From child star to pop sensation and beyond! Since her humble beginnings in Boca Raton, Florida, Ariana Grande has become one of the most recognizable names in the entertainment industry.
The singer had a knack for entertaining from an early age, performing at various children’s theaters and in local musicals before landing her first major role as Cat Valentine on the Nickelodeon show Victorious. Following the show’s final season in 2013, the “NASA” singer was asked to do a spinoff series, Sam & Cat, which ran for one season before coming to an end the following year.
Grande’s acting career shifted to music with the 2013 release of her debut album, Yours Truly. The former TV star has since released a total of five records], including My Everything (2014), Dangerous Woman (2016), Sweetener (2018), thank u, next (2019) and Positions (2020).
Though her career has garnered numerous highs, she also experienced some crushing lows. During a May 2017 concert in Manchester, England, an Islamic extremist set off a shrapnel-laden bomb that killed 22 people and injured more than 1,000 others.
Grande postponed the rest of her tour and went on to host the televised One Love Manchester concert in June 2017 to honor the victims. She later revealed that she suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety following the incident. “I know those families … everyone there experienced a tremendous amount of [PTSD] as well,” the “R.E.M” performer shared during a July 2018 interview with British Vogue, adding how she didn’t think she could ever talk about the attack “and not cry.”
In addition to her music career, Grande joined The Voice for season 21 as a coach alongside Kelly Clarkson, Blake Shelton and John Legend. She also launched a 60s-inspired cosmetics line, r.e.m beauty, in November 2021, and made a return to acting that December with the disaster comedy Don’t Look Up.
The beauty mogul’s series of high-profile romances also attracted a generous amount of attention over the years. After being linked to rapper Big Sean from 2014 to 2015 and her backup dancer Ricky Alvarez from 2015 to 2016, the “34+35” crooner began dating rapper Mac Miller in 2016.
The pair, who originally met while collaborating on their 2013 hit “The Way,” called things off in May 2018. Grande was devastated when the “Cinderella” musician died that September at age 26 from an accidental drug overdose — roughly four months after their split.
Prior to Miller’s passing, the “ghostin” songstress had a whirlwind romance with Pete Davidson, getting engaged to the comedian in June 2018, just weeks after they started dating. They split in October, and a source told Us Weekly at the time that the duo “realized it happened too quick and too early.”
Following a short fling with musician Mikey Foster, Grande started seeing real estate agent Dalton Gomez in February 2020. The pair announced their engagement that December and officially tied the knot in May 2021.
“I’ve never looked at love as something that I need to complete me,” the “boyfriend” artist told Cosmopolitan in March 2017. “I would like to be complete on my own first and fall in love with somebody who is also complete. You can still celebrate and be totally obsessed with each other, but I want to feel one hundred percent myself so that I can love that person better.”
Scroll down to take a look back at Ariana Grande through the years: