Ariana Grande: From Nickelodeon Star To Wicked

When "Victorious" premiered on Nickelodeon in 2010, nobody could've predicted the global superstar that Ariana Grande would become within a few short years. As Cat Valentine, the happy-go-lucky, ditzy bestie of Tori Vega (Victoria Justice), Grande brings levity to the teen sitcom, whether her character is offering classmates questionable Christmas beef or purchasing Bag O' Rags from the addictive Tap It app.

Grande has several "Victorious" scenes that showcase her vocal chops, but it wasn't until 2013, upon the release of her single "The Way" featuring the late Mac Miller, that she earned pop star status. Over the next decade, she released numerous hits and scooped a bunch of coveted music awards, establishing herself as a top star in the industry. However, even though Grande's acting career took a backseat once she became a successful recording artist, it never came to a complete halt.

After saying goodbye to her breakout role of Cat in 2014 when the spinoff "Sam & Cat" came to an end, Grande continued to appear in a variety of TV and film projects, including several quick cameos. Now, with Grande taking on the role of a lifetime as Glinda in "Wicked," we're taking a look at her acting journey, from Nickelodeon star to Good Witch.

Prior to landing the role of Cat Valentine, Ariana Grande had only appeared onscreen once: She popped up in Season 2, Episode 2 ("Bad Bad News") of the Jake Wilson-led musical comedy series "The Battery's Down" in 2009. Her character was simply called "Bat Mitzvah Riffer." Her big Hollywood break came when she joined the cast of "Victorious," with Grande and her mother moving to Los Angeles after her callback at the age of 14.

The show ran for three years, during which time Grande brought some hilariously unforgettable Cat moments to life. For the newcomer, it was a joy to embody an individual who is so unlike herself. Speaking to SBTV at the time, she said: "The thing about playing Cat that I love the most is that she is so different from me that it feels like a little bit of a vacation when I put my red wig on and I get into character. It's like a relief almost, it's like a little release, and I get to go into this beautiful, happy world of Cat Valentine."

Over a decade after the cancellation of "Victorious," Grande is looking back with fresh eyes following the "Quiet on Set" documentary, which spotlights the adult humor weaved into former Nickelodeon showrunner Dan Schneider's creations. She said on the "Podcrushed" podcast that the cast were told that the innuendos slipped into the show were "the cool differentiation," adding, "I think it just all happened so quickly and now looking back on some of the clips, I'm like, 'Damn, really?'"

In 2011, as she continued to star on "Victorious," Ariana Grande took on a second job with Nickelodeon as a voice actor in "Winx Club." The fantasy show, which takes place in a magical world full of mythical creatures, was created by Italian animator Iginio Straffi. Grande voiced Princess Diaspro in 13 episodes of the series, which follows a group of fairy warriors as they hone their magic at Alfea College.

Princess Diaspro couldn't be more different than Cat Valentine. While the Hollywood Arts student is kind-hearted and selfless, always willing to go above and beyond for her friends, the Alfea pupil only cares about her best interests. This is especially true regarding her ex Sky (Matt Shively), who she wants back, despite him moving on with Bloom (Molly C. Quinn).

During Grande's years on "Winx Club," she worked with an all-star cast, including Keke Palmer as Aisha and her "Victorious" colleague Elizabeth Gillies as Daphne. Though Palmer and Gillies continued on the show through 2015, Grande parted ways with "Winx Club" in 2013, when her next Nickelodeon endeavor came to fruition.

Shortly after "Victorious" wrapped up, Ariana Grande pivoted to her second Nickelodeon sitcom: "Sam & Cat." A spinoff of both "Victorious" and "iCarly," the show stars Grande as Cat Valentine and Jennette McCurdy as Sam Puckett, with these two characters from different worlds becoming roommates and navigating various hijinks. As "Sam & Cat" kicked off in 2013, so did Grande's pop star career with the release of her debut album "Yours Truly." Though McCurdy put on a happy front for the cameras, she was brewing with jealousy behind-the-scenes. In her memoir "I'm Glad My Mom Died," in which McCurdy goes into her tragic life story, she revealed that she constantly compared her career and her childhood to Grande's.

There was tension even when the show was airing, with TMZ reporting that McCurdy felt angered over allegedly making less than the singer. According to Grande, this was no more than a vicious rumor. "Jennette and I agreed upfront that we would be treated equally on this show in all regards (as we should be, considering we each work just as hard as the other on this show). The rumors circulating about our contracts and our salary not being equal are absolutely ridiculous and false," Grande said in a statement posted to Twitter (now X). "I am NOT making more money than my costar, nor do I think I should be. So we can all move on and get out of our heads that this was a money thing cause I don't play like that at all. I am, have always been and always will be about equality and fairness."

"Sam & Cat" was canceled after only one season and 35 episodes.

While "Sam & Cat" was airing in 2013, Ariana Grande joined forces with fellow Nickelodeon actors Jennette McCurdy, Ciara Bravo, Noah Munck, Chris O'Neal, and Noah Crawford for the TV comedy film "Swindle." Based on the children's novel of the same name by Gordon Korman, "Swindle" follows a group of teens as they plot to retrieve a baseball card worth $1.2 million that one of their friends sold to a sketchy collector for just a couple of hundred bucks. "It's morally supportable because they are stealing back what is rightfully theirs," Korman told Newsday. "It's almost like 'Ocean's Eleven' for kids."

In "Swindle," Grande plays Amanda Benson, a cheerleader and the second prettiest girl in the entire school. Though Amanda puts on a cool and popular persona, there is more to her than meets the eye. Grande said in a promotional interview for the film, "She is very insecure, actually. But later on you discover that she is actually a really huge geek, and all of this façade is just to cover up the fact that she's a huge dork." In fact, Amanda can appreciate a good "Star Wars" collectible when she sees one. For Grande, it was a joy to work with so many actors who she already knew and had chemistry with. "It's just a dream come true," she said. "They're all such good kids, so it's awesome."

Over the course of the 20-plus seasons of "Family Guy," numerous celebrities have voiced minor and supporting characters, from big stars like Robert Downey Jr. and Cate Blanchett to more surprising cameos like Mario Lopez in Season 21. Among the cartoon's star-studded lineup of guest stars is Ariana Grande, who has one line as the unseen Italian Girl in Season 12, Episode 12 ("Mom's the Word"), which aired in 2014.

After the passing of his paternal grandmother, Stewie Griffin (Seth MacFarlane) begins to grapple with the finality of death for the first time. Late one evening, as he pours over a pile of religious books, Brian (MacFarlane) asks why he's still awake. An exhausted Stewie responds, "Changing the oil in my car, what the hell do you think I'm doing? Sorry, I stole that from the Italian family next door, they've been going at it all night."

The pair then pauses to listen in on their neighbors' conversation. A young girl, voiced by Grande, asks her father, "Dad, can I have $5 for lunch tomorrow?," to which he responds, "Yeah, sure, just let me go check my room full of gold and jewels." Stewie explains to Brian, "See, every first thing he says is not the real thing." In response to a YouTube video of the clip, many expressed their surprise that Grande was the one behind this minor, never-seen character. @marvinlett651 commented, "It would have been better if Ariana Grande's character made an on screen appearance, now that would have been great."

With her Nickelodeon career behind her, Ariana Grande took on a new acting challenge in 2015: Portraying Chanel #2 in Fox's horror/comedy series "Scream Queens." The show centers on Chanel Oberlin (Emma Roberts) and her crew of Chanels (she can't be bothered with learning their actual names), all Kappa House sorority members who are being targeted on campus by a mysterious murderer.

Grande, a longtime fan of co-creator Ryan Murphy's work, including "American Horror Story," was thrilled to be included in his project. In an interview with "Extra," she said, "When I got the chance to meet with him, I was like, 'Literally, whatever you want me to do, I'm down.' I was like, 'I'll play any role. I'll be the first one to die, the villain, I'll be anything you want.' I was so excited when this opportunity came about."

Chanel #2 only appears in four episodes of the series, but that was okay with Grande, who loved being part of something that's simultaneously girly and macabre. As a lifelong fan of horror (her favorite film at the age of two was "Jaws"), and after years of creating kid-friendly content, "Scream Queens" was a welcome change of pace. She said, "It's very nice to have a little break from the usual and to do something completely different, just a complete 180. It's really fun. I wanna do more." Sadly, "Scream Queens" was canceled after two seasons.

Following her extremely brief cameo in "Family Guy," Ariana Grande signed on for another quick appearance in 2016, this one for "Zoolander 2." The sequel follows Derek (Ben Stiller) and Hansel (Owen Wilson) as they give modeling in Rome a try, but they end up being called upon to help special agent Valentina Valencia (Penélope Cruz) track down a pop star killer. Grande is credited only as Latex BDSM, and if you've seen the film, then you'll know why.

In one scene, Grande and a similar character played by Christina Hendricks are seducing Hansel. As he shies away from the pair, explaining that he's still in a committed relationship but just taking a break, Grande says, "Doesn't mean we can't enjoy each other's bodies." Prior to the film's release, Grande did a great job at keeping the nature of her role under wraps. When urged to divulge information during an interview with "BBC Radio 1 Breakfast Show," she simply said, "I can just say that, even though it was a tiny little thing, it was the coolest experience of my life." Unfortunately, "Zoolander 2" flopped, which freaked Ben Stiller out enough that he decided to take his career in a new direction.

Prior to becoming a Nickelodeon star, Ariana Grande got her start in entertainment on Broadway at the age of 14, appearing in the musical "13." Though she strayed away from theater when her television career took off, she never lost her passion for it, and she got to return to her first love in 2016 as Penny Pingleton in NBC's "Hairspray Live!," which aired in December. "I have always been a huge theater nerd, and a lot of people don't actually know that this is like my soul, it's like my heart," she told "Extra," adding that, as a kid, "Hairspray" was her top musical and Penny was her favorite character.

Grande was honored to join the likes of Harvey Fierstein, Jennifer Hudson and, especially, Kristin Chenoweth for this live television special. A longtime fan of the latter, Grande won the chance to meet her backstage years prior at the premiere of Broadway's "Wicked," in which Chenoweth starred as the first Glinda alongside Idina Menzel as Elphaba. Chenoweth said of Grande, "I knew immediately that this girl was special, and here we stand."

For Grande, it was also an honor to beam the magic of Broadway into the homes of folks who may not be able to experience it in-person. "This is kind of bringing that Broadway energy to your living room, which is so genius and so special and means so much to me as a person because theater is so in my heart," she said in an interview with Snugglepaw Digital Studios, adding, "It's such an important thing to me in my life."

In 2019, Ariana Grande added to her ever-growing list of brief cameos with "Men in Black: International," the fourth in the action/sci-fi film series. When Agent M (Tessa Thompson) begins working with the organization, she learns that many celebrities are actually aliens in disguise. Upon entering headquarters, she views the massive Alien Surveillance System, which flashes Grande, Elon Musk, and Donald Glover as undercover creatures to look out for. Agent High T (Liam Neeson) says to Agent M, "It's never who you think it is." "Men in Black: International" follows the tradition of its predecessors, which feature aliens posing as stars, from Danny DeVito and Lady Gaga to Elvis Presley and Martha Stewart.

This cameo came at the perfect time for Grande, who released the track "NASA" just a few months prior to the film hitting theaters. The song features a remastered version of Neil Armstrong's iconic message upon stepping foot on the moon: "That's one small step for woman, one giant leap for womankind." It was such a hit with NASA that the agency invited Grande for a tour of the Johnson Space Center. "My mind is still processing and devouring every second of what just happened," she said of her visit on Instagram (via BBC), adding, "What a special day and experience."

Ariana Grande returned to television in a musical capacity in 2020 when she appeared in the Jim Carrey-led Showtime dramedy "Kidding." In Season 2, Episode 5 ("Episode 3101") of the show, which follows Jeff Pickles (Carrey) as he navigates his crumbling personal life while remaining a popular children's TV star, Grande appears on Jeff's program as Piccola Grande, aka the Pickle Fairy of Hope. Donning a green, sparkly dress with pickle wings and a pickle wand, Piccola urges Mr. Pickles and his puppet friends to "stick together" and remain hopeful for the future. During her catchy tune, Grande shows off her vocal talents, throwing in countless runs and utilizing her iconic falsetto.

On Instagram (via Billboard), Grande posted a photo of herself and Carrey, one of her all-time favorite actors whom she was thrilled to work — and sing — with. She captioned the post, "Nothing is crazier than getting to work with and spend time with someone whom you've idolized and adored since before you could speak. Actually, what's even crazier is discovering that person to be more special and warm and generous in person than you ever could've imagined."

As a huge fan of comedy, Ariana Grande was excited to be approached by writer, director, and producer Adam McKay about taking on a small but hilarious role in his 2021 film "Don't Look Up." As two astronomers, Dr. Randall Mindy (Leonardo DiCaprio) and grad student Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence), attempt to warn the world about a comet that's hurtling toward Earth, everyone is more interested in the love life of pop star Riley Bina (Grande). She's involved with a character called DJ Cello, and "the news about their relationship fluctuating sort of eclipses the news of the Earth coming to an end," Grande said on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon."

At one point in the movie, Riley and DJ Cello perform a massive concert together and sing the tune "Just Look Up." In bringing the song to life, Grande improvised some of the best lines, much to the amazement of McKay. "She's the one who added all that stuff about, 'We're all gonna die. Turn off that s***box news,'" McKay said in a behind-the-scenes interview (via Rolling Stone). "That was her riffing on the first scratch track of the melody line, and the second I heard it, I was like, 'Oh, that's going in the movie.'"

Portraying Glinda in "Wicked," the two-part movie adaptation of the hit Broadway musical, has been a long time coming for Ariana Grande. During a 2024 appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" (via NBC), the talk show host pulled up a 2011 tweet from Grande that said, "Loved seeing Wicked again...amazing production! Made me realize again how badly I want 2 play Glinda at some point in my life. #DreamRole."

Grande admits to having pestered Marc Platt, producer of the stage show, over the years, regularly checking in for updates about a film adaptation. When the project was finally given the green light and Grande learned that auditions were on the horizon, she wanted to prove that she was more than a pop star. "I have never wanted something as badly as I did this," she told Broadway World. "I worked every day with [my vocal coaches for six months] to transform my voice. My singing voice, everything about me I had to kind of deconstruct to prove to them that I could handle taking on this other person. I kind of had to completely erase pop star Ari."

All of the vocals heard in "Wicked" by Grande and Cynthia Erivo were sung live on set, with the duo more than up for the strenuous vocal challenge. It's safe to say that Grande's younger self who met Kristin Chenoweth backstage all those years ago would be overjoyed at what her future holds.