Sofia Vergara was born on 10th July 1972 in Barranquilla, Colombia, an industrial city on the Caribbean coast, as well, the birthplace of pop singer Shakira. Her father ran a cattle farm while her stay-at-home mother raised the future star and her five brothers and sisters. Vergara married her childhood sweetheart at the age of 18 and gave birth to her son Manolo Gonzalez-Ripoll Vergara two years later. After her marriage ended in divorce, she returned to school and took up dentistry at a Colombian university.She decided to quit dental school and, hoping to provide financially for her family, pursued a show business career. It did not take long for the beautiful actress to make her mark in her native country. She began hosting the travel and lifestyle program "Fuera de Serie" ("Out of the Ordinary") (Univision, 1995-98). The show was telecast on Univision, one of the largest Spanish-language networks airing worldwide, including the United States. She also made her acting debut in the ensemble series "Acapulco, cuerpo y alma" (Televisa S.A. de C.V., 1995).Sadly, her career was well on its way to taking off when tragedy struck Vergara's family. Her older brother was shot and murdered during an attempt to kidnap him in 1998. Feeling unsafe in her own home and country, the actress left Colombia and moved to Miami, FL with her son, mother and sister.Her new surroundings gave Vergara a fresh start in life and an opportunity to focus on her family and career.In July 2010, as she announced the 2010 Emmy nominations in an early morning press conference, she was elated to discover that she was one herself, receiving the nod for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her stellar work on "Modern Family." At the end of the year, Vergara received more accolades after earning Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress, as well as another Emmy nod the following year.
