Sofia Vergara is a lot more than her beautiful curves and spot-on comedic timing.
The "Modern Family" star has been the highest-paid television actress for five years in a row, but her hard work started years before anyone knew her name.
You may think you know Vergara, who turns 45 on July 10th, but here are five things you probably didn't know about the Colombian beauty.
1. She's a natural blonde.
One of Vergara's earliest success secrets started with being able to recognize what would get her ahead. And, ironically, it started with her head. Known now for her flowing brunette locks, Vergara is a natural blonde. She made the switch to a darker do, because it was more marketable in Hollywood.
"I'm a natural blonde, like my siblings,"Vergara told Parade.
"When I started auditioning for American acting roles, they didn't know where to put me," she continued. "A blonde Latina? In L.A., they're used to Latin women looking more Mexican. But if you go to Uruguay, Argentina, Colombia, everybody is blonde."
2. She originally planned to be a dentist.
After high school, Vergara studied to be a dentist.
“I didn’t want to be an actress. I wanted to be a dentist, but you never know what life will bring you,” she told the New York Daily News. “But I can’t complain, I’m happy with what I’ve achieved.”
Her career path would forever be altered one day at the beach.
"I was 17. I was at the beach with my parents and some scout asked to take a Polaroid of me," Vergara told E! of the pivotal moment.
Her first big job was in a 1992 Pepsi commercial.
3. Vergara had a child at just 19 years old.
At 18, Vergara wed José González, who she described to Parade as her “high school sweetheart, the only one." A year later, they had a son, Manolo. But things didn't work out between the couple and a year later, when Vergara was 20, they divorced.
Vergara raised him as a single mother, and Manolo is now 24 years old and has his own modeling career.
Vergara has also found a new love in "True Blood" and "Magic Mike" actor Joe Manganiello, whom she married in November 2015.
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