Episode #39
SANDRA VERGARA Latina Life with Jen Aguillon
Our Latina today is a vibrant, intelligent, strong and inspirational Colombian whose early hardships shaped her perspective on life, helped her create opportunities for herself and fueled her need to support the community. A former model, Sandra Vergara has acted in various TV series, has been a television host and correspondent for various shows (including one with RuPaul), and was on Season 9 of Netflix’s entertaining series Selling Sunset. She is also a survivor of abuse who is taking the stigma out of mental health and is empowering females (and males) through her social media platforms. Her early upbringing was not traditional, as her parents were not able to care for her. She was adopted by her aunt and grew up with her sister, actress Sofia Vergara, until the family left for the States after her brother’s passing. Due to a visa issue, Sandra could not join them. It was during that time that Sandra had to use her internal survival skills to escape some traumatic moments. Two things that have kept her going was, and continues to be, her art and motto: “Don’t take it personally.” She attributes those two things with being here now. After high school she reunited with Sofia and her family, moving from Barranquilla to LA. Her path has taken her from make-up artist to entertainment journalist to television personality to mental health care advocate and now, celebrity ambassador for Osier, a skincare line with a mission of personal healing. She is also partnering with the National Alliance of Mental Illness for upcoming initiatives. Sandra shares advice to those who are interested in pursuing a career in entertainment, the best advice Sofia has shared with her and more. Here’s to being authentic and true to ourselves and to the power of self-resilience
