Sofia Vergara reveals how her role in Netflix's 'Griselda' was inspired by her brother Rafael's murder

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Sofia Vergara's powerful performance as Colombian drug lord Griselda Blanco in the Netflix miniseries, 'Griselda', is shaped by her own tragic experience.

Her older brother, Rafael Vergara, was killed by a Colombian cartel on the streets of Bogota in 1996 during a failed kidnapping attempt, a loss that deeply affected her.

Drawing on this personal tragedy, Vergara brought a unique depth to her portrayal of Blanco. Her intimate understanding of the cartel's impact on her family allowed her to vividly capture the dark and complex world of narco-trafficking, adding a layer of authenticity and emotional resonance to her role.

How Sofia Vergara channeled her older brother's death into her 'Griselda' role

In an interview with Variety in April, Sofia Vergara, 52, who was born and raised in Barranquilla, Colombia, discussed how the murder of her older brother, Rafael Vergara, influenced her portrayal of Griselda Blanco.

The actress revealed how her brother’s death deeply affected her family, saying, "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.

Sofia, who had moved to Miami from Colombia a year earlier, had to shift her mother, sister, and younger brother to the US following her brother's death. She noted, "It was hard, because I had to take responsibility for my whole family."

Recounting Rafael's 1996 murder to Daily Mail, she shared, "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 [in a kidnapping attempt]. I was devastated," as per South China Morning Post. 

She described the pervasive influence of narco-trafficking in Colombia at the time, sharing, "Unfortunately, in Colombia at that time, the tentacles of narco traffic were everywhere. Everything was touched by it." Sofia added, "My brother was a nice guy – a good guy. But he took a wrong decision and unfortunately he paid for it. We all paid for it."

Her personal connection to the cartel’s impact on her family allowed her to depict Blanco with a complex blend of empathy and realism.

She aimed to show Blanco not just as a ruthless criminal but also as a flawed individual, balancing the character’s dark deeds with a nuanced performance that avoided romanticizing her actions.

Sofia Vergara reached out to 'Narcos' showrunner Eric Newman to turn Griselda Blanco's story into a TV show

It wasn't until 2006, after watching the documentary 'Cocaine Cowboys', that Sofia Vergara learned about Griselda Blanco’s notorious drug empire in Miami during the 1980s. Initially skeptical of Blanco’s story—a Colombian mother of four who became a ruthless drug lord—the actress felt compelled to take on the role.

In 2015, after watching the first episode of 'Narcos', she reached out to showrunner Eric Newman to discuss adapting Blanco's story for television. 

Newman noted that both Blanco and Sofia shared similarities, not only in their Colombian heritage but also in their unexpected journeys to prominence. "The unlikely rise of a single mother showing up in America going, ‘All right, here I am," told the producer to Variety.

Despite the challenge of portraying such a dark figure, the 'Modern Family' star aimed to bring a sympathetic dimension to Blanco. "The bad guy that you feel bad you’re rooting for," explained Sofia. 

However, she added, "It was very difficult not to romanticize her or to make it seem like she was the hero. She’d become a psychopath."