Sofia Vergara's Rise To Fame

Sofia Vergara's path from the troubled city of Barranquilla, Colombia to being the highest paid actress on American television was not an easy road to travel. Her life has been beset by tragedy time and again, but Sofia has consistently managed to rise above it without forgetting where she came from.

Though Sofia had been in the entertainment industry for nearly 20 years, she didn't hit celebrity status until she was cast on the hit ABC sitcom Modern Family as Gloria Delgado-Pritchett, whose rags to riches life story was loosely inspired by Sofia's real life. It proved to be a match made in heaven, but sometimes it's hard to shake off the past, no matter how far you've come. For Sofia Vergara, it all started back in Barranquilla, Colombia.

Sofia was born in 1972 in Barranquilla, Colombia to a family of cattle farmers. Though the profession wasn't exactly glamorous, it provided a stable income for the Catholic family of eight. Sofia's mother was able to stay home and take care of the children, while her father managed the ranch. Though Barranquilla was thrown into chaos by the violent activity related to trafficking that was springing up, Sofia led a relatively quiet life, attending a private English-Spanish school and never dreaming of stardom.

Unfortunately for Sofia, she was raised during one of the most violent times in Colombian history. Due to her family's relatively secure means, Sofia largely avoided becoming caught in the crossfires of the ongoing conflict between paramilitary groups and the weak Colombian government. The instability of the country surrounding her kept her strongly tied to her Catholic faith, which almost kept her from becoming an actress at all. Sofia always had an inkling, however, that her family's security would one day make them a target.

Vergara never had aspirations to become a performer, choosing instead to study dentistry at university following high school. Though she always knew she was beautiful, and often wavered as to her feelings on her naturally ample chest, Sofia worried that a career focused on her looks would be considered immodest by the Catholic church. It was her luck that she was discovered on the beach near her hometown when she was 17, but the deeply religious Sofia initially turned down the offer.