20 Things You Didn't Know About Sofia Vergara

Stop staring and learn something about the star of "Machete Kills."

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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You can't help but smile when thinking about Sofia Vergara. She's beautiful and funny, the kind of charismatic star that's adored by women and men.

These days the Colombian actress is best known as Gloria Delgado-Pritchett on ABC's Modern Family, but she started out as a Univision travel show host. The show required her to live in a uniform of skimpy bikinis, but it's her vivacious personality that captured audiences. No, really.

Since then she's blossomed into one of the most recognizable Latin figures and is showing no signs of stopping anytime soon. Just check out her starring role in Robert Rodriguez's Machete Kills, in theaters tomorrow.

As usual, any mention of Sofia Vergara begets even more Sofia Vergara. That said, here are 20 things you didn't know about the big screen star. 

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Vergara was born a blonde, but has been told by directors to dye her hair darker so she looks more stereotypically latina.

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When she was younger, she would watch the Spanish-dubbed Married with Children, which starred Al Bundy, who now plays her husband on Modern Family.

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When she was younger, she would wear two pairs of jeans to give the illusion of a fuller body.

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The famously voluptuous star bust size is 32F and has had custom tailored dresses ever since she was young.

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Before she was famous, she starred in her first Pepsi commercial at age 17.

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She got her big break on the Mexican telenovela Acapulco, Cuerpo y Alma in 1995.

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Vergara became a household name in Latin America when she co-hosted Univision's Spanish travel show Fuera De Serie from 1995-1998. The show took Vergara and co-host Fernando Fiore to various exotic locations.

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She studied Pre-Dentistry at a Colombian university for three years before dropping out to co-host Fuera De Serie.

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Vergara got her own calendar in 2000.

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In 2000, she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and had her thyroid removed. She underwent therapy and made a full recovery, but she still takes medication to control hypothyroidism.

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In 2002, she was a spokesmodel for Miller Lite, appearing in several ads and a commercial.

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Back in 2003, she dated singer Craig David for more than 7 days: a few months to be exact.

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Her fiancé proposed on top of the Chichen Itza pyramid in Mexico and when the couple came down, they almost got arrested because the area was restricted.

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She had her son, Manolo, at 19 while she was married to her now ex-husband, Joe Gonzalez.

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Her son, Manolo, is named after the character in Scarface. She was a big fan of the movie and thought Steven Bauer, who played Manolo, was "super hot."

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Her older brother, Rafael, was killed in Colombia after an attempted kidnapping.

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She no longer eats meat in the U.S. because she says it tastes funny here.

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She bought tickets for 21 members of her family to attend the 2013 Emmys with her.

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For the past two years, Sofia Vergara has been named by Forbes as the highest-earning actress on American TV. Over the past year alone, she made about $30 million.

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Shakira is one of her close friends. Both women grew up in the town of Baranquilla, in Colombia.

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