Times That Ariana Grande Was Unrecognizable After Pulling Off A Dramatic Transformation

Singer and actor Ariana Grande got her start in the entertainment industry in the Broadway musical "13." In 2021, her career came full circle when she was cast as Glinda in the two-part "Wicked" movie. A decade before that, Grande wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: "Loved seeing 'Wicked' again...amazing production! Made me realize again how badly I want 2 play Glinda at some point in my life! #DreamRole," (via J-14). The former child star also notably demonstrated her impressive musical talents in TV roles such as "Victorious," but she really shot to stardom with her pop music career. 

As of this writing, the diminutive pop star with the big voice has released seven studio albums, including the Grammy-winning "Positions," which featured hit songs like "34+35" and the titular track. The talented multihyphenate has experienced many ups and downs throughout her impressive career, both professionally and personally. Grande has obviously changed over time physically too, gradually evolving into the stunning superstar she is today thanks to several drastic transformations.

From 2010 to 2014, Ariana Grande portrayed the fan-favorite character of Cat Valentine on the hit Nickelodeon shows "Victorious" and its spinoff "Sam and Cat" (which also featured "iCarly" star Jennette McCurdy). Grande's hair transformation involved it being dyed red for the role of Cat, which she discussed in a 2011 ClevverTV interview. The natural brunette explained that she didn't choose the bright hue and that she had to dye her tresses regularly since so many other actors on the show had brown hair. Grande agreed to let the creatives have control over her hair, and it was much healthier once they found a new way to dye it without bleaching it first. 

Before that, as Grande revealed in a 2014 Facebook post, "I had to bleach my hair and dye it red every other week for the first 4 years of playing Cat...as one would assume, that completely destroyed my hair." She confirmed that she wore a wig on "Sam and Cat" and that when she wasn't working, her natural hair was brown but that she wore extensions. 

The former Nickelodeon star also remarked on how she struggled to find the right solution for her damaged hair, which is why a high ponytail was her go-to style for years. Grande defended her choice of hairstyle to critics, pointing out, "Trust me, it's even more difficult for me to have to wait forever for my natural hair to grow back and to have to wear more fake hair than every drag queen on earth combined."

In July 2014, Ariana Grande took to Facebook again to discuss the shock cancellation of "Sam and Cat." Although her co-star Jennette McCurdy was thrilled it got cancelled, Grande took it hard. In her post, the actor opened up about how deeply portraying Cat affected her. "I want to thank Dan Schneider for allowing me to play such a special, beautiful character who I hid behind for so long," Grande said. "What I mean by that is when I was younger, people loved Cat so much I used to pretend to be more like her. It took me a long time to be brave enough to separate myself and show people how different we actually are...I think that's honestly because I admire her so much." 

The former child star noted Cat's relentless positivity alongside several other wonderful attributes, mentioning that she personally wanted to be as unabashedly joyful as Cat. It was evident that playing her was an important part of Grande's career that she wasn't going to forget any time soon. However, leaving the part behind also meant leaving the red hair dye behind too. Grande tried several new things with her hair in the ensuing years, such as when she cut bangs in 2016. Grande rocked her newly revamped look — bangs and an ombre crimped ponytail — at the MTV VMAs in August 2016.

In addition to a music career that only got more successful after she left Nickelodeon behind, Grande had a starring role in December 2016's "Hairspray Live!" on NBC, as Penny (the role Amanda Bynes tackled in the movie adaption). The actor also had bangs while playing Penny, although they appeared to be part of a wig.

Ariana Grande has dealt with many tragedies in her life. In May 2017, during the "Dangerous Woman" tour, a suicide bomber killed 22 fans after one of her concerts in Manchester, U.K. Then, in September 2018, Grande's ex-boyfriend Mac Miller passed away suddenly. Elsewhere, her engagement to actor and comedian Pete Davidson fell apart that October. In December 2018, Grande received the Billboard Woman of the Year award at their Women in Music event and alluded to the many harsh moments in her young life thus far. "I want to say that I find it interesting that this has been one of the best years of my career and the worst of my life," Grande told the crowd (via YouTube).

Grande still wasn't deterred from making music, however, reasoning to Billboard that very same year, "I guess there's not much I'm afraid of anymore. When life tries you with such serious s*** so many times, your priorities change. I don't give a s***. I just want to be happy and healthy — one day — and make music." At the time the interview was published, "Thank U, Next" had climbed the charts and became her first Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single. The track referenced Grande's breakup with Davidson and Miller's death, along with alluding to several of her other memorable exes. 

The accompanying music video was a smash hit full of nostalgic homages to films such as "Mean Girls," Bring It On," "13 Going On 30," and "Legally Blonde." A chameleonic Grande was almost unrecognizable when she stepped into Regina George's designer shoes and rocked platinum blond hair for the "Mean Girls" portion. Her hair was also lighter than usual on the cover art for her August 2018 album "Sweetener," although that was more of a grey-blond look.  

One of Ariana Grande's most iconic looks occurred at the Grammy Awards in January 2020, when she rocked her signature high ponytail with ombre and switched from one dress to another for the red carpet. However, while quarantining during COVID-19 in 2020, Grande revealed her stunning, naturally curly hair on Instagram — a fun shake-up from her usual look. Her locks were dark and long, and although the pop star later removed the post from her account, she received tons of positive comments while it was still up. 2020 was also a big year for Grande, because she found love with Dalton Gomez.

Their relationship remained mostly under wraps, although the "Stuck With U" hitmaker occasionally shared snapshots of the two of them on Instagram. The happy couple got engaged in December 2020 and married the following May. Sadly, their marital bliss did not last forever. There were plenty of signs that Gomez and Grande's relationship was destined to fail, and in September 2023 they each filed for divorce. In March 2024, the split was finalized. However, Grande was caught up in a scandal while splitting from Gomez, due to her rumored relationship with "Wicked" co-star Ethan Slater. 

As of this writing, Grande and Slater are dating, but their relationship timeline was deemed controversial since it's been claimed that they were seeing each other while still married to their respective partners. Grande made it clear she wasn't listening to the haters though, infamously snapping at them in her song "yes, and?" with the lyrics, "Why do you care so much whose d**k I ride?"

In 2022, Ariana Grande dyed her hair and eyebrows blond to play Glinda the Good Witch in "Wicked." She has experimented with many different hair colors in the past and, obviously, this wasn't her first foray into lighter locks but it was the biggest change yet. Despite that, fans on Instagram raved about the look in the comments section. The chart-topping pop star also embraced the Glinda aesthetic by wearing lots of pink, such as the hot pink dress Grande donned during her October 2024 "Saturday Night Live" monologue. When the actor and her "Wicked" co-star Cynthia Erivo were interviewed by Vanity Fair in September 2024, Erivo mentioned how Grande had come into her own and was a more outspoken person thanks to the high-profile role. 

"There's a part of it that has to do with playing a character that is so sure of herself — even sometimes in a delusional way," the British actor opined, referring to Glinda. "It's interesting, because when you slip back into not doing that, your body's like, 'Wait a minute. I liked that feeling. I loved believing in myself.'" Over the years, certain commentators have speculated that the "Into You" hitmaker's physical appearance has changed dramatically too. Also during the "Wicked" press tour, Grande addressed plastic surgery rumors when she and Erivo participated in Vanity Fair's "Lie Detector Tests" interview. 

She denied multiple cosmetic surgeries and procedures, but admitted that she would consider getting a face lift someday. "I've had fillers in various places and Botox but I stopped like four years ago, and that is the extent," Grande clarified (via YouTube). "But also like, in full support of all people who do these things." Grande couldn't help but troll when Erivo asked if she'd ever had a Brazilian Butt Lift. "Get the f*** out of here," she quipped. "Yes." The polygraph showed that was the only lie she told during that particular portion of the interview.