What did the real Griselda look like? The face of the woman Netflix's new crime series is based on

The real Griselda Blanco looks very different to Sofia Vergara's character in the new hit Netflix series

Sofia Vergara in Netflix's Griselda
(Image credit: Netflix)
Kerrie Hughes
By Kerrie Hughes
published

For the last few weeks, much of the world has been captured by the story of infamous drug lord Griselda Blanco – so much so the crime series sits firmly in the top spot of TV programmes to watch on Netflix.

And people have questions – lots of questions. But the one everyone is asking right now is what the real Griselda looked like. Sofia Vergara's transformation into Griselda has had a lot of coverage, but images of what the transformation was based on are, rather unsurprisingly, sparse. 

However images of the real Griselda are surfacing, as more people seem desperate to know what she looked like. So what did the real Griselda Blanco look like?

Griselda Blanco

(Image credit: Alamy)

One of the best images we've seen comes from director Billy Corben – the man behind the 2006 crime documentary Cocaine Cowboys, which explores the true story of how Miami became the drug capital of the US in the 1980s. 

Corben shared the image below on X back in 2012, accompanying the picture with a caption that reads: 'Griseldo Blanco mugshot after her 1985 arrest in California'.

We weren't entirely sure what to expect when seeing the real Griselda for the first time, but her face didn't immediately scream criminal mastermind – which may well help explain how she evaded the authorities for so long.

Sofia Vergara's prosthetics in the series have been controversial with her family. Speaking exclusively to the Daily Mail, Blanco’s youngest and only living son, Michael Corleone Blanco, called the transformation 'disrespectful'. He added, "My mother was a beautiful woman, and it’s crazy that a lot of people say, 'No, you’ve got to look more like a drug addict.'... The fact that they call her 'ugly' really offends me."

Whatever she looks like, people are gripped by her story. Almost two decades after Cocaine Cowboys was released, the new Netflix crime series Griselda is a big hit. And every day people are asking more questions, with some of the most pressing being where are Griselda's children now, what happened to her money, who is Rivi, and are the Ocheo brothers real people?

Griselda

(Image credit: Alamy)

There are more images of the real Griselda Blanco in the crime documentary Cocaine Cowboys (and in the trailer on YouTube), which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2006. The film delves into the cocaine trade of the 70s and 80s in Miami, explaining how it turned from a quiet retirement community at the time, to the epicentre of a multi-billion dollar business fed by the Colombian cartel. 

Part of the documentary explores the gangland in Miami at the time, and interviewees suggest Griselda Blanco played a major role in the drug trade in Miami. In these scenes, there are photos of Griselda, in which she looks very different to her mugshot above. 

Griselda is available to watch on Netflix now

Kerrie Hughes
Kerrie Hughes
Editor

Kerrie is the editor of woman&home (digital). For seven years previously she was editor of Future’s world-leading design title Creative Bloq, and has written for titles including T3, Coach and Fit&Well on a wide range of lifestyle topics.

 

After a decade of working in retail, Kerrie went back to education at the ripe old age of 27, graduating with a first-class honours degree in creative writing three years later. Her career in journalism began soon after, when she secured a job as a staff writer at Future Plc. In the 14 years since, she has worked her way up to editor level, gaining a wealth of digital experience along the way.

As a woman&home reader and a senior digital editor, Kerrie’s main purpose is to ensure the brand delivers high-quality, relevant content to help enrich and improve women’s lives – a responsibility she feels hugely passionate about.  

Outside of work, if she manages to find a spare minute around her three young children, geriatric dog and activity-obsessed fiance, you’ll find her either throwing a barbell about at Crossfit, with her head in a good thriller novel or building one of the latest Lego ideas sets.

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