The 51-year-old 'Modern Family' actress went to court to gain an order of protection for herself and her 32-year-old son Manolo Gonzalez Vergara to keep Gregory Brown away from them both after the TV star accused him of "aggressive and harassing conduct", reports Female First UK.

In legal documents obtained by TMZ.com, Sofia called Brown a "mentally unstable stalker" with "a delusional belief he personally knows her and has a relationship with her and her family." She added that his "aggressive and harassing conduct" has caused her anxiety and emotional distress and made her fear for her safety.

In her filing, the actress claimed Brown made several attempts to contact her and her son including gaining unauthorised access to the gated community where she lives back in July.

As per Female First UK, Sofia also claimed to have received a letter from Brown in which he vowed to be "seeing and hearing her very soon" and was signed from "Gangsta”.

A judge granted a temporary restraining order against Brown which means he now has to stay at least 100 yards away from Sofia and her son. He's also banned from contacting them. It comes after Sofia admitted she has endured a "very difficult" year. As well as her ordeal with Brown, Sofia has been going through heartbreak after splitting from her partner Joe Manganiello in July and she admitted it's been a "very interesting" time for her.

She told People: "I’ve had a very interesting year. I don’t want to say ‘bad’ or anything like that, but it’s been very interesting and very difficult." Sofia observed the long-running SAG strike also made it a "weird, weird year". She added: "I went through a divorce this year, the SAG strike that went on for so long. "I’ve seen my friends struggle - some had to take their kids out of their schools or had problems with their mortgages, so it’s been a weird, weird year."

Despite this, Sofia remains optimistic about her future. The actress said: "It’s not like it’s bad. I think all the things are resolving, everything is going to be okay and I’m very excited for next year."