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.