearts for nearly 11 years in Gloria Delgado-Pritchett’s stiletto heels on Modern Family and serving as a judge on America’s Got Talent since 2020, the actress, 51, has found a new cadence to life. Single after her seven-year marriage to actor Joe Manganiello ended last July, she plays it coy when asked if she’s dating anyone. “Maybe,” she says with a sly smile (though she has posted about rumored beau Justin Saliman). But what really excites her is the thought of her son Manolo, 32, whom she shares with her high school sweetheart ex-husband, making her “Abuela” someday: “I think I’ll be a fun grandmother.”

She’s also ready to take more risks professionally, having just portrayed a Miami drug lord in the Netflix drama series Griselda, which she executive-produced. Vergara was almost unrecognizable underneath wigs, a prosthetic nose and false teeth that were bucked and yellowed, but the transformation was pivotal to her amazing performance—even if it was a bit outside her physical comfort zone. “I did Griselda for six months. It was a horrific [look],” she says, laughing. “It was torture.”