Sofia Vergara reveals she beat cancer for son

Columbian actress Sofia Vergara, who stars as a fiery housewife on "Modern Family," says her cancer scare nine-years-ago has made her a "much stronger" person.

View Photos [791]
View Profile
View All News

In the Ocean Drive Magazine's anniversary edition, Vergara revealed she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2002 but knew she had to beat the disease for the sake of her family, including her then ten-year-old son, Manolo.

"It was a tough thing for me, but it made me much stronger. I have family and I'm a mother, and I knew I could get through it," she told the magazine.

The 38-year-old actress recovered from the disease and went on to play hot Latin mom Gloria in the ABC comedy hit show _ a role she never would have thought she'd land.

"I never would have dreamed I'd be on such an amazing show. We knew when we started filming that it was going to be special," Vergara explained. "I met with the creators, and instantly we knew we'd make Gloria loud and proud of her culture. And I'm happy she's a little crazy too. There aren't enough characters with her sabor on TV."

Manolo, who's now 19, is an aspiring movie director who has used his famous mom in some of his filming projects for school.