Colombia's sexiest export Sofia Vergara is flying high in Hollywood and taking to the skies in this spring's Soul Plane. Is this the start of a Latin-bombshell revolution?
This feature originally appeared in Complex's April/May 2004 issue.
Bet you wish you were one of these valets. Another party on Sunset Boully is winding down, and a bunch of celebrities are waiting impatiently for their cars outside the club. The guys on parking detail, suited up in ill-fitting polyester uniforms, are scrambling to get a piece of A-list action—’cause everyone knows that’s where the big tips are at. Except, in this instance, the last thing on the valets’ minds is the cash, and this particular car’s not even that banging. No, like any hot-blooded male, these guys just want to catch a glimpse of the ride’s owner, a leggy girl with feline eyes and sun-kissed skin. The scenario is not that uncommon for 32-year-old model-turned-actress Sofia Vergara, who totally gets that her fortunate appearance has its pluses.
"I get to do no lines," she says. "In L.A., I’ve gone to nightclubs where Justin Timberlake and people like that are waiting for their cars, and I’ll come out and be the first to get mine." It’s not like she’s ever going to go home with a valet. But as Michael Rappaport’s character in the film Beautiful Girls put it: "A beautiful girl is like bottled promise.” Right––fantasy is a powerful force. So powerful that in this world, or at least in Hollywood, beauty equals privilege. It’s not just Vergara’s effervescent personality that’s earned her a string of professional opportunities. Sure, she’s always been committed to her endeavors, but there’s no denying that her good looks have played a part in her success.
She’s perfectly content to bear the nickname Sofia Viagra, as she’s affectionately known throughout Latin America.
One such job led to an offer from Colombian broadcasting giant Univision to host the lighthearted, Miami-based travel show Fuera De Serie. Four years later, at age 27, she moved on to Univision’s A Que No Te Atreves, a Fear Factor–type reality series in which regular people perform ludicrous acts. "People only got paid like $50, so it was crazy to see what they would do," she says mischievously. "One time a guy jumped out of a plane naked. Another time, this girl came on set and put huge cockroaches in her bra and underpants." Not that every viewer tuned in for the stunts––Sofia’s skimpy, hip-hugging outfits were reason enough for most men to watch every week.
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