Ariana Grande-Butera was born on June 26, 1993 in Boca Raton, Florida, to a family of Italian descent. Her mother Joan Grande is the head of a communications company and her father Edward Butera, owner of a graphic design company. She has a half-brother, Frankie Grande, ten years her senior. Her parents separated in 2002 and she remained living with her mother. From her earliest childhood, she knew that her place was on the theater stage. She grew up acting in small performances and got her first role in the musical Annie at the age of eight. In 2008, she made her Broadway debut in the musical “13” at the age of fifteen. This is the start of a long career for Ariana Grande.
The birth of the actress
Ariana Grande was only 16 years old when she landed the role of Cat Valentine in the Nickelodeon teen series “Victorious”. Her red-haired character is bubbly, naive and an iota of childishness, but it’s the one that will propel her to stardom. From 2010 to 2013, for five seasons, the young woman will be on a film set. Following the end of “Victorious”, she landed the main role in a new series “Sam and Cat”, in which she reprises her role as Cat Valentine. Although the spin-off only has one season, the starlet emerges with something valuable: a fanbase.
She spoke about the impact that these teenage years spent working had on her: “I’m in the process of reworking my relationship with this subject a little,” she declared in an episode of the podcast “Podcrushed”, with Penn Badgley. “I think we need to make the environment safer if children work. I think there should be therapists, I think there should be parents allowed to be wherever they want.” Especially since in recent years, numerous stories of harassment, sexual assault and inappropriate behavior towards young actors have resurfaced. The documentary “Quiet On Set”, released in 2024, directly implicates producer Dan Schneider, creator of the Nickelodeon series.
A publicized love life
Ariana Grande had a fairly publicized love life, marked by several public relationships.
From 2016 to 2018, the star dated rapper Mac Miller. Their relationship will remain one of the most memorable for the young woman. Although the reasons for their breakup are not officially stated, there is widespread speculation that Mac Miller had addiction issues.
In 2018, she was in a relationship with actor and comedian Pete Davidson. Their story evolves quickly and the couple becomes engaged within a few weeks. Unfortunately, they broke up in October of the same year, only five months after the start of their romance.
Ariana Grande then decides to remain discreet about her relationships. But, in 2020, she announced her engagement to Dalton Gomez, a real estate agent she met during the pandemic. They married the following year in a very private ceremony. Unfortunately their union will not last because the singer confirms her divorce two years later, in July 2023.
A musical career marked by tragedy
In 2013, when she released her first album, “Yours Truly”, her fans, self-proclaimed “arianators”, welcomed it with enthusiasm, placing it at the top of the Billboard rankings. She will release a total of seven albums in 11 years: “My Everything in 2015, “Dangerous Woman” in 2016, “Sweetener” in 2018, “Thank U, Next” in 2019, “Positions” in 2021 then “Eternal Sunshine” in 2024.
On May 22, 2017, she gave a concert in Manchester, England, as part of her world tour for “Dangerous Woman”. At the end of the performance, as the audience was heading towards the exits, a suicide bomber detonated a bomb, killing 22 people and injuring more than 1,000.
The star was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder following the event.
She then turns to music to heal. She released her album Sweetener, in 2018 in which the single “No Tears Left To Cry” talks about her experience after the Manchester attack.
But fifteen months later, a new tragedy struck the singer. Mac Miller, his former companion, was found dead in September 2018, following an overdose. Once again, it will be in song that she will speak of her feelings.
His album “Thank U, Next” released in 2019 addresses his past relationships. The song “Thank U, Next” became a viral phenomenon, and the album topped the charts. It was a worldwide success and Rolling Stone magazine named it “best album of the year.”
In October 2021, the pop star announced her partnership with the site BetterHelp, which offers online therapy services: “I recognize that there are very real barriers when it comes to accessing mental health resources, and while it’s just a small gesture (and a much larger systemic problem remains), I wanted to do it again with @betterhelp in hopes of bringing access to a few more people and maybe be an inspiration to some of you you to try something new and prioritize your own healing.”
A little girl’s dream that came true
Ariana Grande is currently starring in the musical “Wicked” in which she plays the role of Glinda. A little girl’s dream that came true for the artist, but which is far from a surprise. The 31-year-old star predicted this role for herself years ago.
In 2013, guest on the radio show “The Kidd Kraddick Morning Show”, the 21-year-old young woman was asked which character in the famous musical she would see herself playing: “I would be Glinda. For sure,” she replied at the time. A prediction that turned out to be correct, more than ten years later.
Kristin Chenoweth, the first actress to play the role of Glinda on Broadway, recounted her meeting with Ariana when she was only ten years old. “She came to see “Wicked” with her grandmother. Backstage she said to me “I want to play Glinda,” and I said “And you will.” “She sang a song and I said, ‘I think you have something special and you’re going to make it,'” she said on “Late Night With Seth Meyers.”
Thanks to this role, Ariana Grande reconnects with her first love: Broadway but also with her family ties. She thus chose to add her father’s last name to hers, thus giving Ariana Grande-Butera.
