The Life of Ariana Grande

Ariana Grande has had a long and varied career for someone so young. Here we take a look at her life and career.

Grande was born on 26 June 1993 in Boca Raton, Florida, to Edward Butera, a graphic designer, and Joan Grande, the CEO of Hose McCann communications.

She took to singing and acting at a young age and made her way into the local theatre scene before she was a teenager. Grande’s first big break came in 2008 when the 15-year-old landed the role of Charlotte in the Broadway production of 13, which quickly lead to accolades, including winning a National Youth Theatre Association Award.

Grande’s breakout role on television was on the Nickelodeon show Victorious, playing the scatter-brained-but-plucky singer Cat Valentine. This allowed her to simultaneously exercise both her acting chops and musical career, contributing to the Victorious soundtrack while releasing her own singles.

Following the end of Victorious, Grande starred again as Cat Valentine in the spin-off show Sam & Cat, which only lasted for one year. It is thought that Grande was not enjoying her experience on the show and it was canned.

Her first two albums, Yours Truly and My Everything, were released in 2013 and 2014 respectively. Her breakthrough single was arguably Problem featuring Iggy Azalea, which debuted at No. 3 on Billboard’s Hot 100.

Then came the singles Break Free and Love Me Harder ft. The Weeknd, which propelled Grande into the pop star stratosphere. Added to this was the smash-hit single Bang Bang which Grande starred on with Jessie J and Nicki Minaj. It’s safe to say that 2014 was Ariana Grande’s year.

After a year of successful touring, Grande recorded a Christmas album called Christmas & Chill, followed by her third official release, Dangerous Woman. In doing this, she made music history, becoming the first artist to have the lead singles from her first three albums debut in the Top 10.

On 22 May 2017 during her Dangerous Woman tour in Manchester, an explosive was detonated in the arena in a terror attack carried out by a suicide bomber.

The detonation injured 116 people and killed 22, some of whom were young children. The horrific incident forced Grande to suspend her tour for two weeks before resuming with a heartfelt benefit concert for the victims on 4 June. The performance included big-name acts like Justin Bieber, Pharrell Williams, and Katy Perry.

The Manchester Arena bombings left a huge scar on Grande’s life and she is said to have suffered with PTSD symptoms since.

The years after this tragedy then propelled Grande into superstardom. Her 2018 album Sweetener was another massive success with four hit singles.

However, near the end of the year, she released possibly her most famous and important song, Thank u, next. This catchy tune was a mature and heartfelt tribute to her ex-boyfriend Mac Miller, who sadly took his own life months before. Despite all this hardship, Grande was proving to be strong and resilient as ever.

Grande followed this with her critically acclaimed fifth album the following year, fittingly called Thank u next. Singles included Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored and Seven Rings, which were well-received by critics and fans. She also made headlines by becoming the youngest ever headline performer at Coachella that year.

Recommended Reading: Top Five Ariana Grande Songs

Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, Grande still maintained her star power. She collaborated with Lady Gaga on the single Rain On Me and released her sixth album, Positions, in November 2020.

As of 2021, Grande has been nominated for twelve Grammy Awards and won one. In December 2020, she became engaged to estate agent Dalton Perez and the two were married in May this year.

Grande has gone from strength to strength in her career and, more importantly, has shown incredible resolve and character to bounce back from events which many would be overwhelmed by. Let’s hope she can continue this unbelievable success.