When we think of the hilarious sitcom, Modern Family, we think of hilarious misunderstandings, fun family gatherings and of course, the saucy Gloria Pritchett. While the show is full of insanely interesting and hilarious characters, Gloria really stands out as one of the biggest stars of the show. She provides us with endless laughs thanks to her unwavering accent, unconventional parenting and gorgeous outfits. But more than anything, she shows audiences what a good mom and wife looks like.

While many have criticized Sofia Vergara's portrayal of Gloria Pritchett for being stereotypical, we think she's done a good job at doing the opposite: showing us what it's like to one, specific Latina woman living in Los Angeles, going through the same family drama and general life hurdles that all of us do. Believe it or not, the role of Gloria was actually built around Vergara's actual life and upbringing, which is probably why the character is so dynamic and likable. While the show already reveals a lot of the Pritchett family's secrets and drama, here are some things you probably didn't know about the incredible Gloria Pritchett.

15. Her Mysterious and Violent Past

One of the funniest things about Gloria Pritchett on Modern Family is her ability to switch from girly girl housewife to hardcore “take no bulls***” woman in about two seconds flat. Gloria will randomly have violent outbursts that are really hard to ignore. Like the time she shouted out her front door, “You put egg on my house, I kill what you love!”. Or the time she tried to send a message to the group of rats trying to invade her home by cutting the head off the one she caught. We can’t help but wonder what kind of crazy things she faced back in Columbia where she grew up. Every once in a while Gloria will reveal things from her violent past, like when she explained that the village she grew up in had the most recorded murders in Columbia. All we know, is we definitely don’t want to mess with Gloria Pritchett.

14. She Has Appeared In Every Episode So Far

According to IMDB.com Gloria has been in each and every episode of Modern Family so far— that’s 179 for those keeping count. It’s no surprise that Gloria’s character is written in every episode; she provides us with endless laughs and is never sore on the eyes. Imagine what an episode of Modern Family would be like without the incredibly funny Gloria? There’d be no words hilariously misunderstood, no one for Phil Dunphy (Ty Burrell) to awkwardly stare at, and no one to soften Jay Pritchett’s (Ed O’Neill) hard exterior. Admit it, Gloria is one of the best parts of the hit sitcom, and is probably one of the biggest reasons why we still are watching it seven seasons later.

13. She Has An Extremely Strategic Mind

It’s no secret Gloria is always one step ahead of the game— especially when it comes to dealing with her husband, Jay (Ed O’Niell). This was made clear in season 2, episode 18 when Gloria was less than pleased with Jay’s selfish behavior. When Jay wanted to get out of going to a symphony concert with Gloria and Manny, he snuck off to a bar and ended up hanging out with his son Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) and his son in law, Cam (Eric Stonestreet). Obviously, this hurt Gloria’s feelings and she wasn’t going to let it go. So what did Gloria do? When Jay asked her to help him get out of his plans with his new friend he made the night before, Pepper (Nathan Lane), Gloria did no such thing. She smiled as she watched the very hungover Jay ride off with Pepper in a convertible.

When will Jay learn that Gloria is always right?

12. She's An Inspiration To Single Moms

Before Gloria lived in a cushy home in Los Angeles with her closet-creating husband, Jay, she was a single mom working hard to raise her son, Manny (Rico Rodriguez). They lived in a dumpy apartment in a bad neighborhood while she worked as a waitress. When Jay first met Gloria, he was actually trying to get the attention of her sister, Sonia. But Gloria won him over and even got the man to climb multiple flights of stairs to visit her and Manny in their hot apartment. While it's easy to assume Gloria only got with Jay for his money (which she admits is "just part of it"), she really loves Jay, and shows us that it's hard work to be in a loving relationship. As viewers, it's easy to have respect for Gloria and appreciate how hard she's come in her life.

11. Her Character Isn’t Supposed to Be Stereotypical

Over the years, many have criticized Modern Family for its stereotypical portrayal of Gloria as a hot-headed over sexualized Latina woman. But Sofia Vergara has publicly defended her character on Modern Family, and claims it isn’t a stereotype at all. She told TIME Magazine that she plays Gloria based on the way her mom and aunt behave, so it’s not a stereotype at all. In the interview, Vergara admitted that she thought the character was originally written too “Mexican”. As a Columbian woman herself, she felt that it was her duty to help the writers make the character seem more Columbian, because they were only writing based on what they knew— which didn’t seem like much apparently. Vergara stands firm behind the acting choices she makes as her character, Gloria, and lets her roots serve as inspiration always. People may see that as a stereotype, but Vergara insists she’s just being honest.

10. She Never Gets Jealous (Well, Almost Never)

It’s hard to imagine someone as beautiful and intelligent as Gloria Pritchett getting jealous of a another woman— and we really don’t see it happen too often. There are just two occasions where we see a hint of jealousy shining in Gloria’s eyes. The first time is when Gloria sees the close relationship Jay has with his waitress at the local diner. When Jay wants Gloria to try the sandwich he has named after him, she can’t help but feel bad about the fact that the friendly waitress seems to know so much about her husband than she does. But nothing compares to the shade of green Gloria turned when she met her ex-husband’s smart, PhD holding wife, Trish. While Gloria was expecting her ex to appear at their doorstep with another dumb bimbo, she was unpleasantly surprised to meet Trish, an intelligent, pleasant young woman. Trish was able to relate to Manny on a level that neither Gloria or Jay could, which threatened Gloria. But once Trish expressed her insecurity about never being able to be as good of a mom as Gloria is, she suddenly feels at ease and is happy to welcome Trish into the family.

9. She Hates Dogs

Even if you’ve only watched one or two episodes of Modern Family, it’s obvious that Gloria keeps just about nothing to herself. So when Jay brought home the cute little English Bulldog, Stella, Gloria was quick to express her feelings of disgust. When we first met the adorable Stella, we see her attempt to destroy all of Gloria’s stuff, including all of her beautiful shoes. We laughed as we watched Gloria try to bate Stella into eating Jay’s shoes by putting he's shoes in her mouth and crawling on her hands and knees. Gloria finally shoed a hint of love for the dog in the episode entitled “Little Bo Bleep” when she jumps in her pool to save the seemingly suicidal Stella from drowning. At the end of the episode we learn that Stella was just trying to retrieve her toy from the side of the pool. Gloria has learned to accept Stella as part of the family, but that doesn’t mean she likes her yet. She even enjoys taking Stella on walks these days, even if it’s just so she can enjoy her cigars in peace.

8. Her Accent Is Authentic

While Gloria’s accent on Modern Family may seem like it’s over the top, it really is the actress’s real accent. Both Sofia Vergara and her character Gloria Pritchett were born and raised in Columbia, giving her no reason to change her way of speaking. Vergara even went on the hit talkshow, Ellen to finally shut everyone one up about whether or not her accent is real. She explained that keeping her accent as an actress in America was a conscious choice. At first, she struggled with her accent and would often feel self conscious in auditions when she would mispronounce words. But eventually, Vergara decided to accept her accent and stopped trying to change it with classes and dialect coaches. And it’s a good thing she did— she may not have landed her career-changing goal as Gloria Pritchett!

9. Gloria's Characterization Is Based On Sophia's Real Life Aunt

It’s hard to imagine any other actress playing the dynamic character of Gloria other than the talented Sofia Vergara. Vergara does an amazing job of making the character authentic and relatable, while many other actresses would have played her as more of a characature. The biggest reason Vergara plays the part so well is the fact that she bases it off an actual person: her real-life aunt, Gloria Vergara. But it’s not just the names that make Gloria Pritchett and Gloria Vergara alike. Vergara’s aunt apparently has a very fun, loud personality and is always exciting to be around. The actress admits that her Aunt Gloria isn’t as saucy and scandalous as her sitcom character, but they definitely are similar. We can’t help but wonder what Vergara’s aunt thinks about her portrayal of Gloria on the show. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, isn’t it?

8. Producers Tailored The Role For Sofia Vergara

Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd are the brilliant minds behind Modern Family. According to an interview in TIME, the co-creators wanted to make a show about a big, “ungainly family with a lot of disparate parts, that would bring us conflict in our story telling”. They didn’t base the core characters on their own family members but of stories they’ve heard about their friends’ families and other people they knew. When it came to developing the character of Gloria, Levitan and Lloyd really tailored it around actress, Sofia Vergara. According to the actress, the show’s creators held meetings with her from the very beginning to ask her things about her life in Columbia and her current personal life. She really gave them an education about what it was like to be her, and how they could make the character of Gloria the most authentic it could be.

7. She's Open Minded When It Comes To Gender Roles

When we were first introduced to Gloria Pritchett in Modern Family’s pilot episode, it was easy to label the character as a dumb housewife, or gold digger. But we learned quickly that Gloria is a smart, sassy wife and mother that does everything she can to make her family happy. She lets her kids be themselves and do what they want. Gloria has always embraced her son Manny’s softer, more feminine side, and encourages him to keep writing poetry and caring about the way he dresses. Gloria even goes as far as to dress her son Joe up as a little girl—finger nail polish and all— in order to experience having a little baby girl. Her husband Jay is less than pleased, but Gloria doesn’t seem to think she’s doing anything wrong. Way to break through the confinement of gender roles, Gloria!

6. She Had A Goat As A Babysitter

When Gloria and Jay are preparing to bring their new baby into the world, they attend a class to refresh their memories on everything “baby”. While Gloria’s child-rearing skills may be unconventional, we have no reason to believe she’s a bad mom. Although, she did say she could handle anything, proven by the fact that she could hold a baby in one hand a drive a stick shift with the other. But the most bewildering tidbit Gloria revealed about her parenting on the show was that she had a babysitter named Lupe, who was also a goat. Yes, you read that right, Gloria grew up with a goat as a nanny. She says this to Jay while they’re sitting through the parenting class, causing Jay to seriously question his wife’s parenting decisions. Despite her upbringing by Lupe the nanny-goat, she did a pretty good job at raising Manny, right?

5. She Makes Up Her Own Words

One of the best parts about watching Gloria on Modern Family is her hilarious ability to make up her own language. Thanks to her thick Columbian accent, it’s easy for Gloria to mispronounce words, resulting in hilarious new words we can’t get enough of. We watch as her husband, Jay tries desperately to decipher Gloria’s words and oftentimes acts as bewildered as we are. We can’t forget the time Gloria misunderstood the expression, “Dog eat dog world” to be “a doggy dog world,” which she believes to be “a beautiful world of little puppies.” However, there are times where Jay seems to be able to read his wife’s mind. Like the time Gloria said, “How do you say in English the takakakakakaka”, to which Jay immediately replies, “a helicopter”. Or when she gets him a phone shaped like sexy lips, forcing Jay to think hard about why she got him the gift… then he realizes she misunderstood the word saxophone to be a “sexy phone”. Hilarious.

4. There's A Place You Can Buy All Of Gloria’s Beautiful Clothes

Whether she’s sporting a bright red cocktail dress, or gorgeous leather boots, Gloria’s character is always dawning the chicest fashions. It’s hard not to grow increasingly jealous at the clothes Gloria wears on the show, and we’d love to know where we can get some similar threads. Luckily for us, there’s a place online where we can find all of the amazing clothes and accessories Gloria Pritchett wears. If you’re dying to buy Gloria’s Gucci open-toed wedges, or her blue Roberto Cavalli v-neck blouse, you’re in luck. Do yourself a favor and check out this incredible website, pradux.com to find all of Gloria’s amazing clothes. But don’t blame us when you find a huge dent in your wallet.

3. She's The Perfect Match For Jay Pritchett

The often hard-headed, grumpy Jay Pritchett is difficult to get along with. But if you’re name is Gloria, chances are you’re his perfect match. While they may come from different worlds, Gloria and Jay really seem like they’re meant for each other. Jay accepts the fact that Gloria is loud and that she likes to yell at him, (like a lot). It doesn't hurt that Jay is hard of hearing and Gloria doesn't have the best eyesight; she won't see him get old and he won't hear her sing hideously off-key! They're truly a match made in haven.

2. She Isn't Afraid To Say How Sexy She Thinks She Is

If you don't think Gloria Pritchett is sexy, you may want to head to your local optometrist. We know we're not the only ones who are mesmerized by her flowing brown hair, beautiful eyes and vivacious curves. But you know who definitely isn't afraid to talk about how gorgeous Gloria is? Gloria herself. Yes, that's right. She has admitted on multiple occasions that she's quite aware of her incredible looks. Like the time she was quick to point out the fact that if she looks this amazing at her current age, just imagine what she looked like at 18. Or that time Phil (Ty Burrell) said Gloria was probably one of those women who doesn't know how pretty she is, to which Gloria replied, "No, I do". Classic.

1. She's Probably The Most Supportive Mom Ever

Whether her son Manny is sporting a traditional poncho to school, or he's writing a love letter to a girl in his art class; Gloria is there to cheer him on every step of the way. Even Manny admits he has nothing bad to say about his mom while he's on a mother's day hike with his cousins-- until they convince Manny to say bad things about her. But even then, it was obvious that Manny truly loved and respected his mom-- and why wouldn't he? She lets him drink coffee, wear what he wants and even helps him get the attention of the women he loves.  No matter what it is, Gloria goes out of her way to make sure Manny and Jo are happy and healthy. We'd be hardpressed to find a mom better than Gloria Pritchett.

Sources: Huffingtonpost.com, cosmopolitan.com, nytimes.com