Sofía Vergara Early life Vergara was born to a Roman Catholic family in Barranquilla . . Her mother, Margarita Vergara de Vergara, was a homemaker, and her father, Julio Enrique Vergara Robayo, was a cattle rancher for the meat industry. She was nicknamed Toti by her five siblings and many cousins. Vergara initially studied three years of dentistry at a university in Colombia , but left two semesters away from her degree to pursue opportunities in modeling and show business. She subsequently moved toMiami Florida , leaving behind unrest in Colombia, where her older brother Rafael was murdered in 1998 during an attempt to kidnap him. Her cousin and adopted sister, Sandra , is also a television actress in the United States. Career Vergara was discovered by a photographer while walking on a Colombian beach and was quickly presented with offers of modeling and television work. Vergara was...