Sofía Vergara

Sofía Margarita Vergara Vergara (Spanish: [soˈfi.a βeɾˈɣaɾa]; born July 10, 1972) is a Colombian and American actress and television personality. She has received five nominations each at the Primetime Emmy Awards and the Golden Globe Awards. She is one of the highest-paid actresses in the United States.

Vergara is known for her role as Gloria Delgado-Pritchett in the ABC sitcom Modern Family (2009–2020) and Griselda Blanco in the Netflix miniseries Griselda (2024). She rose to prominence when co-hosting two television shows for the Spanish-language television network Univision in the late 1990s. After acting in the English-language film Chasing Papi (2003), she subsequently appeared in Four Brothers (2005), and Tyler Perry's comedies Meet the Browns (2008) and Madea Goes to Jail (2009). Vergara also acted in New Year's Eve (2011), The Three Stooges (2012), Machete Kills (2013), Fading Gigolo (2013), Chef (2014), and Hot Pursuit (2015). She has also had voice-over roles in the animated films Happy Feet Two (2011), The Emoji Movie (2017), and Despicable Me 4 (2024).

Since 2020, Vergara has been a judge on the television talent show America's Got Talent. She is also known as a businesswoman and a brand ambassador. Vergara designs her own fashion line for Walmart, and signed with both Pepsi and CoverGirl in 2011. She launched her first fragrance "Sofia by Sofia Vergara" in 2014, and has since released four more fragrances.

Sofía Margarita Vergara was born on July 10, 1972, to a Catholic family in Barranquilla, Atlántico, Colombia. Her mother, Margarita Vergara de Vergara, was a homemaker, and her father, Julio Enrique Vergara Robayo, was a cattle rancher for the meat industry. She was nicknamed "Toti" by her five siblings and many cousins. Vergara has Spanish and Italian origins.

Vergara initially studied dentistry for three years at National University of Colombia, but she left two semesters away from completing her degree to pursue opportunities in modeling and show business. In 1998, her older brother Rafael was murdered in Colombia during an attempt to kidnap him. Not wanting to be caught in the unrest that resulted from the murder, Vergara emigrated to the United States, settling in Miami, Florida. Her cousin and adopted sister, Sandra, is also a television actress in the United States.

Vergara was discovered by a photographer while walking on a beach in Santa Marta, Colombia, and she was quickly presented with offers of modeling and television work. She was "apprehensive about doing her first television commercial—until her Catholic schoolteachers gave her their personal permission to take the assignment." She made her first appearance, age 17, in a Pepsi commercial aired in Latin America. She then began studies at the Creative Workshops School of Acting, where Gloria Estefan also trained.

In 1992, she won the Look of the Year contest in Colombia, and competed at International Finals in New York, And although she didn't win, this opened doors for her in the modeling world in New York, Miami, and London, and later she was hired by Univision, the largest Latin television network based in Miami, first as a model for various variety shows like Sabado Gigante, Lente Loco, Fuera de Serie, and El Blablazo, and then as a celebrity correspondent in Primer Impacto and El Gordo y La Flaca before launching her acting career.

In 2009, Vergara appeared in Chicago on Broadway as Matron Mama Morton for six weeks.

That same year she got a starring role on the ABC sitcom Modern Family as Gloria Delgado-Pritchett, for which she was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series from 2010 to 2013. Vergara was the highest-earning woman in U.S. television, earning $19 million for the previous 12 months, according to a list released by Forbes.com on July 18, 2012. Vergara was named one of People magazine's "50 most beautiful people", and named by The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard as one of the most influential Latin women in Hollywood. Vergara received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on May 7, 2015. In 2015, Forbes estimated Vergara's annual income at $28.5 million.

In February 2020, Vergara was announced as a new judge on America's Got Talent, beginning for its fifteenth season. She has since appeared on the program for six consecutive seasons. In two out of her six seasons as a judge, Vergara's "golden buzzer" selections have won the show (Mayyas in 2022 and Jessica Sanchez in 2025).

In 2024, Vergara earned a historic nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie at the Primetime Emmy Awards for her portrayal of Griselda Blanco in the Netflix miniseries Griselda. This nomination made her the first Latina born in a Latin American country to be nominated in this category. Despite her acclaimed performance, Vergara did not win the Emmy, losing to Jodie Foster. She humorously acknowledged the loss, joking that she was "robbed" for the fifth time. Vergara's portrayal of Blanco was deeply personal, influenced by the 1996 murder of her older brother, Rafael, by a Colombian cartel. This tragedy profoundly impacted her family and motivated her to take on the role, despite the challenges it presented.

In 2011, it was announced that Vergara has designed a Kmart clothing line aimed at soccer moms. In 2011, Vergara was named the face of CoverGirl, with the first advertisements appearing in January 2012. In April 2011, she appeared in a Diet Pepsi commercial with David Beckham and another in January 2012. Also in 2011, she appeared in a number of commercials for Comcast's Xfinity brand and State Farm. In 2013, she signed endorsement contracts with Diet Pepsi, Rooms To Go, and the medicine Synthroid. Vergara launched a furniture line with Rooms To Go in 2013. She wanted to create well-made and affordable furniture, saying: "Everyone should be able to make their home look amazing and be proud of their home." In 2014, Vergara became a brand ambassador for the American anti-dandruff shampoo brand Head & Shoulders.

In March 2017, she reached a settlement with Venus Concept for alleged improper use of her likeness, which Vergara said created the false impression that she endorsed their beauty products. She launched her first fragrance "Sofia by Sofia Vergara" in 2014 and has since released four more fragrances. In June 2023, Vergara launched the beauty brand Toty, after her childhood nickname. In 2024, Vergara launched Dios Mio! Coffee, a brand devoted to elevating female Colombian growers.

Vergara has naturally blonde hair. For movies and television, she is sometimes asked to color her hair dark brown or black to make her look more stereotypically Hispanic.

Vergara was married at the age of 18 in 1990 to her high-school sweetheart, Joe Gonzalez. They have a son named Manolo, who was born in Colombia on September 16, 1991. They divorced in 1993. Vergara and her boyfriend Nick Loeb became engaged in 2012 after dating for two years. On May 23, 2014, Vergara announced that the engagement had been called off. Vergara and True Blood star Joe Manganiello became engaged on Christmas Eve 2014 after dating for six months. They married in Palm Beach, Florida, on November 21, 2015. On July 17, 2023, Vergara and Manganiello announced to Page Six that they have separated and are planning to divorce after seven years of marriage. The divorce was finalized in February 2024. In 2023, she began dating orthopedic surgeon Justin Saliman.