The latest update from tinsel town has it that actress Sofia Vergara has been named the highest earning woman in television, taking in $19 million in just 12 months. The surprise came for her just three years after landing her first major series.

She beat reality star Kim Kardashian to top Forbes magazine's list of TV's highest paid stars. In Modern Family, Sofia plays the va-va-va-voomy trophy wife of a wealthy, older family patriarch played by Ed O'Neill.

In real life, the recently engaged Colombian actress is a major breadwinner in her own right. Vergara's rise to the top of the pay list has been nothing short of meteoric, having landed her first major series in Modern Family in 2009. Until that role she had been a bit part actress appearing in several TV shows, including Baywatch.

Third position came to Eva Longoria, whose long-running role in Desperate Housewives coupled with a successful cookbook and two fragrances saw her pull a not too shabby in $15 mn. She was paid $375,000 an episode for the final series of Housewives and has lucrative deals with Pepsi and L'Oreal.

Meanwhile, here we raise a toast for Sofia. Cheers lady!

Source: TNN