Photo: getty
She's so cute!
By Nicole Pomarico — Written on Feb 29, 2020
We've known this celeb kid for a long time — after all, she's been famous since before she turned 18. But when we saw this throwback photo, we still had no idea who she is.
Ready for the big reveal? This adorable little girl is actually Ariana Grande ... and this photo was taken long before she'd go on to star in Nickelodeon shows and release number one albums.
Grande was a seriously adorable little kid, and she seems just as happy today as she was in this picture.
1. Grande grew up in Florida and wasted no time getting into the entertainment industry.
Even though Grande has obviously changed so much since she was a child, it's easy to see her face in this happy-go-lucky kid. Grande was born in Boca Raton, Florida in 1993, and she has remained close to her mother, Joan Grande, ever since as well as her brother, Frankie Grande, who is famous in his own right. Although Grande had a falling out with her father, Ed Butera, years ago, recently, they seem to have patched things up, and even spent the holidays together in 2019.
2. She definitely had some uncommon interests as a kid.
Grande admitted in an interview that as a child, she was interested in things most kids aren't, saying that her obsessions were "dark and deranged."
"I always wanted to have skeleton face paint on or be wearing a Freddy Krueger mask, and I would carry a hockey stick around. I was like a mini-Helena Bonham Carter," she said, adding "For my fifth birthday party we had a 'Jaws' theme and all my friends left crying. I mean, I still am that way. But when I was little it was more concerning. There was a stage, when I was 3 or 4, where my mom thought I might grow up to be a serial killer."
3. Music was always Grande's passion.
Although Grande did children's theater and got her big break starring in Victorious and the spinoff Sam & Cat on Nickelodeon, Grande has said that her heart's always been in music — even though people advised her to stick to TV to get a platform.
“I never really saw myself as an actress, but when I started talking about wanting to make R&B music at 14, they were like, ‘What the f*ck would you sing about? This is never going to work. You should audition for some TV shows and build yourself a platform and get yourself out there, because you’re funny and cute and you should do that until you’re old enough to make the music you want to make,’" she explained. "So I did that. I booked that TV show, and then I was like, OK, now can I make music?”
Looks like it worked for her!
4. She recently appeared on the Grammys red carpet.
Although Grande skipped the Grammys in 2019, she made a big appearance on the carpet at the 2020 awards, where she talked about her nominations for her Thank U, Next album, which she released last year.
"We didn’t even mean to make this album. It just kind of happened because my friends and I were trying to help ourselves out of a very trying … and very horrible time and it was kind of an accident," she admitted.
5. Grande has shared advice she would give her younger self.
In 2018, Grande shared the advice she'd give herself when she was still a kid, like the little girl in that photo.
“I've always been way better at giving lots of love, and chances, and acceptance, and forgiveness to other people, but none to myself,” she said. “So I think I would try to instill that, or realize that at least a little earlier, 'cause I'm just starting to enter that chapter now, and figure that out."
6. Today, Grande seems to be living her best life.
Though Grande has hinted at new music to fans on Twitter, she's also been busy hanging out with friends and even guest starring on the Showtime series Kidding alongside Jim Carrey. It's hard to really grasp all the things that have changed for Grande since she was a kid, but it certainly seems like her future is brighter than ever.
Nicole Pomarico is an entertainment and lifestyle writer whose work has appeared in Cosmo, Us Weekly, Refinery29, and more.