The Most Inappropriate Outfits Sofía Vergara Has Ever Worn

"Modern Family" star and "America's Got Talent" judge Sofía Vergara is known for her bold, sensuous style, whether she's on the red carpet or hitting the beach. And while she favors a glam aesthetic, Sofía Vergara looks equally flawless without makeup. But even a goddess like Vergara attracts some negative attention, especially when she ignores trends to focus on the figure-hugging clothes she loves. As Vergara explained to Net-a-Porter, "People will often say that I wear the same thing on the red carpet, but I know my body: it's very voluptuous and I've got the boobs of a stripper. ... I need my dresses to have structure — and under armor. There is so much going on under my dresses that I bleed at the end of award ceremonies."

Vergara also gets pushback against continuing to wear sexy silhouettes into her 50s and beyond. There are plenty of reasons to banish the "dress your age" adage from fashion discourse, but that doesn't stop haters from complaining about Vergara's skimpier looks. For instance, both Vergara and Women's Health were called out for her nude cover photo in September 2017.

Vergara was carefully posed to keep things decent, but critics didn't think this was sufficient for a magazine sold in grocery store checkout lanes. "If I want to see women in the buff I will subscribe to Playboy," one commenter complained on Instagram. Scandalous outfits were even a recurring plot point for Vergara's character on "Modern Family," Gloria Delgado-Pritchett, such as when she chose a skin-tight minidress for a family portrait. Apparently, life imitates art, after all — from zipper mishaps to topless tanning, Vergara has caught flak for various inappropriate looks over the years.

Sofía Vergara is a long-time supporter of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, so she should have known better than to choose a strapless, skin-tight sheath dress for the organization's holiday event in 2018. While the actor undoubtedly meant well, her outfit looked totally out of place against a backdrop of kid-friendly Christmas trees and gingerbread houses. This discordance was even more obvious when Vergara removed her leopard-print-lined trenchcoat to greet a few young St. Jude patients — a move that only emphasized her cleavage. They say, "If you got it, flaunt it," but Vergara might want to let the charitable cause take center stage next time.

Sofía Vergara is the first to admit that she sticks to a certain style, but we still have to wag a finger at her for falling so flat at the Met Gala, an event intended for sartorial innovation. In 2015, the gala's theme was "China: Through the Looking Glass," but none of this inspiration was reflected in Vergara's look. Her strapless Marchesa gown, while perfectly pretty in pink tulle, was hardly groundbreaking. No shade at the designer, but Vergara could have just as easily worn this dress to prom as she did to one of the biggest red carpets of the year.

Sofía Vergara was radiant in her white-and-silver gown at the 2014 Emmy Awards. Unfortunately, the outfit ended up playing second fiddle to a controversial joke about Vergara's good looks. In a controversial skit, the award-winning actor stood on a revolving pedestal during a speech from Bruce Rosenblum, president of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences — not unlike the grand prize on a game show. While Vergara posed, Rosenblum quipped, "Our success is based on always giving the viewer something compelling to watch." Unfortunately, many viewers found the sketch demeaning and objectifying, which cast an inappropriate pall over her whole appearance that evening.

At the 2012 Emmy Awards, Sofía Vergara was stunning as usual, wearing a sparkly turquoise gown in her preferred mermaid silhouette. Unfortunately, a fastening failure took this look from sensual and classy straight into inappropriate territory. Just before Vergara joined the rest of the "Modern Family" cast to accept the best comedy award, the zipper beneath her gown's lower-back cutout burst open, exposing her rear. The split revealed a glimpse of her behind and a flash of pale undies, which was definitely too much for primetime TV. Happily, there was an emergency wardrobe team on hand, so Vergara quickly met them in the bathroom to close the seam and salvage her modesty for the rest of the night.

Does it even count as an outfit if you're only wearing bikini bottoms? Either way, Sofía Vergara struck certain onlookers as inappropriate when she shared a photo of herself tanning sans top in November 2024. Vergara was visiting her native country of Columbia over Thanksgiving, which included several days spent chilling at the beach with her family. But while some Instagram commenters praised the 52-year-old's seemingly ageless beauty, others left comments like "Starving for attention!" and "Hide the body with clothes, dear."

Sofía Vergara's sexy, red Dolce & Gabbana dress for the 2024 Emmy Awards was hardly unusual for the "Griselda" star, but it was a surprisingly divisive look. While some outlets praised the vivid gown, others thought that the Jessica-Rabbit-esque silhouette landed Vergara among the worst-dressed celebs at the 2024 Emmys. Opinions were similarly split among fans on Instagram, with some offering nasty critiques of the plunging neckline, like, "If this was the sagging awards Sofia would get double the votes." 

On the upside, Vergara is known to ignore haters, especially ones who get snippy about her aging figure. As she told El País in January 2024, "There are women who are prettier, younger, who have bigger breasts and a better body than me, but I'm still around because I have demonstrated that I can stay. ... The worst that can happen to me is that they can say I look ugly or that this jackass doesn't know how to act. I can take it."