Ugly Betty is a Golden Globe winning television comedy drama series starring Golden Globe winner America Ferrera and Eric Mabius. It premiered on September 28, 2006, on ABC in the United States and on Citytv in Canada and airs on Thursday nights at 8 PM ET/PT. The plot follows the work lives of Betty Suarez (Ferrera) and Daniel Meade (Mabius). The pilot episode was a major hit that struck its viewers with its hearty plot and impressive performance by America.
The series is based on the popular Colombian telenovela Yo soy Betty, la fea (literally, I am Betty, the ugly), from Fernando Gaitán (also author of Café, con aroma de mujer), and is adapted into an American setting by producer Salma Hayek, whose production company, Ventarosa, partnered with Touchstone Television on the hour-long program. Hayek, who appeared in the pilot as an actress on a fictional telenovela watched by the main character's family, also appears alongside the cast in later episodes as well, playing Sofia Reyes in a continuing storyline arc.
-from Wikipedia