Ariana Grande

Ariana Grande-Butera ( AR-ee-AH-nə GRAHN-day byuu-TAIR-ə; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her four-octave vocal range, which extends into the whistle register, she is regarded as an influential figure in popular music. Publications such as Rolling Stone and Billboard have deemed Grande one of the greatest artists in history, while Time included her on its list of the world's 100 most influential people in 2016 and 2019.

Grande's career began as a teenager in the Broadway musical 13 (2008) before she gained prominence as Cat Valentine in the Nickelodeon television series Victorious (2010–2013) and its spin-off Sam & Cat (2013–2014). After signing with Republic Records, she released her debut studio album, Yours Truly (2013), a retro-inspired pop and R&B record that debuted atop the Billboard 200. She incorporated elements of electronic on her next two albums, My Everything (2014) and Dangerous Woman (2016), which both achieved international success, spawning the singles "Problem", "Break Free", "Bang Bang", "One Last Time", "Into You", and "Side to Side".

Personal struggles influenced Grande's albums Sweetener (2018) and Thank U, Next (2019), both of which delved into trap. The latter garnered the US Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles "Thank U, Next" and "7 Rings". With the title track of her R&B-infused album Positions (2020), as well as the collaborations "Stuck with U" and "Rain on Me", she achieved the most number-one debuts in the US. After a musical hiatus, she explored dance on Eternal Sunshine (2024), which yielded the US number-one songs "Yes, And?" and "We Can't Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)". She returned to acting with the political satire Don't Look Up (2021) and portrayed Glinda in the fantasy musical film Wicked (2024), which earned her an Academy Award nomination, as well as its sequel Wicked: For Good (2025).

Grande is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with estimated sales of over 90 million records. The highest-paid female musician in 2020, her accolades include three Grammy Awards, a Brit Award, two Billboard Music Awards, three American Music Awards, 40 Guinness World Records, and thirteen MTV Video Music Awards. Six of Grande's albums have reached number one on the Billboard 200, while nine of her songs have topped the Billboard Hot 100. Outside of music and acting, she has worked with many charitable organizations and advocates for animal rights, mental health, and gender, racial, and LGBT equality. Her business ventures include the cosmetics brand R.E.M. Beauty and a fragrance line that has earned over $1 billion in global retail sales. She has a large social media following, being the sixth-most-followed individual on Instagram.

Early life

Ariana Grande-Butera was born on June 26, 1993, in Boca Raton, Florida. She is the daughter of Joan Grande, the Brooklyn-born CEO of Hose-McCann Communications, a manufacturer of marine communications equipment owned by the Grande family since 1964, and Edward Butera, a graphic design firm owner in Boca Raton. Grande is of Italian descent and has described herself as an Italian American with Sicilian and Abruzzese roots. She has an older half-brother, Frankie Grande, who is an entertainer and producer. Her family moved from New York to Florida before her birth, and her parents separated when she was eight or nine years old. Grande had a close relationship with her maternal grandmother, Marjorie Grande. At age eight, she sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the Florida Panthers' home game against the Chicago Blackhawks on January 16, 2002.

As a young child, Grande performed with the Fort Lauderdale Children's Theater, playing her first role as the title character in the musical Annie. She also performed in their productions of The Wizard of Oz and Beauty and the Beast. At age eight, she performed at a karaoke lounge on a cruise ship and with orchestras such as South Florida's Philharmonic, Florida Sunshine Pops and Symphonic Orchestras. During this time, she attended the Pine Crest School and later North Broward Preparatory.

Career

2008–2013: Career beginnings and Nickelodeon

When she first arrived in Los Angeles, California, to meet with her managers, she expressed a desire to record an R&B album: "I was like, 'I want to make an R&B album,' They were like 'Um, that's a helluva goal! Who is going to buy a 14-year-old's R&B album?!'" In 2008, Grande was cast as cheerleader Charlotte in the Broadway musical 13.

Grande was cast in the Nickelodeon television show Victorious along with 13 co-star Elizabeth Gillies in 2009. In the sitcom, set at a performing arts high school, she played the "adorably dimwitted" Cat Valentine. She had to dye her hair red every other week for the role, which damaged it. The show premiered in March 2010 to the second-largest audience for a live-action series in Nickelodeon, with 5.7 million viewers. The role helped propel Grande to teen idol status, but she was more interested in a music career, saying that acting is "fun, but music has always been first and foremost with me."

After the first season of Victorious wrapped, Grande wanted to focus on her music career and began working on her debut album in August 2010. The second season premiered in April 2011 to 6.2 million viewers, becoming the show's highest-rated episode. In May 2011, Grande appeared in Greyson Chance's video for the song "Unfriend You" from his album Hold On 'til the Night (2011), portraying his ex-girlfriend. She made her first musical appearance on the track "Give It Up" from the Victorious soundtrack in August 2011. While filming Victorious, Grande made several recordings of herself singing covers of songs by Adele, Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey, and uploaded them to YouTube. A friend of Monte Lipman, chief executive officer (CEO) of Republic Records, came across one of the videos. Impressed by her vocals, he sent the links to Lipman, who signed her to a recording contract. Grande voiced the title role in the English dub of the Spanish-language animated film Snowflake, the White Gorilla in November 2011. From 2011 to 2013, she was cast in the role of fairy Princess Diaspro in the Nickelodeon revival of Winx Club.

In December 2011, Grande released her first single, "Put Your Hearts Up", which was recorded for a potential teen-oriented pop album that was never issued. She later disowned the track for its bubblegum pop sound, saying she had no interest in recording music of that genre. The song was later certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). On a second soundtrack, Victorious 2.0, released on June 5, 2012, as an extended play, she supplied vocals as part of the show's cast for the song "5 Fingaz to the Face". The third and final soundtrack, Victorious 3.0, was released on November 6, 2012, which featured a duet by Grande and Victoria Justice titled "L.A. Boyz", with an accompanying music video being released shortly after. In December 2012, Grande collaborated on the single version of "Popular Song", a duet with British singer and songwriter Mika.

After four seasons, Victorious was not renewed, with the finale airing in February 2013. Grande starred as Snow White in the pantomime-style musical theatre production A Snow White Christmas with Charlene Tilton and Neil Patrick Harris at the Pasadena Playhouse. She played Amanda Benson in Swindle, a 2013 Nickelodeon film adaptation of the children's book of the same name. Meanwhile, Nickelodeon created Sam & Cat, an iCarly and Victorious spin-off starring Jennette McCurdy and Grande. Grande and McCurdy reprised their roles as Cat Valentine and Sam Puckett on the buddy sitcom, which paired the characters as roommates who form an after-school babysitting business.

2013–2015: Yours Truly and My Everything

Grande released her debut album, Yours Truly, on August 30, 2013. A pop and R&B record influenced by 1950s doo-wop, Yours Truly debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 albums chart, with 138,000 copies sold in its first week. Yours Truly also debuted in the top ten in several other countries, including Australia, the UK, Ireland, and the Netherlands. Its lead single, "The Way", featuring Pittsburgh rapper Mac Miller, debuted at number ten on the US Billboard Hot 100, eventually peaking at number nine for two weeks. Grande was later sued by Minder Music for copying the line "What we gotta do right here is go back, back in time" from the 1972 song "Troglodyte (Cave Man)" by The Jimmy Castor Bunch. The album's second single, "Baby I", was released in July. Its third single, "Right There", featuring Detroit rapper Big Sean, was released in August 2013. They respectively peaked at number 21 and 84 on the Billboard Hot 100.