**Author's Note: You don't have to read this part if you don't want to, this is just a way to understand Ariana's appearance to the public so you can get to know her better, however, most of the stuff said here will be covered again in the actual story.
Ariana Grande (born June 26, 1995) is a Canadian born actress, voice actress, comedian, and writer. She is known for her work as a cast member of Saturday Night Live, having joined the show in 2012 and such films as Whip It (2012), Despicable Me 2 and Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (both 2013), and Bridesmaids (2014).
Grande has also written for many shows and movies including Saturday Night Live, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and Portlandia. She also starred in and wrote the screenplay for Bridesmaids, which was both critically and commercially successful.
Grande received two consecutive Emmy Awards nominations and has been nominated for an Annie Award for Voice Acting in a Feature Production for her work on Despicable Me 2. In 2012, Bridesmaids earned her a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actress –Musical or Comedy, as well as nominations for the Academy Award and BAFTA for Best Original Screenplay and a SAG Award nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Cast. She was also nominated alongside Sarah Schneider, for a Grammy for writing a parody song called "Do It On My Twin Bed" which was performed on SNL. As well as a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie for her role as Cynthia Morehouse in the miniseries The Spoils of Babylon.
Early Life
Grande was born to parents Joan and Edward Butera and raised in Kitchener, Ontario before moving in 2012 to New York City after getting a job at SNL. Her father worked two jobs and her mother worked as well, Ariana has stated that she grew up living in a low income family and that her parent had a terrible relationship which she claims caused her to have "a very depressing childhood which has affected [her] greatly." A couple months after Grande received her job at SNL, her parents got a divorce. She also has an older brother, Frankie Grande. Grande grew up not having many friends and looked at comedy as her way to escape her surroundings, she adored SNL as a child, and would spend her time trying to watch any episode or sketch or even book/documentary of the show she could get her hands on.
She attended a public High School in Canada before moving to online schooling after getting the job at SNL when she was in her senior year of high school. After receiving her high school diploma Grande went on to pursue a biomedical degree through online courses offered by the University of Toronto claiming "I spent my whole life thinking about University, I worked really hard in school and was planning on becoming an optometrist but once I got SNL I no longer needed to. It just felt weird not going to University when I thought about it my whole life and so I decided to take some classes, I mean I don't really have anything to lose." Grande received a diploma in Biomedical Life Sciences from the University of Toronto in November of 2014.
Early Career
Grande claims to never have planned a career in comedy and kept her performances a secret from her family until her SNL audition. Grande has been a huge fan of comedy her whole life, watching comedians such as Eddie Murphy, Adam Sandler, and Will Ferrell at a very young age however, she states that it wasn't until she started "obsessing over" SNL back in middle school that she began to learn a lot more about the history and art of comedy which she fell in love with. When she was 15 years old, Grande began secretly doing stand-up indifferent pubs in nearby towns which she kept a secret from her friends and family stating "I never had any real friends that I would hang out with outside of school and I got tired of coming home and just sitting in my room for the rest of the day so I started telling my parents I was going to go hang out with the friends I seemed to have suddenly get and would take a bus to different pubs to preform stand up. I wasn't that good but I wasn't terrible and it was my way of joining the comedy community."
Grande found out about The Second City through her love for SNL and decided to quit stand up and take some improv classes with their Toronto group before being upgraded to their touring company which she would perform with on weekends since she wasn't allowed out on school nights. During one of the shows, Grande caught the attention of actress Megan Mullaly who later suggested her to SNL creator Lorne Michaels who had her audition and eventually hired her when she was only 17, making her the youngest to cast member in the shows almost 40 year history.
Saturday Night Live
Grande joined the cast of SNL during its 38th season, her debut episode being the third one of the season with host Paul Rudd, musical guest One Direction, and SNL Alumni Will Ferrell, David Koechner, as well as Steve Carrel as special guests. Grande was promoted from featured player to full cast member in her first season on the show, making her only the fourth person to have earned this distinction (after Amy Poehler, Harry Shearer, and, Eddie Murphy). Grande's SNL comedic style has been widely praised but also criticized for leaving "little room for her female contemporaries to shine."
Grande's recurring characters include "The Girl You Wish You Hadn't Started a Conversation With at a Party", Dana (one half of a pair of retail employees who always insult their co-workers out of fear of being fired), One of the 2 A-Holes, Gilly, Kat from the musical duo Garth and Kat, Kyra from "The Girlfriends Talk Show", and an unnamed blond former porn star-turned-commercial-actress who hawks elegant items. Her celebrity impressions include Mariah Carey, Sofia Vergara, Kim Kardashian, Lana Del Rey, Kathy Lee Gifford, Aziz Ansari, Alanis Morissette, Melania Trump, Jerry Seinfeld, Gwen Stefani, and Shakira.
Film
Grande made her film debut in the 2012 roller derby comedy-drama movie Whip It. The following year, she appeared in sequel to the critically acclaimed movie Anchorman, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues produced by Judd Apatow. She also had a small role in the movie This Is The End and gave her voice to the animated movie Despicable Me 2.
While working on Anchorman 2, Apatow saw Grande's writing potential and offered to produce a movie for her if she writes the screenplay for it. In 2014, she starred in the film Bridesmaids, which she wrote herself for Universal Pictures, and that Apatow produced, it was released on May 13, 2014. The film became both a critical and box office success, receiving two nominations for Best Picture-Musical or Comedy and Grande herself was nominated for Best Actress-Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy at the 72nd Golden Globe Awards. The film also received two Academy Award nominations, including Best Original Screenplay for which Grande was nominated. The film grossed over $280 million worldwide.
Personal life
Ariana suffered from depression at a very young age and has stated that it hit her the hardest from the ages of 11-15 and was continually unhappy throughout a majority of her childhood but no longer feels that way. Grande has also stated that she considers herself to be introverted and a bit socially awkward claiming "before SNL I had no real friends, I didn't know how to talk to people I've just met and don't really know how to but I'm getting better at it. "Grande is best friends with fellow comedian Amy Schumer whom she met back in 2012 and she also has a special relationship with SNL creator Lorne Michaels who she talks to when she needs either professional or personal advice.
Grande is close friends with Canadian rapper Drake after he became best friends with her brother back in 2012. Drake has openly admitted to having an "eternal crush" on Grande has stated that his songs Make Me Proud and Company were inspired by their relationship. Grande has claimed that while she knows Drake has had feelings for her, they never dated and that he's never asked her out since he claims "it won't end well." Grande has also stated that she feels no need to be in a relationship and after never receiving much attention from boys at a young age stopped thinking about dating much and hasn't since about the tenth grade.
Filmography
Films
Whip It (2012)
The Brothers Soloman (2013)
Despicable Me 2 (2013)
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013)
This Is The End (2013)
Bridesmaids (2014)
MacGruber (2014)
Skeleton Twins (2015)
A Deadly Adoption (2015)
Zoolander 2 (2016)
Conner4Real (2016)
Masterminds (2016)
Television
Saturday Night Live (2013 – Present)
The Spoils of Babylon (2014)
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (2015 - Present) (writer)
Wet Hot American Summer (2015)
Portlandia (2015 – Present)
The Spoils of Dying (2015)
Documentary Now! (2015 – Present)
Last Man on Earth (2016)