Ryan Ashley (born on April 29, 1987, age: 35 years) has gained quite the recognition for being an outstanding female tattoo artist, and she has made history with her back and grey tattoo styles.

In addition to making tattoos, Ashley is also a tv personality, and she is not a new face when it comes to TV shows, especially “Ink Master,” she became who she is all thanks to this show. She is back to recreate history, but this time as a judge, along with fellow tattoo artists Ami James, Nikko Hurtado, and host Joel Madden.

Early Life

Ryan Ashley Malarkey was born on April 29, 1987, in Dallas, a small borough in Pennsylvania, and was raised by her single mom, who worked at a fast food restaurant while also taking night school in accounting; her mother was an artist herself and taught Ashley everything related to drawing.

Ashley’s interest in being an artist grew after she attended the Fashion Institute of Technology, from where she graduated in 2007 and worked as a fashion designer in New York City at a private label for 5 years; it was here that she began designing beadwork, lace details, embroidery, and appliqués for cloths, later she incorporated this style in her tattoo designs.

She wanted a career outside of traditional office culture; in the hopes of this, she returned to Pennsylvania and became an apprentice as a tattoo artist. Ashley gained as much experience as possible by working at a streetside tattoo parlor to open her shop in Kingston, Pennsylvania, The Strange and Unusual; this was co-owned with Josh Balz.

The shop was quite unusual as Ashley tattooed from the back of the shop while the front displayed their collection of taxidermy, objects, and antiques that were for sale; this was one of her side hobbies from her youth; as time passed, she opened a second shop in Philadelphia, with the same business and same partner too.

Ink Master Career

In 2016, Ryan Ashley made her first appearance in the reality TV show “Ink Master,” a series where tattoo artists compete in various artistic challenges that put their talent and knowledge about the art to the test.

In the show’s 8th season, Ashley was declared champion and became the first female ever to win the title, breaking all the social stigmas related to this being a male-dominated profession.

She was relatively a newcomer with only 5 years of experience; she had just entered the show to learn new techniques and put herself to the test; her signature tattoo designs feature black-and-gray beadwork, lace detail, and ornamental jewels, and she took a lot of references from Victorian furniture scrollwork, bridal accessories, and chandeliers for her beading designs, she is pretty inclined towards wildlife, as well, rock musicians Maria Brink and Ash Costello have been her regular clients.

She has been a part of “Ink Master” ever since and made an appearance in a spin-off show, “Ink Master: Angels,” she has also come as a judge in “Ink Master: Grudge Match,” all these episodes are streamed on Paramount+.

Love Life

Ashley was engaged to Josh Balz, a keyboardist in the metal band Motionless in White. Yes, he is the same person she co-owned her first shop, but their relationship did not work out.

In November 2019, she announced that she was dating Arlo DiCristina, a fellow tattoo artist; she also stated that she had decided to leave New York and move to Grand Junction, Colorado, with her boyfriend.

DiCristina worked for Elysium Studios; Ashley, too, joined the team and began tattooing clients. The couple got married by the end of 2019; it was a small private ceremony, and by the following year, she had announced her pregnancy; on May 16, 2020, the couple welcomed a baby boy, Atheus Omni DiCristina.

Ryan Ashley Q&A

Ques: How old is Ryan Ashley?

Ans: She is 35 years old.

Ques: How to book Ryan Ashley for making Tattoos?

Ans: Bookings and inquiries ONLY through [email protected].

Ques: What is Ryan Ashley’s height?

Ans: Ryan is 5 feet 8 inches tall.

Ques: What is Ryan Ashley’s net worth?

Ans: 1.45 Million USD.