Sofia Vergara's Next Role Is Largely Inspired by Her Own Life, The Actress Says

Summary

• Sofia Vergara is best known for her role as Gloria on Modern Family.
• The actress stars in Griselda, an upcoming Netflix miniseries.
• Vergara's past helped her portray the titular character.
• Playing Griselda was an interesting experience for the actress.

Although actors take on many roles throughout their careers, they often get stuck with a particular character they have played. This is definitely the case for Sofia Vergara, who has appeared in numerous TV shows and movies, including Baywatch, The Smurfs, Chef, and Hot Pursuit, but is most often associated with her Modern Family character, Gloria Delgado-Pritchett.

More recently, however, Sofia Vergara has been known to the public as a popular judge on America's Got Talent. She is also working on a new miniseries, Griselda, in which she will portray the titular drug baroness, known for her ruthlessness. And as much as the role seems like a 180 from Modern Family's Gloria, Vergara says she had no problem pulling off the character – thanks to her own life experiences.

Colombian Upbringing

Sofia Vergara was born and raised in Barranquilla, Colombia, where she began her modeling career. Despite her current glamorous life, the actress had first-hand experience with drug dealers in her early years, which she's now able to channel for Griselda.

'I grew up in the '70s, the '80s, the '90s. Everybody knew who they [drug dealers] were. You know, the United States was looking for them. I grew up during that time. I know that business,' Sofia Vergara revealed in a recent interview.

'You know, my brother was part of that business. He was killed in the '90s. I was very, like, I know this character. I think I can do it. Some actors need to, like – if they're going to play a doctor, they have to sit in a hospital for a while, or if they're going to play an astronaut, they hang out with the astronauts. I didn't have to do anything because I lived there, unfortunately.'

Who Was Griselda Blanco?

Nicknamed the Black Widow or Cocaine Godmother, Griselda Blanco was one of Miami's biggest drug dealers for more than three decades starting in the 1970s.

'It was a very, you know, controversial character. She's a woman. She was one of the biggest drug dealers that ever existed in Colombia. And she was not really well-known. And I think it was fascinating for me because one of the reasons why she was able to get away with so much was actually because she was a woman and they were never thinking that a woman was capable of doing all the horrific things that she did,' Sofia Vergara described her character.

Griselda will premiere on Netflix on January 25.

Source: YouTube.