From serenading cruise ship passengers to her most recent breakup, this is the truth
about Ariana Grande:
14.
Early Years
Ariana Grande-Butera was born in Boca Raton, Florida on June 26, 1993, to Edward Butera
and Joan Grande.
Her mother worked as the chief executive officer of a communications company, and her father
owns a graphic design business.
Her parents were inspired by Princess Oriana in Felix the Cat: The Movie when they chose
her name.
When she was around nine years old, her mom and dad separated.
She performed at the Fort Lauderdale Children’s Theater as a child, and she started singing
at a karaoke parlor on a cruise ship at eight years old.
Ariana also performed with the South Florida Philharmonic and the Florida Sunshine Pops.
She even sang the national anthem at a Florida Panthers game, which was her first appearance
on television.
She attended school at Pine Crest and North Broward Preparatory.
When she reached the age of thirteen, Ariana became intent on pursuing a career in music
while continuing to concentrate on theater.
She expressed to her managers that she wanted to record an R&B album after arriving in Los
Angeles.
Later on, she began singing at Birdland in New York City.
Ariana eventually landed a job with Nickelodeon, and her fame truly began to grow.
13.
Pets
Many people know that Ariana Grande is an animal lover.
She loves the company of her furry friends, and she has adopted numerous rescues that
now enjoy a life of luxury by her side.
One of her dog’s names is Coco, a dachshund and German shepherd mix.
She also has a beagle and chihuahua mix named Toulouse, two chocolate Labradoodles named
Ophelia and Sirius, a chihuahua named Pignoli, and a Yorkie named Strauss.
Apparently, Ariana is a diehard Harry Potter fan…
So, yes, you guessed it; Sirius’ full name is Sirius Black.
However, the pet list doesn’t stop there.
She also owns a bloodhound named Lafayette, an American pit bull terrier named Cinnamon,
and a Shiba Inu named Fawkes (fox).
That’s a total of nine dogs!
You might think that nine is enough for the young star; but, you’d be wrong.
She and her now-ex-fiance, Pete Davidson, decided to bring another little furball into
their home.
However, this time it was a tiny pig.
Davidson even got a tattoo of her with “Piggy Smallz” written underneath; despite this
permanent ink…
Ariana is keeping the animal post-breakup.
She notedly purchased the piglet and has no intention of letting her go.
12.
Charities
Ariana Grande is a very charitable person.
She has worked with numerous organizations over the years, even though she’s only twenty-five
years old.
When she was just ten, she helped create the group Kids Who Care, which performed during
events to raise money for various causes.
In 2007, they raised about $500,000.
In 2009, Ariana and her brother taught music and performed for children living in Gugulethu,
Africa with the Broadway in South Africa organization.
In 2013, she was featured in Seventeen magazine in the “Delete Digital Drama” campaign
to stop cyberbullying.
A year later, she volunteered in the TV program Stand Up to Cancer, in which she sang the
song “My Everything” as a tribute to her grandfather.
In 2015, she performed with Miley Cyrus to help her Happy Hippie Foundation.
Then, a year after that, she worked with MAC Cosmetics to launch a lipstick line; the profits
were donated to people with HIV and AIDS.
Ariana is also very active in the LGBT community, Black Lives Matter movement, and several other
groups and foundations.
11.
Broadway
Pretty much everyone and their mothers have heard about Ariana Grande since she’s become
such an enormous success.
But, do you know how she got her start?
We talked about her childhood performances in theater and orchestras; however, one of
the things that got her noticed was the Broadway musical 13.
She was cast in the show in 2008 as a cheerleader named Charlotte.
Her best friend from Boca Raton, Aaron Simon Gross, was also cast in the musical.
Ariana won a National Youth Theatre Association Award for her performance.
10.
White House
She’s an astonishing singer; so, it should surprise anyone that Ariana was chosen to
perform at America’s most famous establishment, the White House.
In 2014, she was selected to sing for the program titled “In Performance at the White
House: Women of Soul.”
The point of the concert was to honor the so-called “foremothers of American music,”
or female legends whose songs signify the hardships and accomplishments of women.
Ariana was accompanied by several other artists, including Melissa Etheridge (eth-ridge), Tessanne
Chin, Jill Scott, Janelle Monae, and Aretha Franklin.
Ariana sang “I Have Nothing” by Whitney Houston; a magnificent (mag-niff-ih-sent)
choice for Grande’s amazing vocal range.
9.
Awards
Ariana Grande is an incredibly talented singer and has won numerous awards for her work.
In 2013, she took home a Billboard Mid-Year award for Best Newcomer, an American Music
Award for New Artist of the Year, and a Music Business Association award for New Artist
of the Year.
A year after that, Ariana won two Teen Choice Awards, a Radio Disney Award, a People’s
Choice Award, an MTV Video Music Award, an iHeartRadio Music Award, and several others.
In 2015, she received another American Music Award, three Japan Gold Disc Awards, and many
more.
Ariana won upwards of seven awards in 2016 and over ten in 2017.
In 2018, she earned a Teen Choice Snapchatter award, two New Musical Express Awards, an
MTV Video Music Japan award, an MTV Video Music Award for Best Pop song, an iHeartRadio
Music Award for her cute pup, Toulouse, and she could win more.
Ariana Grande notedly has sixty-five wins and over one hundred thirty nominations.
8.
Annie
Grande started a career in music when she was just a child.
Although she has grown tremendously throughout the years regarding vocal range and acting
prowess, her modest beginnings bring out the nostalgia in everyone.
When she was eight years old, she performed in the musical Annie as the title character.
The play was put on by the Little Palm Family Theater in her hometown.
Even back then Ariana had quite the set of pipes, which foreshadowed her prosperous future
in the music industry.
You can even check out her adorable performance on YouTube.
7.
Vegan
Ariana Grande converted to veganism from an omnivorous diet in the mid-2010s.
In an interview with Mirror in 2014, she stated, “I love animals more than I love most people,
not kidding.
But I am a firm believer in eating a full plant-based, whole food diet that can expand
your life length and make you an all-around happier person.
It is tricky dining out, but I just stick to what I know - veggies, fruit, and salad
- then, when I get home, I’ll have something else.”
Apparently, watching the film Blackfish, which documented an inhumane captivity of orcas
at SeaWorld, had some involvement in her switch to veganism.
Ariana has also noted that she didn’t eat much meat before; so, it wasn’t too difficult
for her to change diets.
Plus, she said that she’d eaten enough cheese as a child “for anyone’s normal lifespan.”
Grande also declared that she disagrees with humans drinking cow milk since the creatures
“produce milk with nutrients for cows”... not people.
Ariana’s love for animals is apparent through her numerous rescue pets and her plant-based
diet.
6.
Donuts
One of the most significant adverse events concerning Ariana Grande was the donut incident.
It may sound like a laughing matter, but it sparked a lot of negative attention for the
young artist in 2015.
TMZ published a surveillance video of Ariana and her friends in a donut shop.
During the recording, she licked a couple of the pastries on display along with her
now-ex-boyfriend.
Then, the worker brought out a tray of donuts to show them, and Ariana said, “What the
[*bleep*] is this?
I hate Americans.
I hate America.
That is disgusting.”
According to some sources, the donuts that had been licked were sold to customers later
on, and nobody was aware that they were contaminated…
But, let’s be honest, they might have sold for more if people knew who licked them.
However, the situation caused an uproar from her fans.
Grande apologized for her behavior, stating, “I am EXTREMELY proud to be an American…
[what I said] was taken out of context and I am sorry for not using more discretion with
my choice of words.”
She added that since she strongly believes in clean eating, she becomes “upset by how
freely we as Americans eat and consume things without giving any thought to the consequences
that it has on our health and society as a whole.”
Ariana also noted that the United States has “one of the highest child obesity rates
in the world,” which disheartens her.
Some people accepted her apology, and others didn’t.
Ariana was supposed to perform at the White House for the second time; however, her performance
was canceled after the incident.
5.
Influences
We all know that Ariana Grande is up there with the best singers of our time.
But, do you know who this talented artist draws her inspiration from?
The first one is Mariah Carey.
Grande said Carey is her “favorite human being on the planet.”
Not too surprising considering Mariah’s incredible vocals.
Ariana noted that another one of her inspirations is Whitney Houston, another legend in the
music world.
She also said Gloria Estefan was the reason she decided to pursue a musical career.
After Estefan saw Ariana performing on a cruise ship, she complimented her vocal talent.
Other inspirations include Destiny’s Child, Beyonce, Fergie, India.Arie, and Brandy.
Grande is a four-octave (ock-tiv) soprano vocalist and has the whistle register, which
is the highest the human voice can reach.
4.
Nickelodeon
Ariana’s big breakthrough came when she was cast for the Nickelodeon series Victorious.
She played the role of Cat Valentine, the sometimes-air-headed friend of the main character.
She showed off her singing talent during some episodes, like “Freak the Freak Out” and
“iParty with Victorious.”
Grande also recorded songs for soundtracks, including Victorious: Music from the Hit TV
Show, and uploaded covers from various artists on YouTube during the filming of the show.
Cat’s catchphrase was “What’s that supposed to mean!?”, which she would say when she
was offended.
Ariana also acted in the spin-off show Sam & Cat, which ran from 2013 to 2014.
She continued performing in various other things, such as a theater production titled
A Snow White Christmas and a Nickelodeon movie called Swindle.
3.
Mac Miller
Most of us have heard the sad news about the young rapper, Mac Miller.
You all probably also know that Ariana Grande was a large part of his life.
They became close from around 2012 to 2013 when they did a cover of “Baby It’s Cold
Outside” and collaborated on “The Way.”
They remained just friends until 2016 when Ariana broke up with her then-boyfriend, Ricky
Alvarez.
Shortly after that, Miller and Grande started dating.
The couple appeared very much in love, and Miller was there for her after the terrible
incident in Manchester.
However, in May 2018, they called it quits, and Ariana posted a heartfelt message on Instagram.
Then, after Miller received a DUI after the break-up, a Twitter user blamed Ariana.
But, she took to the site quickly and said it isn’t right for people to “minimize
female self-respect and self-worth by saying someone should stay in a toxic relationship…”.
She added that she had been dealing with Miller’s struggles for some time.
Mac stated, “It’s all positive energy.
I am happy for her and [the fact that she’s] moving forward with her life…”
Mac Miller passed away in 2018.
2.
Brother
Ariana is usually the one in the spotlight, but she has an older brother named Frankie
Grande.
He is about ten years older than her and is pretty well-known in the world of theater.
He has performed in various Broadway musicals, including Mamma Mia! and Rock of Ages.
Plus, Frankie has produced Broadway shows as well, like Hamlet, Born Yesterday, and
La Bete.
He even produced Brooke Shields’ 2011 cabaret show and has performed in various cabaret
acts himself.
Frankie also gained attention for being a contestant on Big Brother 16 in 2014, in which
he finished in fifth place.
1.
Pete Davidson
You’ve probably heard of Ariana Grande and Pete Davidson’s relationship.
But, let’s look at how they met and got engaged before things went south.
They became close when Grande hosted Saturday Night Live in 2016.
But, they were still seeing other people; so, nothing happened.
Ariana later told Jimmy Fallon that she “had the biggest crush in the whole world on him
the whole time.”
In 2018, she posted a final picture of her and then-boyfriend, Mac Miller, on Instagram.
Soon after, Pete’s former girlfriend, Cazzie David, posted their last photo together.
After both celebs officially ended things with their exes, they confirmed that they
were dating.
In June 2018, Grande flaunted her $93,000 engagement ring during her performance at
Wango Tango.
However, it seems that their rush into romance ended poorly for the duo.
In October 2018, Grande and Davidson called it quits.
The reason for their breakup hasn’t been confirmed.
But, some reports suggest that it wasn’t much of a surprise.
A source told People that the couple would fight often off-camera and added that “They’ve
gotten into arguments and broken up before and got back together.”
Some also noted that it could be due to Ariana’s difficulty dealing with Mac Miller’s passing.
The source also said, “It was way too much too soon.”
Whatever the case might be, Davidson and Grande are doing what they can to make it through
a stressful time.