Who Is Ariana Madix? All About Her Career, Family, and Personal Life
Discover everything there is to know about Vanderpump Rules darling Ariana Madix.
While Lisa Vanderpump is no doubt the queen of Vanderpump Rules, Ariana Madix certainly has disciples of her own. Ever since she joined the show in Season 3 as a regular cast member, the Bravoverse has gone crazy for the multi-talented bartender, who boasts supporters from all over the world.
Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about Ariana, from her family history to her (major) career accomplishments.
Ariana Madix's Age
Ariana was born in June 1985, making her 38 years old as of 2023. As VPR fans might remember, Ariana shares a birthday with alum Stassi Schroeder. Plenty of the women's parties have been broadcast over the years, including when Ariana celebrated her 30th birthday with a kid-themed soirée in Season 4.
"She's on cloud nine right now," said Tom Schwartz during Episode 8 as Ariana jumped on a bungee trampoline while outfitted in a fairy-princess look.
"Basically what I'm doing is reaching into my childhood and grabbing all the cool stuff from parties when I was a kid," shared Ariana in a confessional later in the episode. "And enhancing them with performance enhancing drugs to make the most epic adult kids party ever."
Ariana Madix's Family
Ariana was raised in Florida by her father, James Madix, and mother, Tanya Madix, alongside her singular sibling, little brother Jeremy Madix. Like his big sister, Jeremy is no stranger to the world of SUR — he even got a job at the West Hollywood restaurant in 2016.
“When I was 7 years old, I was blessed with a best friend, a teammate, and a protector in the form of the best little brother in the world. I love you so much, Jerbear," wrote Ariana in a May 2023 birthday tribute to her brother.
The siblings were also close to their father, who passed away in 2013 from a heart attack.
"There's a lot of things that he just never got to see and this would be one of them that I wish he would be able to be here for," Ariana said following her October 2023 Motown Week performance on Dancing With the Stars
The performer also has a lot of love for her mom, who has shown up to support her in so many endeavors over the years.
"There’s no Instagram caption that can capture the love I have for my mom and the moms in my family as well as all of my amazing friends who have become mothers over the years," she wrote in a May 2022 Instagram post celebrating Mother's Day.
Where is Ariana Madix from?
Ariana was born and raised in Melbourne, Florida.
"After a successful competitive equestrian career and winning two national dance championships, this talented newcomer received Bachelor’s degrees in Theatre and Broadcast Communications from Flagler College," reads her official website bio. "It wasn’t long before Ariana set out to pursue her dream and moved to New York City where she became a part of the sketch comedy world."
What does Ariana Madix do for a living?
In addition being one of everyone's favorite Vanderpump Rules cast members, Ariana is a successful actress, a bartender — having turned her "survival job" as a bartender into a flourishing career — and a newly minted entrepreneur..
She's also an author: In 2019, she published her first cocktail book, Fancy AF Cocktails, alongside then-boyfriend Tom Sandoval. Her next book, Single AF Cocktails: Drinks for Bad B*tches, will be released in December 2023.
Before getting into the restaurant business, Ariana took her talents to Disneyland, where she "hung out with" (aka performed as) The Little Mermaid's Ariel, Sleeping Beauty's Aurora, and the titular character in Cinderella.
Ariana Madix's Movies and TV Shows
Besides her Bravo career, Ariana has appeared in numerous movies and TV shows. In 2023, she joined the cast of Dancing With the Stars and appeared as a guest host on Love Island.
In March 2023, it was also announced that she'd star in a new Lifetime movie, Buying Back My Daughter, as a police officer who assists with the case of a missing 16-year-old. The movie was released in October 2023.
Ariana's acting resume also includes TV shows such as Paradise City, The Other Two, Waking Up With Strangers, Anger Management, and Dads.
Her other movie roles include named parts in the Vivica A. Fox crime thriller Dead End and the Michael Madsen-helmed Dirty Dealing 3D, as well as bit parts in The Attack of the 50-Foot Cheerleader, Killer Eye: Halloween Haunt, and Working It Out.
What is Ariana Madix's sandwich business?
Ariana and fellow cast member Katie Maloney announced during Season 9 that they were opening a sandwich shop in West Hollywood: Something About Her.
While the restaurant's spring 2023 opening was delayed for a multitude of reasons — including regulatory delays, Katie told fans at BravoCon 2023 — tastings are currently underway with plenty of exciting updates on the horizon. Soon, fans will be able to find out exactly how delicious (and they're certainly going to be delicious) the friends' sandwiches are.
Did Ariana Madix still work at SUR?
Ariana quit her job at SUR before filming for Season 8 began in 2019.
She originally worked at another Vanderpump establishment — the now-closed Villa Blanca — before moving to SUR.
While Season 6 was airing, Ariana gave BravoTV.com some input on what it takes to work at the restaurant.
"[You have to] bring more than just a pretty face," she said. "You've gotta have experience. You can't just be a pretty person in LA."
Who is Ariana Madix friends with on Vanderpump Rules?
While Ariana Madix has been close to plenty of her fellow cast members over the years, Scheana Shay has been her close friend since Ariana first made guest appearances on the show in Season 1.
Ariana is also good friends with Katie Maloney, her fellow former SURver and Something About Her sandwich shop co-owner.
Who is Ariana Madix dating?
Following her very public breakup with Tom Sandoval, Ariana moved on with personal trainer (and New Yorker) Daniel Wai.
"Of course there are moments when I'm like, 'Man, I wish he was over here," she told Access Hollywood in October 2023 about bi-coastal dating. "But I think that long distance is something that's been really good because it has allowed me to focus on me, and not be jumping into something after everything that I went through."
"He just brought so much positivity and support, and he just gets me in a way that makes me think I just don't want this to end," she added. "So I'm going to keep it going."
How tall is Ariana Madix?
Ariana is 5 feet and 5 inches tall, the same height as her close friend Scheana.
