Sofía Margarita Vergara (born July 10, 1972) is a Colombian model, actress and entrepreneur. Since she was raised bilingual in English and Spanish, this has been an expedient in her making the transition from being a performer in Latin America in Spanish to becoming one in the United States in the English language. Dubbed “Sofia Viagra”, Vergara was already rather well-known in North America from her modeling work, and her first notable acting job in English was in the movie Chasing Papi.
Vergara moved to Bogotá at age 20, where she worked as a model on the runway and on television. From 1995 to 1999, she was co-host with Fernando Fiore on Fuera de Serie (“Out of the Ordinary” or “Over-the-Top”), a travel series that sent her to exotic places around the world. It was telecast on the international Univision Spanish-language television network, and it made her a star in the Latin American market. It also gave Vergara television exposure in the United States via the Univision stations there. She co-hosted the Univision show A que no te atreves (“I Dare You”). She appeared as a guest star in the season-four opening of the HBO series Entourage.
Besides runway and catalog modeling work, Vergara did independent projects. She was photographed for posters and swimsuit calendars in 1998, 2000, and 2002.
Vergara is 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) tall, and she has naturally light brown/sunbleached-blonde hair (for movies and television, she is sometimes asked to color it brunette to make her look more typically Latina). Vergara was under an exclusive television contract with Univision for several years, and after it expired she accepted a role with the ABC network in the United States. Vergara appeared on the ABC situation comedies Hot Properties and The Knights of Prosperity. She is set to star in the sitcom Modern Family starting in September 2009.
Vergara plays Alicia Oviedo in the Colombian version of the television show Desperate Housewives, which is called Amas de Casa Desesperadas. She also appears on the ABC drama Dirty Sexy Money as Jeremy Darling’s love interest. Vergara has made guest appearances in the Mexican telenovela Fuego En La Sangre.
In 2002, Vergara was diagnosed and treated for thyroid cancer.
In 2009, Vergara had a five-week stint on Broadway as “Mama” Morton in the revival of Chicago.
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