Sofía Vergara was born and raised in Barranquilla, Colombia. She attended a private bilingual Spanish/English school. She then went on to study pre-dentistry. However, she was discovered by a photographer while at the beach, which led to various jobs in modeling and television. She was a runway model at age 23. From 1995 to 1998, she co-hosted a travel show, Fuera de serie, which gave her exposure in the United States. She later became a Univision television personality in the mid-1990s after relocating to the United States, hosting the travel show Fuera de Serie and then the variety show A Que No Te Atreves.