In 2020, Sofía Vergara ended her 11-year tenure as Gloria Delgado-Pritchett on ABC's beloved
sitcom Modern Family. Off-screen, Vergara's life was nothing like Gloria's. One wrong move and
her life could've gone very differently. Let's take a look back at the life of Sofía Vergara.
After Sofía Vergara moved to the U.S., she soon landed a gig hosting a travel show called
Fuera de Serie for Telemundo in 1995. Good fortune didn't last long for the future A-lister,
as her older brother Rafael was killed in Colombia in the late 90s. In 2011, Vergara told Parade his
death was a nightmare, adding that her family was successful, making them targets for kidnapping.
Sofía then brought her family to her home in Miami for safety. She recalled to Parade:
"Mother was like a zombie. I got a big house and we all lived together.
I am so grateful to be in this country."
In 2013, National Enquirer claimed that the investigation into Rafael's
death was being reopened after new witnesses were uncovered.
Vergara took to Twitter to express her feelings about the story, declaring:
"This is not news. This is disrespectful. We know
everything we need to know about my brother's death."
While success seemed to follow Sofía Vergara, she was battling thyroid cancer
at just 28 years old. She had surgery to remove her thyroid and developed hyperthyroidism .
"So they removed my thyroid and um, so I've been
without a thyroid for 10 years and I'm taking medication for it."
Vergara's diagnosis is a surprise to many, but she's served as a spokesperson for campaigns to
educate people about hyperthyroidism, like the "Follow The Script" campaign in 2013.
Vergara told The Huffington Post:
"I got rid of the cancer and then for me it was, 'Oh shoot, now I have to live with
[hyperthyroidism] my whole life. [...] I have to be on medication my whole life."
Vergara also recalled that her cancer scare caused her to focus on balance in her life,
while also indulging every so often. She added:
"You have to live your life and be happy because I think being happy
and not stressing all the time also helps you. But it's important to go
to the doctor, to have your checkups, to workout, eat healthy, everything."
Though most people would stop all communication once a break up happens,
Sofía Vergara has maintained a good relationship with her ex-husband,
José González . She told Parade that he even stays at her house when he's in the U.S.
But she has an ex who she's probably not as close to — convicted felon, Chris Paciello .
Paciello was a businessman on the Miami club scene in the '90s and had numerous famous pals,
but according to Vanity Fair, Vergara was his most serious relationship.
She was even at the courthouse a couple of weeks after he was arrested on felony charges,
including bank robbery, Vanity Fair reported.
The two broke up before he was convicted for his crimes, but Page Six reported that
she was in the VIP section of his new club Story in 2013. Her then-fiancé, Nick Loeb,
got into a fight with a table nearby, causing Vergara to allegedly get involved.
Though Sofía Vergara's fame seems like it came quickly because of Modern Family's
instant success, but wasn't an overnight fairy tale. She told The Hollywood Reporter in 2010:
"You can't compare the opportunities you get to an
American-accented actress. When they get 10 scripts a week, I get two a month."
Vergara said when she began acting,
she hired a coach to try and help her get rid of her accent, stating:
"But my auditions were getting worse because I was forgetting
to act and focusing on the pronunciations."
Former ABC president Steve McPherson believed in her and kept her signed to her deal with
the network even after two failed comedies, Hot Properties in 2005 and Knights Of Prosperity in
2007. McPherson's loyalty to Vergara resulted in Modern Family co-creators Chris Lloyd and Steve
Levitan writing the role of Gloria specifically for Vergara, she told The Hollywood Reporter.
Vergara admitted that while being an immigrant is "very hard," she's grateful
for all of the opportunities she's found in the U.S. She told The Hollywood Reporter:
"From my experience, it's a country that has given
me an opportunity to raise my family, to work and make money."
Sofía Vergara has been romantically linked to a lot of suitors, but her
biggest battle to date is with businessman and ex-fiancé Nick Loeb. In January 2020,
The Blast reported that Vergara and Loeb were still in a continuing legal
dispute over embryos the couple froze in 2013 while they were still together.
According to USA Today, the battle began when Loeb sued Vergara for custody of the embryos in 2014,
with the reported intention of using them with another woman with in vitro fertilization.
Loeb initially filed the suit in California and then dropped it so he could establish
residence and a trust for the embryos in the, quote, "more pro-life" state of Louisiana.
"This shouldn't be out there, you know,
for people to give their opinion when there's nothing to talk about, you know"
According to court documents obtained by The Blast in 2020, Vergara filed papers to demand that Loeb
sits for a deposition related to the embryos in the state of California. By February 2021,
a judge ruled that both parties would have to consent before the embryos could be used.
Sofía Vergara vowed to live happily ever after in
2015 when she married fellow actor Joe Manganiello . Manganiello is well-known
for playing werewolf Alcide Herveaux on the popular HBO drama True Blood.
Manganiello and Vergara met at a White House Correspondents Dinner in 2014.
Manganiello said on The Jess Cagle Show on SiriusXM:
"I just could not take my eyes off of her."
Vergara was publicly engaged to Nick Loeb at the time,
but when Manganiello learned that relationship ended, he asked her Modern Family co-star Jesse
Tyler Ferguson for her number. Vergara told Vanity Fair in 2015 that she was
initially hesitant to let Tyler Ferguson give Manganiello her number, stating:
"I'm like, Jesse, no, he's too handsome."
And she has no regrets, saying:
"There's nothing about him I'd change other than the fact that he's four years younger than me."
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