Sofia Vergara

Sofia Vergara is, by all accounts, a very successful Colombian woman. Made famous by US Sitcom Modern Family, today she is one of the most recognizable faces (and voices) in the world and has starred in films such as Meet the Browns and Madea Goes to Jail.

Born in Barranquilla, Colombia in 1972, Vergara began her career as a television presenter during the 90s. Her break came with the release of 2003 film, Chasing Papi.

Representations of Colombia that come from movies and television in the States are usually full of inaccuracies, lazy generalizations and sometimes even offensive stereotypes.
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=> In US Sitcom Modern Family, which airs a new season soon, Sofia Vergara takes her Colombian roots and plants them firmly in the gaze of the US television-viewing population.
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There are jokes at Colombia’s expense and some errors made, but generally the portrayal is a good one, and we’ve heard Colombians give their approval to the character. One person we asked pointed out that “normally us Colombians are portrayed as poor, as maids or something, but Sofia Vergara’s character likes nice things, she has taste, and she knows what she wants. That’s more like the Colombians I know”. Fair point.

=> A little known fact is that Vergara used to be blond, but was made to dye her hair black in order to seem more like the archetypal Colombian.
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