25 January 2024 , 16:00
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Sofia Vergara underwent a staggering transformation to portray infamous drug kingpin Griselda Blanco.
The hotly-anticipated six-part series is set to debut on Netflix on January 25, with the Modern Family star portraying the Colombian drug cartel owner who became known as The Godmother of the criminal underworld in Miami, Florida, during the 1970s. She was also known as the Black Widow after she allegedly killed two of her husbands and began smuggling cocaine into the US by sewing compartments to hide the drugs in women’s lingerie.
She soon became the head of a huge drug empire, and her reign as The Godmother brought murder and violence to Miami as she tried to eliminate her competition. She even named one of her children Michael Corleone, after Al Pacino’s mob boss character in The Godfather trilogy. According to reports, Griselda raked in around $80 million a month, but her reign ended in 1985 when she was imprisoned in New York over drug charges and her involvement in more than 200 murders.
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Sofia spent hours in the make-up chair to be transformed into GriseldaTo transform into Griselda, Sofia spent hours in the make-up chair and had prosthetics glued to her face, including a fake nose and fake eyebrow covers to hide the Modern Family star’s natural brows. She told E! News it was "very important" to get Griselda’s look correct, and wanted to be unrecognisable as the drug cartel leader. "I needed to disappear," she added.
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Five wigs were also used to create Griselda’s brunette locks, as well as fake nicotine-stained teeth for Sofia to wear, as she has never smoked - or taken drugs - in her life. To further ensure her portrayal of Griselda was exactly right, she also adjusted her posture to resemble the Colombian criminal. "Her physical transformation, that was one of the toughest aspects of the whole show," director Andrés Baiz said, as he insisted Sofia’s portrayal did not imitate Griselda, but instead showcased a different side to the 51-year-old actress.
She donned a fake nose, as well as fake teeth, to play to crime bossEric Newman, who co-created the Netflix series, revealed how powerful it was seeing Sofia once she had undergone hair and make-up to be turned into the crime boss. "No one ever saw her on set as Sofia. By the time she left her makeup trailer, she was Griselda,” he recalled.
Sofia hurled herself into the character, and recently revealed she had to be taught how to inhale fake cocaine and smoke a cigarette. "The cocaine that I did was fake. But I had to pretend. The cigarettes are also fake. Everything was, it’s fake," she said during an interview with Jimmy Fallon.
Griselda starts streaming on January 25 on Netflix