Ariana Grande Through the Years: Nickelodeon, Grammy-Winning Albums, High-Profiles Romances and Beyond

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Ariana Grande Through the Years: Nickelodeon, Grammy-Winning Albums, High-Profiles Romances 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. [sendtonews type="float" key="fi5rcdHQgE-2885253-14453"] 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). Along with her music, Grande’s series of high-profile romances also attracted a generous amount of attention over the years. After dating Big Sean, Ricky Alvarez, Mac Miller and Pete Davidson, she tied the knot with real estate agent Dalton Gomez  in May 2021. However, Us confirmed in July 2023 that the twosome called it quits after two years of marriage. Scroll down to take a look back at Grande through the years:

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2008

Before making her small-screen debut, Grande starred as cheerleader Charlotte in the Broadway production of the musical 13.

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2010

The actress landed her first TV role on Victorious alongside her 13 costar Elizabeth Gillies. Grande dyed her hair red for her role as Cat Valentine on the Nickelodeon sitcom about a performing arts high school, which aired for four seasons from 2010 to 2013.

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2013

The TV star reprised her role on Nickelodeon’s Sam & Cat, which was a crossover spinoff of Victorious and iCarly. The show also starred Jennette McCurdy as Sam Puckett and, despite its ratings success, only aired for one season.

The two programs helped propel the budding star to teen idol status, but she was more interested in a music career. In May 2014, she told Rolling Stone that acting was “fun,” but that music was always “first and foremost.”

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August 2013

The teen idol released her first album, Yours Truly, after three years of recording. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, thanks in part to the success of lead single “The Way,” which featured Miller. Other singles included “Baby I” and “Right There.”

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August 2013

Grande served as an opening act during three dates of Justin Bieber’s hugely successful Believe tour, two of which were in her home state of Florida.

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2014

The singer performed twice at the White House during Barack Obama’s presidency, first at the “Women of Soul” concert in March 2014 and again the following month during the Easter Egg Roll.

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August 2014

Grande dropped her second album, My Everything, which became her second to debut atop the Billboard 200. This time around, she explored more mature themes on singles “Problem” featuring Iggy Azalea, “Break Free” with Zedd, “Bang Bang” with Jessie J and Nicki Minaj, “Love Me Harder” featuring The Weeknd and “One Last Time.” My Everything was nominated for a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album.

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April 2015

After an eight-month romance, Grande and rapper Big Sean amicably called it quits. “They both deeply care for each other and remain close friends,” their reps told Us in a joint statement. “We kindly ask that the media respect their wish for privacy regarding this personal matter at this time.”

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2015

The multihyphenate returned to her acting roots with a four-episode guest-starring role on the short-lived Fox comedy horror series Scream Queens. Her character, Chanel No. 2, was killed off in the first episode, but she resurfaced later in season 1.

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May 2016

Grande released her third album, Dangerous Woman, which was her first to debut at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. However, it was critically acclaimed and earned her another Best Pop Vocal Album Grammy nod. The disc’s singles included the title track, “Into You” and “Side to Side” featuring Minaj.

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December 2016

The TV star played Penny Pingleton on NBC’s Hairspray Live! alongside castmates such as Harvey Fierstein, Kristin Chenoweth and Jennifer Hudson.

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2016

After locking lips in their video for “The Way,” Grande and Miller often dodged questions from interviewers about their connection. They finally made their relationship Instagram official with a 2016 post of her holding the rapper in a headlock and laughing.

The duo continued to collaborate, releasing the track “My Favorite Part” on Miller’s 2016 album The Divine Feminine. In May 2018, however, they broke it off after nearly two years of dating.

Four months later, following the “2009” musician’s accidental overdose death, Grande expressed her heartache. The “pov” crooner shared a touching video of the Pittsburgh native and wrote how “mad” and “sad” she was about the tragedy. "I'm so sorry I couldn't fix or take your pain away. I really wanted to,” she captioned the post.

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June 2017

Two weeks after a suicide bombing at her Manchester, England, concert killed 22 fans and injured hundreds more people, Grande organized the One Love Manchester benefit. It featured emotional performances from herself, Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry, Bieber, Coldplay and many more. The British Red Cross received more than $13 million in donations for the victims and their families during the show.

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June 2018

Us broke the news of Grande and the Davidson’s engagement after just a few weeks of dating. The couple publicly gushed over each other in various interviews and the pop star even penned a tribute track to him on her August 2018 album Sweetener, calling him her “soulmate.”

The pair ultimately went their separate ways that October. In March 2019, the “Bang Bang” musician said she was “still healing” via an Instagram post but decided to keep moving forward with her Sweetener world tour.

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August 2018

Grande dropped her fourth album, Sweetener, which became her third to debut at No. 1 and to receive a Best Pop Vocal Album Grammy nomination, which it won the following February. It included the singles “No Tears Left to Cry,” “God Is a Woman” and “Breathin.”

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February 2019

The pop star released her fifth album, Thank U, Next, in the wake of Miller’s death and her split from Davidson. The title track became her first No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and second single “7 Rings” followed suit.

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March 2019

Grande kicked off her Sweetener world tour in Albany, New York, at Times Union Center. Before she took the stage, Miller’s song “Dang!” played over the arena’s speakers. The tour is scheduled through December with a total of 101 scheduled concerts, making it Grande’s longest to date.

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April 2019

The entertainer headlined the 2019 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California. During her set, she brought out four members of ‘NSync (Justin Timberlake was unable to make it because he had just wrapped up his solo tour) to perform “Tearin’ Up My Heart” and “Break Up With Your Girlfriend (I’m Bored).”

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June 2019

The musician celebrated her 26th birthday with a “7 Rings” cake at a birthday celebration with friends and loved ones. “Another year around the sun n she still wearing these f–kin ears,” Grande captioned photo of herself wearing black bunny ears and a satin mini dress at her bash.

She added: “Grateful for the love and for the people i get to share this life with. and thank u for the birthday wishes. p.s. i changed into an xxxl hoodie minutes after this was taken, don’t worry.”

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June 2019

During a summer stop on her Sweetener world tour, the “my hair” singer broke down several times, per videos recorded by fans. The concert took place in her late ex-boyfriend Miller’s hometown of Pittsburgh almost a year after his death.

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November 2019

The “Dangerous Woman” singer canceled her concert in Lexington, Kentucky, amid a “scary” battle with an unknown illness. On November 16, she revealed that she was in “so much pain” and had been sick since her mid-October shows in London. She had previously been battling panic attacks, depression and anxiety in August.

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October 2020

The musician’s sixth studio album, Positions, earned Grande her fifth number one album on the Billboard charts, featuring collaborations with Doja Cat, Ty Dolla Sign and more. It also snagged a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Vocal Album.

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December 2020

Two years after her split from fiancé Davidson, a source confirmed to Us that the pop star was engaged to Gomez.

“Ariana is beyond excited. She has really enjoyed getting to know and falling in love with Dalton out of the spotlight, something she didn’t get to do in her past relationships,” the insider revealed at the time. “They are so in love and committed to spend the rest of their lives together.”

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January 2020

The Scream Queens alum walked the Grammy Awards red carpet with her mom, Joan, and dad, Edward Butera, whom she reconnected with in late 2019 after a falling out years prior. During the show, Grande hit the stage to perform a medley of her songs, one year after skipping the show amid drama with a producer.

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March 2020

A source told Us in March 2020 that the actress and Social House singer Mikey Foster called off their romance “around a month ago,” after first being linked in August 2019.

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May 2020

Grande and Justin Bieber’s charity duet, “Stuck With U” was released on May 8, and hit the No.1 spot on the Billboard chart shortly thereafter. With their success came criticism from Tekashi69, who claimed the singers purchased their chart spot with six different credit cards.

Grande fired back via Instagram writing, “OUR fans bought this song (never more than four copies each, AS THE RULES STATE). they are ride or die mother—kers and i thank god every day that i have them in my life. Not just when they fight for us to win (even when i ask them not to as i did this week) but because they’re some of the greatest people i know. sales count for more than streams. u can not discredit this as hard as u try.”

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May 2020

The Florida native and Lady Gaga dropped their collaboration, “Rain on Me,” on May 22. Ahead of its release, Gaga teased the track as a “celebration of all tears” during an interview with Paper magazine.

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June 2020

Grande and boyfriend Dalton Gomez became Instagram official on June 25, one day before the singer turned 27. “Almost 27 :),” the former Nickelodeon star captioned a series of snaps from her time amid the coronavirus quarantine. The pair were first spotted together in February, and Us confirmed the next month that they are dating.

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March 2021

It was announced that the “Save Your Tears” songstress would be replacing Nick Jonas for The Voice’s 21st season.

“I have been a huge fan of the show for such a long time,” she said in a statement at the time. “I can’t wait to go head-to-head with the incredible coaches, get to know these new artists and help to take their craft to the next level.”

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May 2021

Grande married Gomez in the spring with an intimate affair that included less than 20 people. “[T]he room was so happy and full of love,” a rep for the singer confirmed to Us at the time. “The couple and both families couldn’t be happier.”

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November 2021

Following the news of her being cast with Cynthia Erivo in the upcoming Wicked movie adaptation, the “bad idea” artist sent the England native a bouquet of flowers.

“Dear Cynthia, Honored doesn’t even begin to cover it,” Grande wrote in a sweet note, according to Erivo’s social media upload. “I Cannot wait to hug you. See you in Oz. All my love, Ari.”

The Sam & Cat alum’s mom, Joan Grande, noted via Instagram at the time that she was “bursting with pride” over the news.

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November 2021

Grande released a line of mod-style beauty products and teased fans ahead of the launch of r.e.m. beauty in a Barbarella-inspired look that was every bit ‘60s.

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December 2021

The Grammy winner appeared alongside Leonardo DiCaprio, Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence and Jonah Hill in the Adam McKay-directed apocalyptic satire Don't Look Up.

In the flick, Grande played global music star Riley Bina whose back-and-forth romance with DJ Chello (Kid Cudi) drew the public’s attention away from impending disaster.

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March 2022

The “just like magic” singer proved she has nothing but good vibes with her ex, Davidson, when she sent his new girlfriend Kim Kardashian a press package with her “chapter 2” r.e.m. beauty launches for the spring.

The gesture did not go unnoticed by The Kardashians star who took to her Instagram Stories to show off the collection.

Credit: Courtesy RMCH/Twitter

December 2022

Five years after the tragedy, the singer provided gifts to be “distributed to babies, children and teenagers" at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital for Christmas.

"Thank you Ariana," the hospital’s Twitter account posted at the time. “We were so excited to receive Christmas gifts for young patients across our hospitals from Ariana Grande."

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2023

Us confirmed that Grande and Gomez separated after two years of marriage in July 2023. “Ariana and Dalton have been having some issues for months now,” a source said at the time. “They were having issues before she left for Wicked filming [in London] that they couldn’t resolve, and the distance did not help. They haven’t been speaking and are separated, and a divorce is likely.”

Shortly before the pair’s breakup made headlines, Grande was spotted sans wedding ring at Wimbledon.