Sofia Vergara opens up about personal, tragic connection to Griselda

Sofia Vergara opens up about personal, tragic connection to Griselda

As a gamer who has had a fair share of binge-watching crime dramas, I must say that Griselda on Netflix is a masterpiece that truly stands out. The series, starring Sofia Vergara as the notorious Colombian drug lord Griselda Blanco, offers an enthralling portrayal of one woman’s journey from obscurity to infamy.


Without a doubt, “Griselda” is one of the top-tier crime dramas currently streaming on Netflix. This series made its debut on the platform in January 2024 and quickly became a fan favorite. The show features Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Sofia Vergara portraying the infamous Colombian drug lord, Griselda Blanco, also known as the Cocaine Godmother.

For six episodes, viewers follow Griselda’s transformation, starting at the beginning and ending up as a notorious Colombian drug lord who establishes one of history’s most lucrative cartels. Joining Sophia Vergara in this series are Alberto Guerra, Vanessa Ferlito, Christian Tappan, Martin Rodriguez, Juliana Aidén Martinez, Alberto Ammann, and a host of others.

Beyond appearing in the show, Griselda was also a creative endeavor that Vergara spearheaded as executive producer. In an exclusive chat with Variety, Vergara shared the motivations behind her desire to bring Griselda’s story to life, and unfortunately, those reasons stemmed from the loss of a dear family member.

Sofia Vergara opens up about personal, tragic connection to Griselda

1996 marked a tragic turn in Vergara’s life when she was 24 years old and her older brother, Rafael Vergara, was brutally murdered by a Colombian drug cartel during a failed kidnapping attempt. Given that Griselda was a notorious Colombian drug lord who ran a Colombian cartel, Vergara’s connection to Griselda‘s life story stemmed from her brother’s violent demise at the hands of such an organization. This personal link served as one of the driving forces behind her determination to bring the crime drama series to fruition.

2006 was the year I first saw “Cocaine Cowboys,” a gripping documentary that delved into Miami’s drug trade in the late ’70s and ’80s, where Griselda was also prominently featured. It left me utterly astounded – here was a woman with four children, who later rose to become one of the most influential figures in Miami’s cocaine trade during those decades. The film sparked an immediate desire within me: I simply had to portray Griselda on screen.

Indeed, the series eventually became “Griselda” on Netflix, but it took a significant amount of time to produce. The main reason for this delay was that Griselda Blanco herself was still alive, and Vergara felt it was too risky to create a series about her at that point in time. However, when Blanco passed away in 2012, Vergara became more determined to develop a show based on her life. She simply needed the right team to help bring her vision to life. That team ended up being the creators behind Netflix’s crime drama series “Narcos.”

In her exceptional performance as Griselda Blanco in the series “Griselda”, Vergara was nominated for the Emmy Award for Lead Actress in a Limited Series in 2024, becoming the first Latina to receive such a nomination in this category. The outcome of whether she will win the award will be revealed during the 76th Emmy Awards ceremony on September 15.

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2024-08-15 01:03