“Modern Family” actress Sofia Vergara, notorious for her exaggerated Colombian accent, told American TV host Ellen DeGeneres that she was “too old” to improve her pronunciation.
Vergara appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres show on Wednesday and was chatting with the host (over a cup of “puro cafe Colombiano,” delivered personally by “Juan Valdez”) when the conversation turned to Vergara’s heavy accent. DeGeneres noted that several audience members were whispering to one another, apparently unable to understand what Vergara was saying. The actress did not take offense, and explained that her son gets frustrated when she speaks in English.
“He tells me ‘you’re the only person in the world that after many years in a country gets worse and worse. That’s not normal!'” Vergara told DeGeneres.
The TV star went on to say that sometimes she can’t even understand her own voice.
“I do like a little pause to see the person’s face, to see if they understood, because I didn’t understand what I said,” Vergara laughed. “Now I know how to read the faces.”
She said that even if people don’t understand her, she continues talking.
DeGeneres then sent Vergara to do a hidden camera prank, with the TV host speaking into a mic in Vergara’s ear to tell her what to do. The Colombian actress played along before eventually informing her mystified victims they were being fooled.