Ariana Grande attended the 2020 Grammy Awards flanked by her parents. It was the first time in a long while that we’d seen Ariana with her mother and father. For a long time, Ariana attended events with her partner or her mother. We later found out that Ariana had a strained relationship with her dad. 

Grande sang on thank u, next, that her dream was to have her parents walk her down the aisle. She lived her dream as both parents witnessed her union with her husband, Dalton Gomez. This piece will detail Ariana Grande’s ethnicity and offer details about her parents. 

Ariana is Italian American and has been accused of blackfishing

Ariana Grande-Butera was born on 26th June 1993 in Boca Raton, Florida, to Joan Grande and Edward Butera. She describes herself as Italian-American with Sicilian and Abruzzese ancestry. 

Grande grew up alongside an older half-brother, Frankie Grande, who is a singer and a producer. 

Ariana Grande’s ethnicity has come up frequently as she’s faced accusations of blackfishing, a tactic used by some celebrities to appear Black. Fans accused Grande of blackfishing due to her tan and use of hip-hop tropes. 

Recent photos of Ariana appear to show her with darker skin than she had before. Ariana’s supporters point to her Italian ancestry as the source of her darker skin. 

Grande’s ex, Pete Davidson, suggested that Ariana gets away with blackfishing. “My career would be over tomorrow if I spray painted myself brown and hopped on the cover of Vogue magazine,” Pete said on Pete Davidson: Alive From New York.

Grande was raised by her mother and grandmother following her parent’s divorce

Joan and Edward split when Ariana was eight and finalized their divorce two years later. Grande maintained contact with her father, but her mother and grandmother raised her.

She built a deep bond with her grandmother, Marjorie Grande, and the pair are still close today. Ariana also developed a close relationship with her grandfather, Frank Grande. 

Frank passed away in 2014 following a long battle with cancer. His memory lives on via a tattoo on Ariana’s ribs – the word bellisima, which Frank loved calling Ariana, meaning beautiful. 

Ariana also developed a deep admiration for her mother. “My mom is a CEO and owns a company that manufactures communications equipment for the Marines and the Navy, so she’s not really the housewife type, if you get what I’m saying,” Ariana told Complex. “She’s the most badass, independed woman you’ll ever meet – not the cookies-in-the-oven type.”

While wishing Joan a happy mother’s day in 2018, Arian thanked her for being ‘a mom and a dad, a best friend, an inspiration, a comedian, a healer, a genius, and a brilliant example of a woman.’ “I hope I can be even half the superwoman you are someday,” Ariana added.

Ariana is on good terms with her father following their fallout in 2013

Grande’s relationship with her father collapsed in 2013. Ariana didn’t offer a reason for the fallout, but fans suspect that the pair’s relationship broke down due to Edward’s effort to profit from Ariana’s name. 

“It’s private, but it happened last year,” Ariana told Seventeen in 2014. “It took me so long to be okay with it. The thing that got me there was embracing the fact that I am made up of half my dad a lot of traits come from him. So much of me comes from my father, and for so long, I didn’t like that about myself. I had to accept that it’s okay not to get along with somebody and still love them.”

Ariana hinted at reconciliation when she wished Edward a happy Father’s Day in 2017. She confirmed the reconciliation via a photo of herself and her parents at Thanksgiving dinner in 2019. It was the first time in 18 years that the family had shared a meal together. 

During her 2020 Grammy Awards performance, Ariana altered a lyric in thank u, next, to portray her new relationship with Edward. “I’ll be thanking my dad/ ‘Cause he’s really awesome,” Ariana sang.