The "Hot Pursuit" actress, who was born and raised in the Columbian city of Barranquilla, said her fellow countrymen have a comedic side because they had to make the best of a bad situation, reported Us magazine.
"I think my family's really funny. Colombian people need that because we come from times that were tough, and sometimes the only way to survive that was to make fun of ourselves and those situations," she said.
Vergara, 43, also admitted she used to assume her strong accent was to blame when she got turned down for roles in the early years of her career.