Inside Ariana Grande's Relationship With Her Grandmother

Ariana Grande is one of the few pop stars who shares a super close relationship with one of her biggest supporters. Of course, in the "Victorious" alum's case, her biggest fan just so happens to be Ariana's maternal grandmother, Marjorie Grande, who is lovingly called "Nonna." During a 2014 appearance on "Today," the proud grandmother shared that she always knew Ariana would completely evolve into a star someday. So, she encouraged her to audition for a role in a Florida-based production of "Annie," and Ariana ended up nabbing the lead. After achieving worldwide fame, she didn't forget that Marjorie nudged her in the right direction, bringing her along as her date to several awards shows and even giving her a shoutout onstage at the 2015 AMAs. 

Marjorie, who turns 99 in 2024, was also notably the sole featured artist on her seventh album, "Eternal Sunshine." Ariana's beloved Nonna earned herself a credit on the closing track "Ordinary Things" for a recording of her sweetly describing a hallmark sign of a healthy relationship: "Never go to bed without kissin' goodnight / That's the worst thing to do / Don't ever ever ever do that / And if you can't, and if you don't feel comfortable doing it / You're in the wrong place." Speaking to Zane Lowe for Apple Music, the Grammy winner admitted that she was unsure how to tie the album together in the final song, and then Ariana heard an audio message that Nonna was sharing with a friend. She knew almost instantly it would be perfect.

In March 2024, Marjorie and Ariana Grande's "Ordinary Things" debuted at the 55th spot on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, and made the then-98-year-old the oldest person to ever place on the chart. Of course, that wasn't the first time Marjorie lent her talents to her granddaughter's music since she also contributed a cheeky soundbite to "Bloodline" from her fifth album, "Thank U, Next." As Nonna says in the track, "Because I'm trying to do the best I can / And they can't find something to satisfy me, ugh." During an appearance on "The Zach Sang Show," Ariana clarified that the statement wasn't provocative and her grandmother was actually talking about her struggles in finding a good hearing aid. 

The duo's collaborations actually date back to the former child star's 2013 debut album track "Daydreamin,'" where we can hear Marjorie sweetly talking about how she fell in love with her husband, Frank Grande, who passed away in 2014. Ariana and her beloved grandmother also honored Frank's memory in 2018 by getting matching tattoos of his nickname "Ciccio." While Nonna is undoubtedly more laidback than most matriarchs, she was still shocked to hear the "Side to Side" songstress uttering the F-word during a performance. However, Marjorie was touched when Ariana paid her a sweet tribute at another concert, gushing, "I want to dedicate this to her because I love her so, so much. She is the strongest, funniest, most beautiful, generous, kind woman in the world," (via YouTube). Furthermore, Marjorie later described her performance as "flawless." 

Given how close Marjorie Grande and her famous granddaughter are, obviously all of Ariana Grande's potential romantic partners have to get her seal of approval. It's safe to say that Mac Miller earned Nonna's respect during his 2-year relationship with the "Yes, and?" songstress because she let him watch as she worked her magic in the kitchen while cooking some mouth-watering treats. Likewise, in a 2018 appearance on "The Jimmy Fallon Show," Ariana disclosed that her grandmother absolutely adored then-fiancé Pete Davidson. However, the matriarch's first call with the comedian started rather awkwardly as she called him David. Then, Nonna told Davidson she wanted to watch him in action at one of his stand-up shows, which mortified the pop star. Though Davidson tried to turn her grandmother against the idea by warning her that his show was "pretty dirty," she wasn't deterred, hilariously reasoning, "I like it like that," (via YouTube). 

We witnessed another example of Nonna's cheeky behavior when Ariana was previously interviewed on "The Jimmy Fallon Show" in 2016. First, the "God Is A Woman" hitmaker informed the host that Marjorie believed he was the "only man who she [would] stay up past 11:30 for." Then, Ariana revealed that her grandmother wanted to pick the perfect outfit for her appearance on the show, and she told her, "'Nonna what do you think is going to come from this?' and she goes, 'You never know I'm very naughty.'" Only time will tell if Nonna is equally fond of Ariana's rumored love interest, Ethan Slater.