Ariana Grande facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Ariana Grande
Grande in 2024
Born	Ariana Grande-Butera (1993-06-26) June 26, 1993 (age 31) Boca Raton, Florida, U.S.
Occupation	Singer songwriter actress
Years active	2008–present
Works	Discography songs recorded videography performances
Title	Founder, chairwoman, and owner of R.E.M. Beauty
Spouse(s)	Dalton Gomez (m. 2021; div. 2024)
Relatives	Frankie Grande (half-brother)
Awards	Full list
Musical career
Genres	Pop R&B
Instruments	Vocals
Labels	Republic

Signature

Ariana Grande-Butera (born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is famous for her four-octave vocal range and has been compared to Mariah Carey. She has received many awards during her career, including two Grammy Awards, one Brit Award, two Billboard Music Awards, three American Music Awards, nine MTV Video Music Awards, and 36 Guinness World Records. Rolling Stone named her one of the greatest vocalists of all time.

Grande became famous for playing Cat Valentine in the Nickelodeon television series Victorious (2010–2013) and Sam & Cat (2013–2014). Grande signed with Republic Records in 2011 and released her first album in 2013. Her style of singing is 1950s doo-wop-influenced pop and R&B.

Ariana is thought of as a pop icon and triple threat entertainer (someone who can act, sing, and dance). She is one of the world's best-selling music artists; she has sold more than 85 million records globally.

Early life

Ariana Grande-Butera was born on June 26, 1993, in Boca Raton, Florida. Her mother is Joan Grande, the Brooklyn-born CEO of Hose-McCann Communications, a manufacturer of communications and safety equipment owned by the Grande family since 1964. Her father is 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, and she has a close relationship with her maternal grandmother (her mother's mother), Marjorie Grande. Her family moved from New York to Florida before her birth, and her parents separated when she was eight or nine years old.

At age 8, she sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the 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. During this time, she attended the Pine Crest School and later North Broward Preparatory.

Career

2008–2012: Career beginnings and Nickelodeon

By age 13, Grande became serious about pursuing a music career, although she still concentrated on theater. She told her managers that she wanted to record an R&B album. In 2008, Grande was cast as cheerleader Charlotte in the Broadway musical 13. She continued to study outside of school with tutors.

Grande at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival

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.

Ariana began working on her vocal skills with coach Eric Vetro during the second season of Victorious. She 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.

After four seasons, Victorious was not renewed, with the finale airing in February 2013. Nickelodeon created Sam & Cat, an iCarly and Victorious spin-off. The show was canceled after 35 episodes, with the last episode airing on July 17, 2014.

2013–2015: Yours Truly and My Everything

Grande in 2013

Grande recorded her debut studio album Yours Truly, originally titled Daydreamin', over three years. It was released on August 30, 2013, and debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 albums chart, with 138,000 copies sold in its first week.

Grande released her second studio album My Everything on August 25, 2014, and debuted atop the Billboard 200.

In February 2015, Grande began touring. Her tour was called The Honeymoon Tour. During this time, she also guest starred on Scream Queens, sang with Andrea Bocelli, and released her second Christmas album, Christmas & Chill in December 2015.

2015–2017: Dangerous Woman

In 2015, Grande began working on her third studio album, Dangerous Woman. It was released in May 2016 and became number two on the Billboard 200.

Grande performing on her Dangerous Woman Tour in 2017

In August 2016, Grande performed a tribute to the late Whitney Houston on the season finale of the ABC television series Greatest Hits. In October 2016, Grande filmed a commercial for T-Mobile and played Penny Pingleton in the NBC television broadcast Hairspray Live!. She and Stevie Wonder appeared on the season finale of the US competition TV series The Voice. They sang "Faith" from the soundtrack of the 2016 animated film Sing. Grande was also featured on the albums of other artists in 2016 and 2017.

On May 22, 2017, her concert at Manchester Arena was the target of a suicide bombing. Grande stopped the remainder of the tour and sang in One Love Manchester, a concert that was on television. She helped raise $23 million to aid the bombing's victims and affected families.

2018–2019: Sweetener and Thank U, Next

Grande began working on songs for her fourth studio album, Sweetener, with Pharrell Williams in 2016, but it was not released until August 2018.

In November 2018, Grande and YouTube released a four-part docuseries titled Ariana Grande: Dangerous Woman Diaries. It shows behind-the-scenes and concert footage from Grande's Dangerous Woman Tour, including moments from the One Love Manchester concert, and follows her professional life during the tour and the making of Sweetener.

Grande's fifth studio album, Thank U, Next was released on February 8, 2019, and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. On March 18, 2019, she began the Sweetener World Tour to promote both Sweetener and Thank U, Next.

2020–present: Positions and Wicked

In 2020, Grande sang with Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga. She released her sixth studio album, Positions, on October 30, 2020. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, becoming Grande's fifth number-one album.

Ariana starred alongside Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, and Meryl Streep in Adam McKay's Don't Look Up. The film was released on the streaming service Netflix, on December 24, 2021. She remained busy that year appearing on the Adult Swim Festival, and singing with Jennifer Hudson on a remix of Mariah Carey's 2010 Christmas song "Oh Santa!." She also released the concert film for her Sweetener World Tour, Excuse Me, I Love You, on December 21, 2020, exclusively on Netflix.

In March 2021, Grande was a coach of the twenty-first season of The Voice. She became the highest-paid coach in the show's history, earning a reported $25 million per season. Grande did not return for the show's twenty-second season.

In 2021, Grande sang a remix with the Weeknd, sang on Doja Cat's album, and performed on n the video game Fortnite.

In November 2021, it was announced that Grande would play Glinda for the upcoming two-part film adaptation of the musical Wicked, directed by Jon M. Chu and starring alongside Cynthia Erivo, who will play Elphaba. The first part, Wicked, is slated to be released on November 27, 2024.

On January 17, 2024, Grande announced her seventh studio album, titled Eternal Sunshine. The album was released on March 8. It debuted atop the Billboard 200 and the Hot 100. It marked Grande's first instance of reaching the top of both the Billboard Hot 100 Songwriters and Hot 100 Producers charts.

On June 21, 2024, Grande released "The Boy Is Mine (Remix)", which features both Brandy and Monica.

Artistry

Musical style and genres

Grande's music is generally pop and R&B with elements of EDM, hip hop, and trap. While she has kept pop-R&B tones in her music, she has increased the use of trap into her music in her later albums. She gives the credit for this to her record producer Tommy Brown.

Grande loves to be involved in the creation of her music. She has co-written songs addressing a wide variety of themes, such as love, wealth, breakups, independence, empowerment, self-love, and moving on from the past.

Influences

Grande credits Mariah Carey (left) and Whitney Houston (right) as her major vocal influences

Grande grew up listening to urban pop and 1990s music. Some artists she lists as influences for her include Gloria Estefan, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Destiny's Child, Beyoncé, Celine Dion, Madonna, Imogen Heap, India Arie, Lauryn Hill, and Brandy Norwood.

Voice

Grande is a light lyric soprano. She has a four-octave vocal range and a whistle register. Because of this, she has been compared to Mariah Carey.

Public image

Grande during an interview in 2016, wearing her signature high-ponytail hairstyle

Grande said that Audrey Hepburn was a major style influence in her early years of fame. Later in her career, however, she began to find Hepburn's style "a little boring." In 2014, she abandoned her earlier style and began wearing short skirts and crop tops with knee-high boots in live performances and red carpet events. In recent years, she began wearing oversized jackets and hoodies.

Grande has a large following on social media and is one of the most influential celebrities on the internet. Several wax figures of Grande are found at Madame Tussauds Wax Museums in major cities around the world.

Achievements

Throughout her career, Grande has sold around 90 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time. She has won many awards and recognitions:

Nine Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards
American Music Award for New Artist of the Year (2013)
Music Business Association's Breakthrough Artist of the Year (2013)
Favorite Breakout Artist at the 40th People's Choice Awards
Billboard's Women in Music's Rising Star (2014)
Listed on Time's annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world (2016 and 2019)
Billboard magazine's "Female Artist of the Year" (2017)
Most streamed female artist on Spotify (November 2018)
Billboard's Woman of the Year (November 2018)
Hits magazine's "pop diva supreme" (2018)
Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album, for Sweetener (2019)
Brit Award for International Female Solo Artist (2019)
2019 MTV Video Music Awards Artist of the Year award (2019)
Most accomplished female artist to debut in the 2010s, named by Billboard magazine (2019)
Number 62 on Forbes magazine's list of highest-paid celebrities (2019)
Billboard magazine's highest-paid solo musician (2019)
Billboard's Top Female Artist
Highest-earning woman in music on Forbes's 2020 Celebrity 100 list
MTV Video Music Award for Song of the Year for "Rain on Me" (2020)
Bloomberg's "first pop diva of the streaming generation" (2020)
Pitchfork's list of "The 200 Most Important Artists of Pitchfork's First 25 Years" (2020)
78th on Billboard's Greatest of All Time Hot 100 Artists (2021)

Other ventures

Products and endorsements

Ariana has been paid by many companies to endorse (promote) their products. Some of these companies include: WAT-AAH!, Reebok, American Express, T-Mobile, Starbucks, Givenchy, Beats, Samsung, Fiat, Guess, Macy's, and Apple.

She has a line with her name on them in products with Coach (handbag), MAC Cosmetics, Lipsy London (clothing), Brookstone (headphones), Square Enix (mobile game), and Luxe Brands (fragrance). In November 2021, Grande launched her makeup line R.E.M. Beauty, which began selling at Ulta Beauty in March 2022.

Philanthropy and activism

Aside from music, she has worked with many charitable organizations and raised money for animal rights, mental health, Black Lives Matter, gun control reform, ending online bullying, and gender, racial, and LGBT equality. She holds benefit concerts and gives a portion of the money raised to organizations that promote these issues.

Personal life

Grande has said she struggled with hypoglycemia, which she blamed on poor eating habits. She has been a vegan since 2013. She struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and anxiety. Grande has also said she has been in therapy since she was 8 or 9.

Grande was raised Roman Catholic but left the church because their beliefs do not fit with her lifestyle.

Grande was in many relationships during her career. She married real estate agent Dalton Gomez on On May 15, 2021, in a private ceremony at her home in Montecito, California.

Ariana Grande quotes

“I’m much better at making songs than telling people things.”
“I’m a person who’s been through a lot and doesn’t know what to say about any of it to myself, let alone the world.”
“I used to run around my house in a Scream mask with a hockey stick—it's how I expressed myself.”
“Good karma my aesthetic. Keep my conscience clear, that's why I'm so magnetic.”

Interesting facts about Ariana Grande

Ariana's name is inspired by Princess Oriana from Felix the Cat.
She loves horror movies and can't get enough of them.
Her favorite color is lavender.
She is 5'1".
She's now a world-famous singer, but Ariana never made it into her school choir.
She first announced she was vegan in 2013.
Ariana put her hands in cement at Planet Hollywood, New York, on December 22, 2011.

Filmography

Hairspray Live! (2016)
Don't Look Up (2021)
Wicked (2024)
Wicked Part Two (2025)

Discography

Studio albums

Yours Truly (2013)
My Everything (2014)
Dangerous Woman (2016)
Sweetener (2018)
Thank U, Next (2019)
Positions (2020)
Eternal Sunshine (2024)

Live performances and tours

Stage acting

Year	Production	Role	Director	Venue	Notes
2008	13	Charlotte	Jeremy Sams	Norma Terris Theatre, Chester
2008-2009	13	Charlotte	Jeremy Sams	Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, Manhattan	Original Broadway Cast
2012	A Snow White Christmas	Snow White	Bonnie Lythgoe	Pasadena Playhouse

Tours

Headlining

The Listening Sessions (2013)
The Honeymoon Tour (2015)
Dangerous Woman Tour (2017)
Sweetener World Tour (2019)

Promotional

The Sweetener Sessions (2018)

Opening act

Justin Bieber – Believe Tour (2013)