Catalina Guirado
From 90s It-Girl to Estate President
Catalina Guirado is a British model, television personality, art entrepreneur and wellness innovator whose career has spanned more than three decades across fashion, media, music and the international art world.
Rising to prominence in the 1990s as one of London’s original “It Girls,” Catalina graced the covers of Vogue, Elle, Cosmopolitan, FHM and Maxim, fronted global campaigns for Dove, Wella and Puma, and walked runways for designers including Vivienne Westwood and Scott Henshall. She was named by British Esquire as one of the “30 Most Eligible Women,” alongside Elizabeth Hurley and Kylie Minogue.
Her television career launched on the cult show TFI Friday with Chris Evans, placing her at the heart of Cool Britannia. Following her appearance on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, she became one of the most recognisable public figures in the UK.
Behind the visibility, however, came burnout. Stepping away from the intensity of public life, Catalina returned to Los Angeles — a city that had long felt like home — and began rebuilding from the inside out.
Mediterranean Rhythm Meets California Mindfulness
In Los Angeles, Catalina reconnected with her Mediterranean roots — Spanish heritage, Italian childhood summers, ritual, beauty, slow meals, sunlight and movement — blending them with California mindfulness and nervous system regulation.
What began as personal recalibration became a philosophy of aesthetic longevity: disciplined art, embodied ritual and grounded power.
A lifelong equestrian since the age of seven, horses have always been her private sanctuary. In California, owning and training her own horse became both a childhood dream realised and a profound tool for nervous system healing. Time in the saddle restored presence, strength and embodied confidence — a form of moving meditation long before she had language for it.
Equestrian life became a cornerstone of her restoration: discipline without performance, power without noise, connection without spectacle.
This foundation would later evolve into Karma Besos — a Mediterranean–Californian lifestyle framework integrating art, rhythm, beauty and nervous system mastery.
Art Heiress & Cultural Steward
In 2010, following the passing of her father, the internationally acclaimed Spanish-Australian painter Juan Antonio Guirado, Catalina assumed leadership of the Guirado Estate as President & Creative Director.
Over the past decade, she has stewarded and repositioned the estate internationally — curating exhibitions, collaborating with museums and foundations, and introducing immersive and digital interpretations of Guirado’s metaphysical works to contemporary audiences.
Highlights include:
Exhibition at Coral Gables Museum during Art Basel Miami
Institutional partnership with the University of Jaén in Andalucía
Induction of Guirado into the Cesáreo Rodríguez-Aguilera Foundation alongside Picasso, Miró and Tàpies
Guest speaker on art estate management and immersive art
Patron of the Tate Americas Foundation
Leadership Circle member at MOCA
Advisory Board member, Los Angeles Art Association
Through Studio Guirado and Guirado Design, Catalina continues expanding the legacy into immersive installations, digital experiences and contemporary design applications.
Reinvention Through Grief & Rebirth
The most profound evolution came later in life.
After losing her mother to Alzheimer’s and her closest friend to cancer within a year, Catalina faced a period of deep grief and questioning. Supporting her friend through integrative health research reignited her long-standing interest in wellness science and nervous system healing.
Rather than retreat, she trained.
Catalina became certified through the Health Coach Institute (USA), expanded into art therapy coaching, mindfulness and breathwork, and integrated neuroscience-based habit-change frameworks into her work.
From this chapter emerged:
Totally Ageless — a private Mediterranean-inspired nervous system reset
Karma Besos — a lifestyle philosophy rooted in ritual and resilience
The Art of Zen — a creative healing experience inspired by J.A. Guirado’s work
She now works primarily with high-functioning women in media, culture and leadership who are navigating stress, burnout, hormonal shifts and identity evolution.
Today
Catalina Guirado operates at the intersection of art legacy, immersive design, Mediterranean ritual and nervous system recalibration.
She splits her time between Los Angeles, London and Madrid, continuing to steward the Guirado Legacy internationally while expanding Karma Besos and The Art of Zen as platforms for aesthetic longevity and embodied leadership.
She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, British musician Matt Cheadle. A lifelong equestrian, she owns a purebred Arabian mare named Farah — a childhood dream realised — and shares her home with a rescued Bengal cat.
Horses, art, ritual and disciplined beauty remain at the core of how she lives — and how she leads.
From It-Girl to Estate President.
From burnout to grounded power.
From muse to architect of legacy.
