Famous-es

Ariana Grande

Ariana Grande

Ariana Grande is a sitcom-star-turned-pop music sensation, known for such hit songs as "Problem," "Bang Bang," "Dangerous Woman" and "Thank U, Next."

UPDATED: MAY 17, 2021Photo: Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic

(1993-)

Who Is Ariana Grande?

Ariana Grande began performing onstage when she was a child. Her involvement in a Broadway play at age 15, followed by some small TV parts, helped her land the role of Cat on TV's Victorious. She followed that with the spinoff Sam & Cat and then dove headfirst into a chart-topping musical career, releasing five albums: Yours Truly (2013), My Everything (2014), Dangerous Woman (2016), Sweetener (2018) and Thank U, Next (2019).

Early Years

Grande was born on June 26, 1993, in Boca Raton, Florida, to Edward Butera, a graphic designer, and Joan Grande, a businesswoman. She took to singing and acting at a young age and made her way onto the local theater scene before she was a teenager. Her first big break came in 2008 when the 15-year-old landed the role of Charlotte in the Broadway production of 13, a play focusing on life growing up in New York City. The early role led to accolades, and Grande won a National Youth Theatre Association Award.

Two years later, she appeared in the musical Cuba Libre and had a small role on a TV show called The Battery's Down.

Television Roles

Grande landed her breakout role in the Nickelodeon series Victorious. Victorious was set at a performing arts high school, and Grande was cast as a goofy aspiring singer-actress named Cat Valentine. While busy with the show, Grande nevertheless pursued a musical career, making her first appearance on a record with the Victorious soundtrack. And in 2011, Grande released the single "Put Your Hearts Up," a pop song aimed at the hearts of her young Victorious audience. The show's devoted fan base voted Victorious Favorite TV Show at the 2012 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards.

When Victorious went off the air in 2012, Grande's character Cat Valentine survived. She went to star in the Nick spin-off Sam & Cat, co-starring iCarly's Jennette McCurdy. Sam & Cat wasn't on long when rumors began to swirl that Grande wasn't particularly enjoying the experience, and the show came to an abrupt end after 35 episodes (2013-14).

Albums and Songs'Yours Truly' & 'My Everything'

"The Way" was the first single from Grande's debut album, Yours Truly, a record that also featured the hits "Baby I" and "Right There." The album, produced by super-producer Babyface, showed a maturing Grande, and 1990s soul influences from pop diva . The 2014 release My Everything sold 169,000 copies in its first week, debuting at No. 1. The single "Problem," featuring Australian rapper , preceded the album release and debuted at No. 3 on Billboard's Hot 100, selling more than 400,000 copies upon its release. "Break Free" with Zedd and "Love Me Harder" with followed, each climbing toward the top of the charts.

"Bang Bang," "One Last Time"

During the summer of 2014, Grande teamed up with Jessie J and on the single "Bang Bang," a track that debuted at No. 6 and peaked at No. 3 in the United States. The album spawned another hit single "One Last Time," which reached number 13 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Grande had three hit singles from My Everything on the Billboard chart at the same time.

'Dangerous Woman'

In 2015 Grande released Christmas & Chill, a holiday album, and the single "Focus," which debuted at number seven on the Billboard's Hot 100. In February 2016, she released her third album Dangerous Woman, and the title track debuted at number 10 on the Hot 100 that March. She made music history with the track's success, becoming the first artist to have the lead singles from her first three albums debut in the Top 10. Dangerous Woman, which debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, also features collaborations with Nicki Minaj, , Macy Gray and Future.