Sofia Vergara’s role in Griselda certainly took the world by surprise. For years, she focused her attention on becoming a renowned comedy actress, only to switch gears and give an Emmy-nominated performance that her fans will certainly remember. Although her performance in the series becomes almost hypnotizing, it is important to remember that it is completely based on a true story.
Based on the life of Colombian drug trafficker Griselda Blanco, who was one of the most feared people in the business. With this in mind, one can imagine that playing a person like her would not have been an easy task for Vergara.
During an interview, the actress confessed that the role was especially challenging for her as she had a personal element in the mix.
Sofia Vergara’s Past With the Cartel
One can imagine that being one of the most successful drug lords of all time, Griselda Blanco did some very horrible things to earn her reputation. While actors frequently play characters that have done such things, the experience of playing the drug trafficker was slightly different for Sofia Vergara for one reason.
During an interview with Variety, the actress confessed that she had a personal connection to the Colombian cartel as her brother, Rafael, was murdered by them. She revealed that her family was quite well-off, which made them a target for kidnappings. Due to this, her family would frequently have bodyguards for protection.
We come from a successful family, and he knew he was a target for kidnapping. He always had bodyguards. Then one day he went out alone and was shot dead. I was devastated.
However, the one time her brother ended up going out without his bodyguards, he was shot by a Colombian cartel in an attempted kidnapping. What makes her story all the more tragic is the fact that the case has not been solved, to date.
How Did Sofia Vergara’s Family Cope?
In the interview, Sofia Vergara further talked about how the loss of her brother affected her and her family. She confessed that this was one of the darkest points in her family, not knowing what had happened and why Rafael was taken away from them so suddenly. So much so, that the actress mentioned that it completely destroyed her family.
Specifically talking about how the untimely death affected her mother, she mentioned that she was barely there. Naturally, experiencing a loss as tragic as one’s own son seriously affected her, and worried the actress about her family’s well-being.
It destroyed my family. It destroyed my mom. It changed our lives completely. We didn’t know what was happening, why he had been killed.
What made the entire situation all the worse was the fact that when all of this was happening, Vergara was in America. Not wanting to be away with her family, she moved all of them to her. She had to step up and take responsibility for everyone in her family while grieving the loss herself. It is safe to say that the entire situation left an everlasting mark on her and her family.
Griselda is available for streaming on Netflix.
