She was recently named American TV's highest paid female star for the second year running.

Sofia Vergara, 41, made more than US$30 million (S$38 million) last year, Forbes reported.

Her impressive earnings are not just from her acting, but from lucrative endorsements.

The ranking is largely due to her appeal in the bilingual market. She often does endorsements in both Spanish and English for big brands like Kmart and Diet Pepsi.

Here are some lesser known facts about the Colombian-born star.

1) She survived thyroid cancer

She had her thyroid removed and underwent radioactive iodine therapy at the age of 28, after discovering she had cancer. She went into shock, reported The New York Times, when she was told she had the disease. She still takes medication today.

2) She escaped being Mrs Tom Cruise

Tom Cruise wanted her to be his third wife. But Roman Catholic Vergara, who dated him in 2005, bailed out when she realised he wanted her to become a Scientologist.

3) Gloria role was apparently written for her

She was cast in The Modern Family in 2009 as Gloria, a woman with an older love interest. She has said she never considered dating someone older than her until she played Gloria.

4) Many nominations, but she is still chasing that Emmy

Despite numerous nominations, she has yet to win an Emmy for her stellar role in Modern Family. She has been nominated every year since 2010 for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.

5) She's a natural blonde

Her luscious brown hair is a lie. She told Self Magazine: "When I started acting, I would go to auditions and they didn't know where to put me because I was voluptuous and had the accent - but I had blonde hair. "The moment I dyed my hair dark, it was, 'Oh, she's the hot Latin girl'."

6) Her accent is real

She told Ellen Degeneres in a 2011 interview: "I've been here for 16 years, but I can't get rid of my accent."

7) She was a hot model before switching to acting

She has been photographed for posters and swimsuit calendars. She has also co-hosted a travel series in which she visited exotic places around the world.

She made her first appearance as a performer at the age of 17 in a Pepsi commercial that was widely broadcast in Latin America.

8) She got her first big role in Chasing Papi in 2003

She played a Miami cocktail waitress in the comedy, which revolves around three disparate women and a buttoned down lawyer from Chicago.

9) She got married early

Vergara was married at the age of 18 to her childhood sweetheart Joe Gonzalez. She gave birth to their son Manolo in 1992. They split in 1993.

She has been in an on-off relationship with Nick Loeb, a businessman in his 30s who sells hot-dog condiments, the New York Post reported.

10) She has endured family tragedies

In 1998, Vergara's older brother, Rafael, was murdered in Bogota.

In 2011, Vergara's younger brother, Julio, was deported from the US to Colombia after being arrested. Julio, a long-time drug addict, had previous brushes with the law.

"To see somebody dying over 10 years, little by little, that's the worst punishment," she said.

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