← Back to portfolio
Published on

Rise to Fame: How Sofia Vegara made it

Rise to fame: How Sofia Vergara made it

Columbian born Television Star Sofia Vergara is one of the highest-paid female actresses on Television. She has held the number one spot for years, generally juggling title ownership among other famous actresses, including Angelina Jolie and Gal Gadot. Yes, and if this is an impressive feat, it is an especially impressive feat for Sofia Vergara because it has been a notably difficult climb for minorities and Latina women to play influential roles in the television industry (and many other industries). As diversity and inclusion improve and become inextricably linked to the growth and betterment of society, Hispanic inclusion will continue to matter. Hollywood and the entertainment industry play a huge role in influencing millions of people each day. Actresses play an important role in leading and influencing changes in America. Yes, and these days more and more Latinas play significant roles. As a Latina influencer, Sofia Vergara plays a significant although at times controversial role in not only shaping history in America but also in stirring conversation about her role as Gloria Pritchett in Modern Family.

So, how exactly did the Latina actress rise to fame and become such a successful businesswoman? With Target and Walmart selling her clothing line, she’s an entrepreneur dipping her feet in different business avenues and selling thousands of products along the way. She is also the owner of a multi-million-dollar company. Sofia’s impressive and vast career success has created an opening for more Hispanic driven work. So, how exactly did Sophia Vergara do it? How did she, perhaps ironically, even challenge some stereotypes along the way. Let’s explore that further in this paper. Firstly, it’s all possible because of her strong values, love for her family and powerful ethnic origins. Mostly, she’s never let the critics, or anyone take her down. Her celebrity life is tied back to her roots. She is not a natural-born US citizen. She is an authentic Latina who truly fought to rise to fame from humble beginnings in Columbia where she lived for a significant period of her life. Born to a family of Cattle farmers in Barranquilla, Colombia in 1972, she never imagined she would become the superstar that she is today. In Columbia, Sofia lived a relatively quiet life with her seven siblings. She was one of many and didn’t receive any special attention. 

In Columbia, where she was born, Sofia was able to live relatively comfortably off of her father’s ranch while her mother took care of her and her siblings. At the time of her childhood, the country was suffering a period of economic decline and political unease. This was largely due to the failure of the political class and the collapse of major industrial activity. There, Columbia was violent and people were often afraid of the political climate. There were kidnappings for ransoms and other malicious activities. With the fear of the Country’s instability adding to Sofia’s typical teenage worries, such as her future career, Sofia still had to make decisions for herself in order to live a normal life, and it was fortunate that she was able to do so. Although she was originally very skinny, she eventually developed a curvy and very model-worthy body. While she never dreamed that modelling would work out for her, fate didn’t allow her to continue on that path, as she was discovered on the beach one day and offered the chance to work as a model for Pepsi. To her surprise, her mother approved of the idea and even encouraged her. So, Sofia began the first step into an acting career by taking on the modelling role.

In steps, Sofia modelled and married at the young age of 18. Then, she had a child. When she and her husband split up at 19, Sofia knew she had to take things more seriously as a single mother if she was going to continue to protect her son from the growing instability in Columbia. It was perhaps a blessing in disguise that the pair had split up, however, as it encouraged Sofia to push herself even more. Her fiercely protective mothering instincts were there to fuel her career, and so her career as a model took off, with Sofia pursuing higher-paying modelling jobs until she eventually landed her first spot on television to act in a telenovela. So, in a change of roles, Sofia began her acting career, and her life began to steadily change. Acting in small roles in her twenties, and driven by her goals, Sofia moved to Miami, and for the first time in her life found herself out of Columbia. The triumphs, battles, and ups and downs of show business continued as she moved around in different acting roles, attracting at first, a large Hispanic audience that followed from her roles on Univision. Although she didn’t bring in much of an English-speaking audience and was relatively unheard of, she was tremendously successful and popular with the Latin crowd. It was precisely the fact that she had these strong Latin roots that would make the most impact for her. In fact, her Latin upbringing and her choice to remain authentic to her roots would affect her and her career indefinitely.

When Sofia finally made it to America, most of her family was still in Columbia. She faced the biggest tragedy when her brother was kidnapped and killed in her hometown. With another one of her siblings turning to drugs to cope with the devastation, life got pretty tragic for Sofia in her twenties, and then when things got even worse when Sofia was diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer at 28. Lucky for the fighter, the cancer was diagnosed early, and she was able to fight to get a medical clearance to get back to acting. With these hardships coming to test her, Sofia continued to battle for her dreams and never gave up. It is this courage to continue that has made her an inspiration to many other people who have decided to follow in her acting footsteps. So, now as a prominent Latina Actress with a large following in the Latina community, it seemed inevitable that Sofia would inevitably become great. Sofia had, into her thirties worked her way into developing great acting skill and finally caught her lucky break when ABC signed her on to play a guest role on the show My Wife and Kids.  Yes, and now with her foot in the door into a major television studio, Sofia was very well received by ABC and she was signed onto stay with ABC where she would soon be cast to play the role of the Sassy and lovable Gloria in the very popular show Modern Family. Ever since then, she has become a staple in America and a superstar. Yes, and she was doing this while playing the role of a stereotypical Latina as well, and that’s more than just an accent, a feisty personality, jewellery, and colourful clothing. Sofia was playing the role of stereotypically attractive Latina, with curves, breasts, a butt, and an accent. That is what made her role particularly enchanting. She was now a famous actress and a very attractive woman (let’s call her a sex symbol). The two were interlinked. Yes, but what did that mean for Sofia and the rest of the Latin Community?

Much like a strong woman, it is clearly evident that Sofia has done plenty of work to make a name for herself in this world. The real woman behind Gloria has put a lot of fight into her own life, and this is true even if her name isn't associated with “fighter”. Sofia is however a very well-known and well-paid actress with a strong presence in America. For seven consecutive years, the talented actress topped the earnings charts for her role as Gloria Pritchet in the show Modern Family. According to Celebrity worth, the actress has a net worth of over 180 million dollars. She’s a huge success who’s worked hard to achieve everything she’s done. She’s climbed her way into career success over the years showing other people that they too could do it if they really wanted it. In fact, by playing the role of Latina mom and notably sexy Trophy wife Gloria Delgatto Pritchet, Sofia has not so ironically opened the doors for other Hispanic dreamers to follow in her footsteps. Her climb is the true story of the American Dream, and her role as Gloria stands as proof of this possibility, even if stereotypical. Gloria Pritchett is a loud and boisterous shout out to the Latina community and Sofia Vergara does a great job playing her. Notwithstanding, Sofia Vergara is a great woman whose prominence is here to stay.