It’s not hard–or particularly original–to talk trash about Sofía Vergara and the larger-than-life character of Gloria Delgado-Pritchett that she plays on ABC’s Modern Family. Plenty of critics have drawn a straight line from the “crazy, oversexed Latina” stereotype that began with Carmen Miranda and was perpetuated for years by Charo and others. The broad Spanish accent, the show-stopping cleavage, the volatile personality: it’s all there. Even the script-writes on the series have pointed it out repeatedly, with references to Gloria’s husband’s infatuation with Charo, while other members of the family says, “I wonder why?”
But Sofía Vergara is no dummy. She’s well aware of what she’s doing, and she’s taking full advantage of the situation. And so far it’s working: According to Forbes, she became the highest-paid woman in television in 2012, making more than $19 million–and Modern Familyonly accounts for about $5 million of that figure.
Charo
Carmen Miranda
In a recent, revealing interview for the entertainment trade website The Wrap, she had a lot to say about who she is and what she’s doing. Among the choice quotes:
“My brain, it’s always thinking of how I could make a business out of it. This was not about the art of acting for me. It was always, ‘I want to make money off my image and do what I can do because I have a son, I have a family, I want to have money.’ I love the business part of my career.”
Sofía Vergara and Julie Bowen Modern Family
“I don’t know why people think stereotypes are so terrible. I am Gloria; my mother is Gloria; my aunts are Gloria. I mean, it’s not like I’m putting on a fake bra with big prosthetics, you know. It might be a stereotype, but I think the character is fantastic. She’s colorful, she’s honest, she’s out there, she cares about people. She’s loud, but I am loud. She’s crazy, but I am crazy. It’s not a problem.”
“I was worried, because I thought nobody was going to like a hot-looking Latin woman married to the older guy. It was totally like the description of the gold-digger. But after we shot the pilot, I realized that I had chemistry with Ed. I think everybody completely believed that Gloria and Jay belonged together.”
You may agree with her–or not; you may support her–or not, But there’s no way you can ignore her. Read the complete interview here.
