Modern Family: Sofia Vergara's Best Moments as Gloria

Sofía Vergara skyrocketed to superstardom when she memorably starred as the fiery and protective Gloria Delgado-Pritchett in Modern Family.

Sofía Vergara skyrocketed to superstardom when she memorably starred as the fiery and protective Gloria Delgado-Pritchett in Modern Family. The charming actress portrayed the spirited character in the sitcom from 2009 to 2020 for eleven acclaimed seasons, stealing every scene she was in with her sidesplitting sass and fearless attitude.

She brilliantly appeared as the wife of Ed O’Neill’s character Jay Pritchett and was the mother of Manny and later Joe, while also being the young stepmother to Mitchell and Claire. During her tenure on the beloved comedy hit, Vergara received an impressive four Emmy nominations and four Golden Globe nods and won numerous accolades like an NAACP Image Award and multiple Screen Actors Guild Awards. Let’s take a look back at some of Sofía Vergara’s best moments as Gloria on Modern Family.

After Manny and Luke concoct a plan to steal a bottle of tequila from Jay and Gloria's personal bar during his birthday party, Gloria shows that she's already one step ahead of the teenage misfits and sneakily swapped the alcohol with water. After the not-so-dynamic duo find themselves "drunk" thanks to the placebo effect, Gloria ends up making them believe that a deadly worm is in the liquid and that whoever drank it could face terrible health issues if they don't combat its poison.

A terrified Luke and Manny jump at the chance to help themselves, with Gloria revealing that the only way to fight the deadly worm is to take a cold ice bath together. The kids get into the tub with one another and Gloria ends up snapping a picture of the pals, threatening to post it online for the whole world to see if they ever attempt to steal alcohol from her again or drink underage.

Gloria is known for her impeccable fashion sense and flashy ensembles (often to Claire's hilarious chagrin), and she is never seen wearing anything besides her trusty high-heels. When the whole blended gang decides they want to spend the day at Disneyland, Gloria shocks Jay and everyone else by sporting her signature pumps despite her husband pointing out that she'll be on her feet all day long and should wear something more comfortable. Always the defiant and stubborn one, Gloria insists on wearing the five-inch stilettos and she quickly realizes her mistake.

After spending some time walking around Disneyland, Gloria clearly is in massive pain and Jay eventually convinces her to swap out her footwear, doing so with some bright yellow Minnie Mouse slippers. Gloria is instantly relieved and free from pain and her attitude quickly becomes much better, with her family realizing her usual sassiness is likely from her perpetual foot pain.

On April Fool's Day, Gloria decides to pull the ultimate prank on Manny and Jay by pretending that Javier isn't really his father and that her long-lost boyfriend Jorge (Gabriel Iglesias) may actually be. After inviting the man over under a false guise, Jay is shocked when Jorge looks and shares the exact same mannerisms as Manny (who initially remains oblivious) and begins to suspect something is amiss.

After discovering that Jorge and Manny share the same interests (among other things), Jay enlists the help of Alex to run a DNA test and find out for sure if they are related. When the results come back positive that Manny and Jorge share DNA, Jay makes a passionate speech about being Manny's true father and that the test changes nothing. Gloria begins to giggle during his heartwarming declaration and reveals that Jorge is just their butcher who resembles Manny, getting back at the pair for not understanding a comedian's humor earlier.

Jay isn't the greatest at respecting Gloria's culture and heritage, and after she wanted to honor her late grandmother by creating some of her famous dishes he had no problems cracking jokes about the cuisine. Tired of his teasing comments about her family's recipes, Gloria decided to retaliate and stick it to her husband by making him participate in an array of hilariously offbeat traditions in an effort to make it right.

Gloria makes Jay slap the chicken she is preparing and makes him wear shoes around his neck in an effort to better understand her ancestors and the path they walked. The delightfully devious character definitely has the last laugh as she puts Jay through the ringer (without his knowledge) and makes him regret all the ribbing he gave her about her Colombian customs.

There's no denying that Gloria takes great pride in her looks and appearance, and at one point throughout the beloved sitcom, she begins to feel that Jay is not making much of an effort to try and look his best for her in return. In a Season 6 episode, Gloria decides to give her husband a taste of his own medicine and prove that he has stopped trying to look his best, and decides to turn the tables on Jay right before they are supposed to have an important lunch with one of his clients.

While Jay believes that Gloria only likes to get dolled up for her own satisfaction, she digs her heels in and decides to dress less-than-glamorously before lunch, wearing sweats, no make-up, and messy hair for the occasion. After amusingly applying her lipstick all over her mouth and declaring she's ready for the date, Jay admits that he has stopped trying and that he'll put in more effort. When the couple head home, Jay is shocked when Gloria is able to quickly and expertly transform into her stunning self within just a few minutes.

Gloria is both loved and feared for her bold and in-your-face attitude, and the sassy Colombian and fellow family members Jay and Cam rely on one another to help clean up their messes in order to keep it from their respective partners. The trio covertly attempt to solve their problems and end up hiding Phil's reindeer he bought for Christmas and also locate a shock collar Gloria bought for Stella, while she sets out to take care of Cam's renting problem that involves a pair of Russian squatters refusing to leave their apartment rental.

Related: Best Sofía Vergara Performances, Ranked

Relying on the little bit of Russian she learned while on the playground with Joe, Gloria boldly showcases her limited vocabulary in the language and threatens the men in a sidesplitting conversation, taking a long drag off her Cuban cigar in the process and demonstrating she means business. Gloria's fearlessness and loyalty to her loved ones make her one of the best character's on the sitcom.

While Gloria has a long list of glowing attributes and talents that help make her the total package, her vocal capabilities are certainly not one of these winning qualities. While pregnant with Joe, Gloria decides to try and bond with her unborn son and uses a microphone and speakers in hopes of connecting with the baby, crooning countless tunes like "Hush Little Baby" (while hilariously butchering the lyrics) in the process. At one point in the episode, a fed-up Jay exasperatedly declares, "I would have given ten diamond rings to get that mockingbird to shut up."

After dealing with her awful karaoke skills, Jay finally has enough and attempts to take the microphone from Gloria by telling the baby a few jokes, and the couple begins to argue. Manny scolds his parents for fighting in front of the child and Jay declares to a furious Gloria that her singing stinks and that it's one of her only flaws. Gloria menacingly promises Jay they will continue this argument once the child is born and that she's making a list of all the things she wants to yell at him about once she does.

Gloria was always the cool, fun figure that Alex, Haley, Luke, and Lily felt like they could honestly open up to. In the third season of the comedy, Alex is on the cusp of being a teenager and turns to Gloria for help finding something to wear for a family event. While Claire tells her youngest daughter she needs to wear a dress, Alex decides to ask Gloria for advice and the pair end up going shopping and spending some quality time together.

While they go out to the mall together and grab some lunch, Gloria encourages Alex to think of her as a girlfriend and has no problem answering the adolescent's personal questions, being open and honest as she asks her step-grandmother about her sex life. Gloria refuses to hesitate as she responds, proving to Alex that she isn't reserved like her mom and will be upfront with her. Gloria expertly helps build up the insecure Alex and makes her feel confident about herself, proving she's the coolest step- grandma of all time.

Despite Jay often thinking otherwise, Gloria is truly the one who runs the Pritchett household and what she says goes. After Jay and Manny decide to stand up against Gloria following a mishap with her son at his culinary school, the father/son duo set out to prove they're not afraid of her and attempt to put their foot down. They express to Gloria that she is the bully in their lives and that she constantly bosses them around and makes the rules, while an amused Gloria looks on in pretend interest.

She masterfully tears the pair down brick by brick, expressing how she loves them and protects them before calling them "tiny little men" and demanding they leave the house immediately and come back with more respect...and pizza. Jay and Manny have no idea they are being completely manipulated and declare they will go buy some pizza, but refuse to get pineapple and will just take it off, with Gloria retorting, "You are getting pineapple...don't waste any food, Jay!" The moment perfectly captures the fact that Gloria runs the show whether Manny and Jay like it or not.

After revealing a wild and bizarre story to Jay about her uncles being butchers, Gloria expresses that she has no problem killing animals if pushed to do so. When the neighbor's annoying dog keeps barking and disturbing the Pritchett household, Jay becomes increasingly paranoid and concerned when the yapping pooch suddenly disappears and peaceful silence returns to their neighborhood.

Related: The Funniest Modern Family Episodes, Ranked

Having witnessed Gloria display her violence towards the mice that ran rampant in their yard with a shovel (all the while dressed in her Sunday best) and telling them she took care of the dog, both Jay and Manny begin to suspect that she killed the poor animal. As fear begins to spread in the household, Jay finally musters up the courage to confront Gloria about the dog, and she reveals she simply took the canine to live on a farm with her cousin who had three kids.

After their house is egged on Halloween, a very pregnant and grouchy Gloria threatens to get revenge on the hooligans responsible for the blatant declaration of war, ferociously yelling at the teenagers, "You put egg on my house, I kill what you love!" While she tries to put her best foot forward for the festive holiday and dress up like an alien, Gloria's pregnancy hormones cause her to become extremely edgy, and she can't help but lash out over pretty much everything.

While attending a Halloween party at Cam and Mitchell's, she discovers that the misfits responsible for egging her house were trying to get candy and an uproariously hot-headed Gloria passionately sets out to chase down the older kids. Witnessing her frustrations with being pregnant and watching the character hunt down the teenagers brilliantly captured the heart and resilience of Gloria.

While there's no denying Claire and Gloria had a rocky relationship in the early years of the series, the devoted mothers and wives did end up bonding and connecting as the sitcom progressed. In the third season of the hit comedy, Gloria ends up tailing Claire while she runs some errands to see where she goes after she seemingly canceled going to yoga when Gloria wanted to attend.

After staking out the yoga studio and calling her out on her lie, Claire reveals to Gloria there is a sacred place she goes to unwind and agrees to show her as long as she never tells another person about it. Claire then subsequently takes her to the gun range where she expresses how she is able to get out her frustrations by shooting at a target. In typical Gloria fashion, she questions Claire's accuracy and skills and effortlessly hits the target right in the center, jabbing at her and declaring she even did it with pretty nails.

There is absolutely nothing Gloria wouldn't do for Manny, as she constantly doted on the boy and even borderline smothered him due to her overwhelming love and devotion to him. As she sets out to make Manny's 14th birthday party the very best it could be, the caring mother accidentally ruins his first kiss after planning a surprise party with the whole Pritchett/Dunphy clan in attendance. A guilt-ridden Gloria attempts to make things right with an upset Manny but discovers her water has broken and she's going into labor.

Gloria tries with all her might to fight through the massive pain and prolong the birth, not wanting to further upset Manny and cause him to lose his thunder if the baby is born on his birthday. She fights to not spoil Manny's birthday even further and attempts to keep the child in, even as Jay drags her to the car in order to go to the hospital. Gloria's unwavering love and affection towards Manny was front-and-center in the episode, and she tried in vain to stop the labor.

Longtime viewers of the sitcom are well aware that Gloria cannot stand Jay's beloved French bulldog Stella, and it's abundantly clear that she is extremely jealous of how much her husband dotes on the pooch. After Stella keeps on jumping into the pool despite not knowing how to properly swim, Jay accuses Gloria of being the reason and that the dog is reacting to her constant yelling and negativity and has become suicidal. A rightfully skeptical Gloria remains unconvinced, though Jay may be right after she attempts to jump in the pool one more time.

As Jay, Gloria, and Manny prepare to attend a wedding, an all-dressed-up Gloria realizes her constant ridicule of Stella has caused her to become depressed. When she jumps into the pool once again, Gloria (in a full evening gown) throws herself in after to rescue the dog from imminent danger. Though she was often frustrated with Stella, Gloria showed that she'll always do what's right and has a heart far bigger than some may realize.

Gloria Delgado-Pritchett is without a doubt one of the most protective and loyal characters on Modern Family, and there is truly nothing she wouldn't do for her loved ones. Time and time again she has gone to bat for her family and friends, demonstrating her fearlessness and desire to always watch over them. This admirable quality is highlighted throughout the course of the series, especially when she fiercely stands up to Haley's rude and demanding boss in the Season 6 episode "Integrity."

After witnessing Haley's disrespectful boss Gavin Sinclair be a complete and utter jerk to the young woman, Gloria decides to step in and handle the arrogant man in true Gloria style. After almost causing Haley to get fired for defending her, Gloria offers to personally apologize to Gavin and smooth things over privately, during which she openly threatens the man and forces him to say sorry for his behavior towards Haley. Gloria's big and caring heart and unrelenting fiery spirit truly made audiences fall in love with the strong-willed character.