Photos by Greg Swales
Sofía Vergara reveals her brother was murdered by a drug cartel and reflects on her role as Griselda Blanco
“Why do you think Gloria Pritchett could play Griselda Blanco?”
That’s what Sofía Vergara assumed Eric Newman, the showrunner of the Netflix franchise “Narcos,” would say when she told him she not only wanted to executive produce a series about the murderous Colombian drug lord, but also to star in it.
After all, Vergara had spent 11 years playing Gloria, the hilariously ditzy trophy wife to Ed O'Neill's Jay Pritchett on "Modern Family." Gloria was an important role for Vergara — not only did it put her on the map, but it also gave her the only adult character of color on a show about an affluent white family. She earned four Emmy nominations for the role and was a key player in the show's five-year winning streak in the comedy series category. Would viewers be open to her playing a dramatic role? A drug lord? Was she even capable of it?
