Ariana Grande is a household name, but for one very special project, she’s choosing to go by her full, real-life name.
Ever since her early breakout in Broadway’s 13 in 2008 and her days on Nickelodeon’s Victorious in 2010, Grande has always been credited simply as Ariana Grande. But fans noticed a change last year when she appeared in the Wicked credits as Ariana Grande-Butera. She kept that same credit for the second half of the film adaptation — Wicked: For Good — which hit theaters on Friday, November 21.
Last year, the “Twilight Zone” singer explained the decision during a November 2024 interview with The Hit Network.
“Technically, it’s my little-girl name,” Grande explained. “It’s technically little Ari’s name.”
Grande — the daughter of Joan Grande and Edward Butera — has always dreamed of playing Glinda in Wicked, and stepping into the role felt like a full-circle moment for her.
“I just feel like this experience was such a homecoming for me,” she said. “I feel like I came home to myself in a lot of ways through what I learned from Glinda, from Elphaba. That was my name when I went to see the show when I was 10 years old, and it felt like a really lovely way of honoring that.”
Since Wicked, Grande has appeared in Brighter Days Ahead, a short film tied to her seventh studio album Eternal Sunshine, which even features an appearance by Butera himself. She’s also gearing up to play Olivia Jones in Focker In-Law, set to hit theaters around Thanksgiving 2026, and has teased a small role in the upcoming 13th season of American Horror Story. But fans shouldn’t expect to see her full name in those credits.
