About
Ariadna María Gutiérrez Arévalo was born on December 25 1993 in Sincelejo, Sucre, Colombia, and grew up in the bustling coastal city of Barranquilla, where the Caribbean vibe shaped her easy-going spirit and love of the spotlight. Standing 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in), she first captured national attention when she won Miss Colombia 2014, the very first victory for the Sucre department. The world, however, remembers her most for the dramatic Miss Universe 2015 finale, when host Steve Harvey mistakenly announced her as the winner before correcting himself on live television. Although the crown rested on her head for only a few unforgettable minutes, the moment pushed her onto a global stage and opened doors in acting, fashion, and reality TV. Since then, she has signed with Latin World Entertainment, walked couture runways from Paris to Miami, appeared in the action blockbuster xXx: Return of Xander Cage, and become a familiar face at major red-carpet events like the 77th Cannes Film Festival in May 2024, where she dazzled in a sculptural Stéphane Rolland gown.
Before Fame
Ariadna was the youngest of five children and a self-described “tomboy with a girly twist.” She attended the German School of Barranquilla, where she learned German alongside Spanish and English, and often helped backstage at local fashion shows. After finishing high school she left home to pursue modeling full-time, taking on small catalog shoots before earning the Miss Sucre 2014 sash. That regional title was her stepping-stone to Miss Colombia, a competition she won thanks to confident catwalk skills, fluent answers in multiple languages, and infectious Caribbean charisma. Preparing for the national crown meant months of speech coaching, fitness sessions at 5 a.m., and etiquette classes—training that later proved invaluable when bright TV lights and an international audience turned an ordinary December evening in Las Vegas into a pop-culture landmark.
Trivia
- Reality-show regular: She tied for third place on the debut U.S. season of Celebrity Big Brother (2018) and returned to the format in 2024 on La Casa de los Famosos 4, showing a strategic side that fans hadn’t seen on the pageant stage.
- Action-film cameo: Director D. J. Caruso cast her as the quick-witted hacker Lola in xXx: Return of Xander Cage (2017), giving her the chance to share scenes with Vin Diesel—and to perform her own brief motorcycle stunt.
- Music-video muse: Carlos Vives tapped her for his 2017 video “Al Filo de Tu Amor,” filmed on the neon-lit streets of Bogotá.
- Runway favorite: Fashion houses such as Stéphane Rolland, Angel Sánchez, and Zuhair Murad frequently ask her to close their couture shows, praising her commanding walk and classic Latin-American glamour.
- Multi-lingual laugh: She once joked that she can apologize for Steve Harvey’s mix-up in three languages—handy at international events.
Family Life
Ariadna’s parents are Wilson Alfonso Gutiérrez and Shirley Lucía Álvarez Arévalo. The family moved to Barranquilla when she was an infant, and her four older siblings—Marjorie, María José, Jorge, and Wilson—still tease her about hogging the camera since kindergarten. Pageant success runs in the blood: her cousin Paulina Vega won Miss Universe 2014, making the 2015 telecast almost a back-to-back Colombian victory. Romantically, Ariadna’s life has attracted as much press as her career. She briefly dated Italian entrepreneur-DJ Gianluca Vacchi in 2017, accepted a proposal from Grammy-winning DJ Cedric Gervais in 2019 (the engagement ended amicably), and was later linked to Emirati businessman Ali Jassim in 2020. Despite the headlines, she keeps her private circle tight, crediting her mother’s frank advice and her sisters’ humor for keeping her grounded.
Associated With
- Pia Wurtzbach – The Filipino beauty queen who ultimately became Miss Universe 2015; the two shared a warm backstage hug in Paris Fashion Week 2023 that went viral and showed any pageant rivalry was long behind them.
- Steve Harvey – The TV host whose famous card misread thrust both him and Ariadna into trending-topic history. They later laughed about the incident on his talk show.
- Vin Diesel – Her co-star in xXx: Return of Xander Cage, who called her “fearless” after she insisted on performing a risky alley-jump shot herself.
- Paulina Vega – Not just a fellow Miss Universe but also Ariadna’s cousin; family gatherings often look like mini red carpets.
- Carlos Vives – The Colombian singer who featured her in a music video, helping her transition from pageants to mainstream pop culture.
