After five years, the internet has finally solved the mystery of Celebrity Number Six

Half a decade ago, internet users were confounded by the mystery of Celebrity Number Six. Now, the identity of the woman has finally been confirmed.

The mystery started five years ago when Reddit user TontsaH began seeking help from the community to identify several celebrities on some fabric they had acquired. According to the user, they came into possession of some curtains in 2008 with eight celebrities depicted on them in shades of blue and black. The user had difficulty identifying all the celebrities, so they went to Reddit to see if anyone recognized them. It wasn’t long before the internet matched almost all the figures on the curtains to a celebrity. Adriana Lima appeared twice on the curtains. Users also identified Josh Holloway, Jessica Alba, Travis Fimmel, Ian Somerhalder, and Orlando Bloom on the curtains.

However, that left just one celebrity, Celebrity Number Six, unidentified. Weeks, then months, and years went by without anyone successfully identifying Celebrity Number Six. Many users became invested in the mystery and even created an entire 44k-member Reddit forum devoted to solving it. Over the years, users tracked down the curtain’s seller, did reverse image searches, created simulated images of the figure, sifted through Getty images of celebrities, and even sought AI input. Finally, five years later, internet sleuths have received their answer.

Celebrity Number Six’s identity is confirmed

A few days ago, a Reddit user, IndigoRoom, posted in r/CelebrityNumberSix. The title read, “Celebrity Number Six has been found.” The post included what appeared to be the original image of Celebrity Number Six, a young woman with high cheekbones and brunette hair.

The woman in the image is former model Leticia Sardá, and, sure enough, she is a match for Celebrity Number Six. Another Reddit user, StefanMorse, came forward as the one who first posted the potential Sardá lead. From there, IndigoRoom got to work trying to confirm if she really was Celebrity Number Six. Their investigation started with a magazine cover featuring Sardá, who closely resembled the figure on the curtains. IndigoRoom tracked down the cover’s photographer, Leandre Escorsell, and his e-mail.

The Reddit user emailed Escorsell, notifying him of the Reddit thread, showing him the curtain, and asking if he recognized the image. Escorsell soon confirmed that he did recognize the image on the curtain as a photo he had taken of Sardá during a photoshoot for Tendencias Woman. He then sent IndigoRoom the original image of Sardá, which was used without authorization for the curtains.

Today, Sardá lives on the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands with her two children. Before her retirement in 2009 at the age of 30, she traveled the world as a fashion model. The image that was eventually used on the curtains was taken in 2006. However, it was far from her only gig. In an interview with Vanity Fair, she explained that she had campaigned for big brands like Burberry and L’Oreal while living in places like Milan, Madrid, and Barcelona. Since she had been working since she was 13, by 2009, she decided she was ready to leave the fashion world behind. Today, she is busy raising her two children and working in the hotel and catering business.

Since she isn’t very active on social media, she had no idea anyone was trying to identify her. Sardá was surprised when someone contacted her out of the blue, asking if that was her on the curtains and if she had the original photo. However, it didn’t take long for her to realize how big the whole thing was. She’s now trying to get back into the loop, telling the Seattle Times she downloaded 27 apps in the past few days and has had countless people reaching out to her. Sardá is still navigating going viral, but she indicated she would consider potentially making TikTok videos and interacting with her newfound fanbase. For now, it is enough for most people that Celebrity Number Six has been found.