Photo finally solves bizarre celebrity mystery

Internet sleuths have finally cracked a years-long mystery that went viral after one star’s identity could not be found.

Internet sleuths can now sleep easy knowing that the bizarre “Celebrity Number 6” mystery has finally been solved after almost half a decade.

Since 2020, would-be detectives have been stuck in a rabbit hole trying to find the identity of a famous face stylised on a piece of fabric among 8 other celebrity figures.

Each celebrity was assigned a number from 1 to 8, and Reddit users were quick to match the identities of the stars and link back to the photo that inspired their illustrations.

Among the famous set were Josh Holloway, Jessica Alba, Travis Fimmel, Ian Somerhalder, Orlando Bloom and Adriana Lima, who appears twice on the print.

Eight celebrities appeared on this piece of fabric, but Celebrity Number 6’s identity has remained a mystery. Picture: Twitter

However, not one of the 46,000 fans who were dedicated to finding the face could guess the identity of Celebrity Number 6, hence the name for the mystery.

Baffled internet users searched far and wide with hundreds of famous names – both male and female – put forward for nomination, including River Phoenix, Evangeline Lilly, Nicolette Sheridan, Jodie Foster and late Aussie actor Heath Ledger.

Model Adriana Lima appears as one of the famous faces. Picture: YouTube

Orlando Bloom is also among the famous faces on the fabric. Picture: YouTube

But despite their best and ongoing efforts for almost five years, no one was able to link Celebrity Number 6 with a star and their matching photo.

This week, however, there was a breakthrough.

One Reddit user discovered the fabric came from a textiles store called Anttila based in Finland 10 years ago.

But internet users were stumped when it came to the identity of Celebrity Number 6. Picture: Twitter

After further discovering that the fabric was purchased back in 2008, another Reddit user then spent months sifting through old Anttila catalogues, focusing on the 2008 and 2009 period –and lo and behold, the fabric was featured on its pages.

With the knowledge that Celebrity Number 6 had to be a star relevant around that time, another Reddit user threw Spanish model Leticia Sarda’s name into the mix.

This week, model Leticia Sarda confirmed she is Celebrity Number 6. Picture: Twitter

The eyebrows, hairline and jawline were all seemingly a match, but super-sleuths still did not have the photo that the illustration was based on. That is until one user reached out to a fashion photographer that worked with Sarda during that period.

On September 8, the photographer confirmed that he did in fact work with the model and it was his image that was used on the print, albeit without his permission. He was then able to provide the original photo that inspired Sarda’s image on the fabric.

In the hours after her identity was uncovered, Sarda came forward and confirmed it was indeed her.

”It’s me 100% sure,” she wrote on social media.

Case closed.

Originally published as Photo finally solves bizarre celebrity mystery