Welter was born in
Mexico City, the daughter of
Dutch engineer and
Royal Dutch Shell executive Gerardus Jacob Welter and his
Mexican-born wife of
Spanish,
German and
French descent Blanca Rosa Vorhauer. Her family moved a great deal during Ariadne's youth, living everywhere from South America and Europe, to the Middle East and Africa. As a result of this nomadic lifestyle, Welter became an accomplished
polyglot with the ability to speak fluent French, German, Dutch, Spanish,
English,
Italian, and even a bit of haphazard
Arabic and
Russian. Welter had three siblings, a sister, Blanca Rosa Welter (later known as
Linda Christian, 1923–2011), and two brothers, Gerardus Jacob Welter (b. 1924) and Edward Albert Welter (b. 1932). She was wife of the notable Mexican film productor
Gustavo Alatriste. Via Linda Christian, her sister, Welter was sister-in-law of actor
Tyrone Power and aunt of actors
Taryn Power and
Romina Power. In 1955, Ariadne starred in the classic
Luis Buñuel film
The Criminal Life of Archibaldo de la Cruz. In 1956, she starred along with
German Robles in the classic Mexican horror film
El Vampiro. During the 1960s, Ariadne was one of the principal Mexican stars of the horror and fiction films. She continued to appear in movies and on
telenovelas in Mexico in her later years. == Filmography (selected) ==