Real story of cocaine godmother behind Sofía Vergara Netflix show Griselda

Sofía Vergara stars in Netflix's latest crime drama Griselda, documenting one woman's brutal rise from the Colombian city of Medellín to becoming Miami's cocaine overlord.

And it's a story that is all too real, given the show itself is named after a woman who did exactly that.

Vergara - known best for her years in Modern Family - stars as Griselda Blanco, a powerful Colombian drug lord in Miami's underground cocaine trade in the 1980s.

Known in the illicit industry as the 'Godmother of Cocaine', Vergara plays a notorious drug baron with a brutally savage no-nonsense approach to anything that threatens her.

The six-episode limited series is based on the real life of Griselda Blanco, with many of the show's scenes inspired by real events in Blanco's life.

Moving to Medellín at the age of just three, Blanco's life of crime started soon after.

Aged 11, she allegedly kidnapped, attempted to ransom, and then shot a child - according to her former lover and cocaine dealer, Charles Cosby.

After running away from home in her late teens to escape the sexual abuse of her mum's boyfriend, Blanco helped establish the cocaine trade between Colombia and the US.

Netflix

Moving to the US with her children and husband under fake names, Blanco started a booming New York cocaine empire in 1964.

But when the law caught up with her in 1975, Blanco fled the United States and returned to her homeland.

Returning a number of years later, she set her sights on Miami during a period of history where an influx of murders destroyed communities in the 1980s; influenced hugely by the cocaine business Blanco was a key player in.

She was eventually arrested in 1985 and charged with conspiring to manufacture, import, and distribute cocaine before being sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Metro Dade Police Department

Things got worse for Blanco behind bars, with the fallen drugs boss charged with three counts of first-degree murder after one of her hitmen became a police informant.

The case collapsed over a phone sex scandal involving the informant and Blanco eventually pleaded guilty to three counts of second-degree murder.

She got given a 20 year sentence to run concurrently to her 15 years behind bars.

After suffering a heart attack in 2002, she was given compassionate leave in 2004.

Blanco returned to Medellín and lived a quiet life up until her own murder in 2012.

Netflix

Griselda dropped on Netflix on Thursday, 25 January to positive critical reviews and an initial Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score of 86 percent.

One critic said: "Vergara’s portrayal is akin to a snake, gradually shedding layers; with each episode, she reveals more of Griselda’s true nature, leading up to her peak, right before her downfall."

A second posted: "Vergara is the surprising component that makes her character's ruination captivating to watch, even when some of the series' other elements don't always coalesce around her as strongly as they could."

Griselda is streaming on Netflix now.