Ariana Madix

Ariana Madix (born June 24, 1985) is an American television personality, bartender, actress, model and author. She is a cast member on the Bravo reality television series Vanderpump Rules.

Early life

Madix was born on June 24, 1985, in Melbourne, Florida, and raised by her father, Jim, and mother, Tanya. According to a Radar Online report, her childhood was unstable. In a Glamour interview, Madix said: "My dad would not come home. He’s no longer with us and I love him and feel like he was going through some stuff and doing his best in a lot of ways, but he would have a tendency to be done with work and be at the dive bar as opposed to helping us with our homework. And my mom did everything." In therapy, she realized that maybe overachieving was a coping mechanism, saying "If I’m perfect, then he’ll want to be there."

She began riding horses at age 6 and had a competitive equestrian career. She also won two national dance championships. She graduated from Eau Gallie High School in 2003. In 2007, she graduated from Flagler College, where she received two bachelor’s degrees: Theatre and Broadcast Communications. She worked as costumed characters such as Ariel, Cinderella and Aurora at Disney World while she was studying in college. After college, she moved to New York City with a dream to "be on Broadway.” She stayed for five years and worked as a bartender and hostess at restaurant Butter.

Career

Early in her career, she was frequently cast in videos for comedy website CollegeHumor. Madix struggled to get television roles in New York City, so she decided to move to Los Angeles, saying: "I was doing acting stuff, but I couldn't push past whatever [I needed to] because I didn't have legitimate television credits or anything to be able to move into the next level." She started working at Lisa Vanderpump's restaurants SUR and Villa Blanca, which earned her a spot on the reality television series Vanderpump Rules in 2013, following the lives of the SUR, PUMP, and Villa Blanca servers.

She had guest roles on several television series, including Fox's live-action sitcom Dads and FX's sitcom Anger Management. She also appeared in films Working It Out (2010), Killer Eye: Halloween Haunt (2011), Attack of the 50 Foot Cheerleader (2012), Dirty Dealing 3D (2018) and Dead End (2019). In 2019, she appeared as herself in the comedy television series The Other Two, in the episode "Chase Shoots a Music Video". On December 3, 2019, Madix and Tom Sandoval released their cocktail book Fancy AF Cocktails: Drink Recipes from a Couple of Professional Drinkers by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

In March 2023, Madix began filming Lifetime film Buying Back My Daughter (2023) in Vancouver. She plays a police officer Karen, investigating a sex trafficking case. The film is part of the messaging of the network's "Stop Violence Against Women" campaign. On June 7, 2023, People published first photos of Madix as Karen on Buying Back My Daughter. For her role on Vanderpump Rules, Madix and her co-stars Scheana Shay, Katie Maloney and Lala Kent won the "Best Reality On-Screen Team" award at the 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards. On July 7, 2023, Dancing with the Stars judge Derek Hough announced on Good Morning America that Madix will appear on season 32 of ABC's dance competition series Dancing with the Stars. On July 11, 2023, streaming service Peacock announced that Madix will make a special guest appearance on the fifth season of Love Island. She headed to Fiji to surprise the new cast of ten singles during week two of the show, which aired daily starting July 18, 2023.

On August 18, 2023, Madix announced that her second cocktailbook, Single AF Cocktails, will be released on December 5, 2023 by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group.

Business ventures

In November 2017, she released a holiday lip kit, "Ariana Nudist Lip Set" with Frankie Rose Cosmetics, consisting of three nude-colored lipsticks. On July 21, 2023, Madix announced a lipstick collaboration with Lip Lab, consisting of four lipsticks. She worked with color experts and the collection is inspired by her life, interests and ideals she stands for.

In 2022, Madix and her Vanderpump Rules co-star Katie Maloney announced plans to open a sandwich shop and wine bar called "Something About Her."

Public image

In March 2023, Madix became a subject of wide media attention, after her boyfriend of nine years, Tom Sandoval was caught having a months-long affair with Madix's best friend and Vanderpump Rules co-star Raquel Leviss. Madix has successfully parlayed her media fame into numerous business endeavours. After the breakup, Madix appeared on the Today show, Call Her Daddy podcast, The New York Times newspaper and on the cover of the June 2023 issue of Glamour. Madix has partnered with numerous brands to create sponsored online content such as Bic, Uber 1, Lay’s, Bloomingdale’s, SoFi, Duracell, T-Mobile and Nutrafol.

Madix wore a red cut-out Mônot dress at the Vanderpump Rules season 10 reunion that left her torso nearly exposed apart from well-placed bands across her chest and waist. The garment instantly received significant media coverage and the dress was discussed by those in the fashion and entertainment for weeks. The dress was dubbed as "The Revenge Dress" by the media. On May 26, 2023, in an interview with Madix’s stylist, Emily Men, Rolling Stone noted that "Madix has been serving standout looks" since the scandal and her "outfits have garnered a lot of attention and praise." Grazia magazine wrote: "Ariana Madix showed up in a look that redefines the term “revenge dress.” (Remember, the whole phrase started when Princess Diana wore the off-the-shoulder LBD by Christina Stambolian at the time when Prince Charles’ affair was being exposed, which ushered in her post-divorce era style.)" Insider wrote: "Pictures of her quickly went viral on social media, with many hailing Madix as the new queen of revenge dressing."

Personal life

Madix was in a relationship with Tom Sandoval from 2014 to 2023. Madix separated publicly from Sandoval after it was revealed that he had cheated on Madix with her best friend and co-star, Raquel Leviss. The media outlets referred to their break-up and its aftermath as "Scandoval". Madix is currently dating New York City based fitness coach Daniel Wai. The pair met at a mutual friend's wedding in Mexico and maintain a long distance relationship as Madix lives in Los Angeles and Wai in New York City.

In 2018, she had surgery to remove a tumor after being diagnosed with skin cancer. She became an ambassador for The Skin Cancer Foundation and Madix uses her public platform to advocate and bring awareness to skin cancer. She discussed the foundation's services in an episode of E!'s Daily Pop.

In 2021, Madix and co-star Katie Maloney revealed their plans to open a sandwich shop called Something About Her. Madix is also good friends with co-star Scheana Shay, and was a bridesmaid in both of Shay's weddings.

In February 2022, Madix revealed that she had been struggling with an eating disorder when she joined Vanderpump Rules but has recovered since.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

Bibliography

Madix has written one book and co-written one cocktailbook so far.

• Madix, Ariana; Sandoval, Tom. Fancy AF Cocktails: Drink Recipes from a Couple of Professional Drinkers. (2019). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
• Madix, Ariana. Single AF Cocktails. (2023). Clarkson Potter.