It’s hard to turn on your T.V. in the United
States and Latin America and not see the rising influence of Sofía Vergara. Her
talent and beauty alone have catapulted her into mainstream Hollywood,
increasing her influence on Latino communities, as well as Anglo-American
households coast to coast. Her presence is requested at every major event and
her name alone will attract consumers due to her unbelievable work ethic and
drive for perfection. Whether it’s her
role on Modern Family, her brand new clothing line, or her new Executive
Producer role with ABC Network, Sofía seems to turn everything she touches into
Gold.
Born and Raised in Baranquilla, Colombia,
in a traditional Catholic home, Vergara was pursuing a pre-dentistry degree
before being discovered. It’s hard to imagine this beauty queen cleaning your
teeth or drilling holes in your mouth. One can only imagine her excitement,
curiosity, and fears on the day a photographer approached her on the Beaches of
Colombia. Excited as any young women would be upon being offered amazing
opportunities to model and shine on screen. Following that Curiosity led her to
eventually take the risk despite the fears of what her conservative Catholic
family and local nuns would think. Being raised religiously, Sofía sought the
council of her Catholic School nuns, and upon approval Sofía accepted her first
commercial gig, launching one of the most historical rises to stardom our
modern world has ever seen. The once pre-dentistry student was now on her way
to becoming one of the most influential Women on the planet, an emissary, not
only to her people back home, but to all Latinas, and minority women across the
globe. What was once considered impossible is being transformed to meet such a
great demand, with Sofía in the driver’s seat.
According to the July issue of Forbes
Magazine, the most significant demographic trend reshaping America is the
growth of the Hispanic population. “If Hispanic Americans
were a nation, it would have the world’s ninth-largest economy.” Americans of
Latin-American descent spend over $1 trillion annually and experts from Nielsen
Media Research expect that number will climb to $1.5 trillion by 2015. Census
reports from 2010 estimate by 2050, one in three Americans will be Hispanic. This
information has produced a “media Gold Rush” in which networks are battling to
have a piece of the $1 trillion U.S. Hispanic market pie.
With the Latino influence increasing
domestically in the U.S., it has sprung attraction to the Latino Market, and
successful Latino emissaries and entrepreneurs such as Sofía Vergara are
emerging as the face of such media and economic surges. Since joining the ABC
Network, and starring in the hit series Modern Family, Sofía has won over
American audiences, while remaining close to her Latino communities in the
United States and Latin America. Who better to represent the Latino community
then Vergara? Who has successfully crossed over from the Latin American market
to the U.S. market, from Telenovelas to Modern Family. Sofía is expanding her
own market value, while opening doors for others to follow.
With talent, grace, and beauty she
assimilates and attracts Latinos from all walks of life. Vergara made her first
appearance as a performer at the age of seventeen in a Pepsi commercial that
was widely broadcast in Latin America. Sofía, now 40 years of age is the face
of Diet Pepsi globally. Such endorsements from Diet Pepsi as the spokesperson
of the product, Kmart for her clothing line, Cover Girl for her modeling and
stunning beauty, to go along with earnings from ABC as an actress in Modern
Family and as an Executive producer for Mujeres Asesinas, an
Argentine series ABC Network hired Sofía to help familiarize for American
television; all together place Vergara’s earnings for the past year at $19 million.
All of Sofía’s hard work has made her the highest-earning woman in television,
taking in $19 million for the past 12 months topping Kim Kardashian in earnings
and media hype.
Sofía in all her glory and success remains
close to her people and has great pride in being Latina. "We're loud, we’re
passionate, we’re colorful, we’re voluptuous, I am not scared of the stereotype
of the Latin woman, because I think it's fantastic." Sofía Vergara, on
being a Latina actress in Hollywood; "You have to be on top of it all the
time, trying to get good scripts. Just be there, be there, be there, there’s nothing
else you can do but try to create, it’s the only way.” At the same time Sofía
was rising to stardom she realized the lack of representation Latinos had in
the Entertainment Industry.
Being a model, actress, and now producing
in both the U.S. and Latin America the ambitious Sofía Vergara is climbing the
charts fast, but even with all her personal success Vergara has never alienated
her roots. Vergara realized the vast amount of talent and potential in her own
people, but also observed a lack of representation for Latinos in the
Entertainment industry. Sofía took her vision for herself and her people to
another level when she expanded her interests further, investing in other young
ambitious Latinos looking for an open door into the competitive industry. In 1998,
along with Luis Balaguer, she cofounded LatinWE, which has since grown from a
Miami based talent agency to a talent management and media company set out to
manage and market Hispanic American talent in the United States. What started
out as a vision to promote her people was put into action and her investment
has since multiplied hand in hand with today’s demand, LatinWE now 16 years in
business pulled in an estimated $27 million last year alone. Under the guidance
of a visionary such as Sofía, LatinWE has developed from just a managing agency
for premiere Latino talent to a diverse company, offering multiple services
including but not limited to; public relations, endorsements, promotions, brand
integration, production, content development, and licensing. LatinWE takes
pride in representing upcoming and major stars for the Hispanic market,
utilizing their influence and ability to relate to Latino Communities, they produce
and promote products specifically for the flourishing Hispanic market. In
addition, the LatinWe has endorsed Spanish-language music tours across the
U.S., successfully marketed over 500 major Hollywood studio films to the U.S.
Latino Market, as well as creating and producing entertainment programs for
various Fortune 500 companies. Not bad for a Colombian beauty queen who,
originally, left her studies in pre-dentistry, while two semesters shy of her
degree, for Miami where many opportunities arose in acting and modeling. Only
had she known at the time Miami would be the base of her booming marketing
firm, and her ticket to tap into markets beyond Hollywood, breaching borders of
international and social divide. Sofía is building bridges into the future,
embracing modern times and understanding such a great demand in today’s market
calls for expansion into the Latino communities, and who better to bring Latino’s
into the limelight then our brightest star, whose radiance alone meets the
demand of many. Sofía is just walking the walk executing personal endeavors,
blazing a trail for others to follow, while sitting front seat as the shinning face
of the Latino Market.