15 Things You Didn't Know About Ariana Grande

When we think of Ariana Grande, a few things come to mind right away: big voice, big hair, and big tan. Younger fans might associate her with her Nickelodeon character Cat Valentine from Victorious, while many people from older generations have tragically come to know her through a cowardly terrorist attack that targeted her Manchester concert in May 2017. Even though her talent and compassion for her fans are undeniable, there's a lot more to this sun-kissed beauty than meets the eye! Grande has an interesting past, a shining future and a unique personality that almost doesn't fit into her 5'0 frame. She is one of the biggest superstars in the world, but she's also hilarious, family-orientated and refreshingly human. The only difference between this superstar and the rest of the world is her iconic voice, which is already becoming legendary! Here are 15 things you didn't know about Ariana Grande.

15 Her Name Has An Interesting Origin

Ariana isn't really a regular name in the English-speaking world, but when you consider that Ariana Grande's parents are both of Italian descent, it makes a little more sense! She was actually born Ariana Grande-Butera to Joan Grande and Edward Butera, but had dropped her dad's surname by the time she stepped into the limelight. Interestingly, it was more than their Italian heritage which led Grande and Butera to name their daughter Ariana. The name is actually inspired by Princess Oriana, who appears on the children's cartoon, Felix the Cat. Princess Oriana isn't exactly the cartoon version of Grande, seeing as she has blonde hair, blue eyes, and a tall stature. Grande has also been open about her sailor's mouth or tendency to swear, which doesn't seem like something Princess Oriana would have… But there are those who would argue that the “Dangerous Woman” singer is a princess in some ways!

14 She Loves Animals

If there is one thing Grande is passionate about, it's animals! She has admitted in interviews that she actually likes animals more than most humans (not kidding!), and even has eight dogs who are becoming famous in their own right: Coco, Toulouse, Ophelia, Cinnamon, Sirius, Fawkes, Lafayette, and her newest addition, Pignoli. Although two of them actually live with her mother, it's clear that she's a dog-person! Grande has been known to speak out against animal cruelty and has been a vegan for a number of years, meaning she won't eat meat, or any products that come from animals, including dairy and eggs. She has also spoken out about the animal cruelty at Sea World. “I used to love Sea World,” she said. “I thought the animals were safe and happy. Then I learned what happened-that they're taken out of their habitat and kidnapped. It breaks my heart. They're not ours.”

13 Her Hair Has A Story

Almost all of us can recognize Grande from her signature ponytail, which is thick and luscious enough to have all the girls of the world staring in awe. But there's actually a story behind her do, which will make you feel totally guilty if you've ever criticized the singer for never changing up her tresses! Back when she played Cat Valentine on Victorious, Grande had to have cherry-soda red hair. While it looked amazing, anybody who's colored their hair knows that reds especially are difficult to maintain. To keep that color looking fresh, she had to bleach and dye her naturally brunette locks every two weeks! Of course, that totally damaged her hair, and now she has no choice but to turn to hair extensions. Even though some make fun of Grande's look (which we'd kill for!), it has become her “thing” which has helped to place her in popular culture.

12 She Follows Kabbalah

Being of Italian descent on both sides, Grande was raised to be Catholic. However, once she was old enough to make her own decisions about that part of her life, she soon saw that the conservative religion wasn't for her. When her older half-brother Frankie came out, she began having second thoughts about her faith. “When my brother was told that God didn't love him I was like, 'Okay, that's not cool,'” she revealed. Looking for something to fill that spiritual void, she and Frankie began to explore other options. “They were building a Kabbalah center in Florida so we both checked it out and really had a connection with it,” she said. “[It] sort of stuck with me. And since then my life has unfolded in a really beautiful way, and I think that it has a lot to do with the tools I've learned through Kabbalah, I really do.”

11 She Has Crazy Allergies

The songstress does follow a fairly strict diet which is influenced by her beliefs, but some of it also has to do with certain allergies that she has. She's allergic to shellfish, which is a fairly common allergy to have, and which doesn't make a difference anyway, considering she doesn't eat seafood due to ethical reasons. Tragically for Miss Grande, she's also allergic to bananas! For us, bananas are the go-to, tummy-friendly snack that's perfect in all ways, at any time of the day. It's like a staple. We couldn't even imagine being allergic to this magical fruit! It gets worse, though. Not only is she allergic to bananas, but she's also allergic to cats! Being an animal person, we're sure that this just about kills her. Just picture never being able to cuddle your kitty again! Obviously her health is the most important thing, but we can't help but sympathize.

10 She Has A Soft Spot For Horror

The one thing that Grande is passionate about-even more so than animals-is horror. Ever since she was a little kid, all things horror and supernatural have absolutely delighted her. Ghosts, demons, witches, freak-animals, aliens-you name it! She was an absolute sucker for horror movies way before she should have even been watching them, and she even made the theme of her fifth birthday party Jaws! As expected, the other elementary school children ran away crying, but Grande was having the time of her life. She always looked forward to Halloween, and even now, she can barely contain her excitement for Universal's Halloween Horror Nights held throughout the year! When she was a toddler, her mother actually thought she might grow up to be a serial killer, seeing as she frequently wore scary masks around the house for fun. Yikes! She's also one for attending local ghost tours in the cities she visits on tour.

9 She Loves Fantasy

Since she loves horror, it's only natural that Grande would have a thing for fantasy too. You would never tell from looking at her chic red carpet outfits or her position at the top of the Hollywood hierarchy, but she's secretly a huge nerd when it comes to fantasy stuff! She's spoken out about how much she loves The Lord of the Rings, which is something that nobody expected. More than anything, though, she loves Harry Potter. She has a soft spot for anything to do with the movies, including the actors who starred in them, and she has read all the books. She was a keen reader to begin with, but the series by J.K. Rowling really cemented her love of literature. Who knows-maybe she loves Harry Potter so much because there's a character in the story called Ariana Dumbledore? Not that you need an excuse to be a Potter fanatic!

8 She Has Celebrity Crushes

Grande has always remained reasonably private when it comes to her love life, and she gets very bashful when the subject is brought up in interviews. In the past she has been linked to fellas like Jai Brooks, Big Sean and most recently, Mac Miller, but she doesn't like discussing it very much. However, she's more than happy to tell the world all about her celebrity crushes that started when she was just a little girl! She cites her very first crush as Justin Timberlake, and let's be honest-who doesn't? A little more out of the ordinary is the crush that she used to have on funny-man Jim Carrey. After meeting the actor, Grande tweeted that the encounter was like a dream-come-true that left her totally speechless. The Liar Liar actor isn't the first hunk you'd think of when it comes to millennial crushes, but we suppose that laughter means a lot!

7 She Does Impressions

We all know that Grande has a singing voice that delves deep into Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston territory, but what might be even more impressive is her ability to actually impersonate the superstars at her level. The most famous is her on-point impression of Celine Dion, which she's performed on Saturday Night Live as well as on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon (more than once!). Not only can Grande master every lick of Dion's songs (using her tone and mannerisms, would you believe!), but she has also memorized the way she speaks to the audience, including her classic accent. As well as Celine Dion, Grande has publicly conquered impressions of Shakira, Britney Spears, Rihanna, Whitney Houston, and even non-singing celebs, like Jennifer Lawrence. Check out some of her impersonations for yourself! They are all eerily perfect (we don't know how she does it), and good for a few laughs.

6 She's Had Her Share Of Scandals

Grande has spoken out about how she doesn't want to be known as the innocent child-star anymore, and thanks to a few scandals she's been caught up in, she might just get her wish. The most notable incident involved the singer entering a donut shop with a group, licking a donut, and then putting it back on the shelf so it would eventually go to another customer. The whole thing was caught on security footage and leaked to the media, and in the tape, Grande can be heard muttering that she hates America. Obviously, the public were totally outraged at the footage! Grande did damage control as soon as she could, and put the incident down to something that was taken out of context, and stemming from her frustration over general American dietary habits. But she did own up to her mistake and apologize multiple times, declaring she'd think more carefully in the future.

5 She's Been Singing For A Long Time

Though Grande has only really become huge over the past four years or so, her history as a singer extends much further back than that. She's been in the game since she was a tiny little thing, and has sung everywhere from sports games to corporate functions. There are videos available of the singer as a child performing the National Anthem at hockey games and doing various other performances (in all of which, she's amazing!). At the age of eight, singer Gloria Estefan listened to Grande sing, and told her than she was “meant to do this.” Even without reassurance from celebrities, it was clear from a young age that the Floridian pop star was put on this earth to record songs and entertain crowds with her powerful voice. Her voice has grown and changed over the years, but even when it was still child-like, it was seriously impressive!

4 She's Full Of Love

Recent events have proven that Ariana Grande cares deeply about her fans. After a bombing took place at her concert in Manchester on May 22 of this year, Grande returned to the city to perform at the One Love Manchester show, which raised around $12 million for victims and their families, and took the time out to visit the survivors as they recovered in hospital. She was actually criticized for leaving the country following the attacks, but understandably, the event would have been traumatizing for the 23-year-old. It was definitely good of her to come back and show support for the victims! Grande's been opening her heart to people since long before the Manchester concert, though. When she was just ten, she was the co-founder of a singing group called Kids Who Care. They performed at fundraising events, and in 2007, earned over $500,000 for charity. That's pretty inspiring stuff!

3 She Can Act Too

There are fans who associate the singer with her role as Cat, but there are also many who have no idea that she's as good an actress as she is a singer! In fact, her first acting gig came when she was just a child, when she earned the title role in Annie. Grande got her start on stage before she set foot in front of a camera lens, and was cast in the musical 13 in 2008. She was in high school at the time, so the school sent her study programs and textbooks to use while she was in New York, preparing for Broadway. Then came her role on Victorious, which eventually led to her crossing over to the mainstream world of pop. After that, it seemed like the superstar made the decision to stick exclusively to the music side of things, but she actually returned to the stage to play Snow White and Penny from Hairspray.

2 She Works Really Hard

At one stage, reports circulated the media which labelled Grande a “diva” and extremely high-maintenance celebrity, which took away from the hardworking gal that she really is. Always on the go, Grande doesn't actually spend her days being pampered (well, not all days, anyway!), but instead splits her time between her brutal touring schedule, an array of public appearances, getting involved in stage productions, making new music and trying to see her family and friends. She was criticized for saying that she works harder than anybody else on social media, and while we know there are lots of people who work hard all over the world, Ariana Grande happens to be one of them. Her debut album Yours Truly, took three years to finally complete, but she stuck with it and persisted until it was perfect enough to be released. We think that a work ethic like that is what role models are made of!

1 She Has Had No Formal Vocal Training

Ready to be blown away? The top thing you didn't know about Ariana Grande is that she has never been trained as a singer. We know-she seems way too good for that! She's been singing for years, has a voice that sounds similar to Mariah Carey's, and has a four-octave range, but it all comes down to natural talent. In 2013, she said, “Music just kind of happened, I never really trained for anything… I played French horn for a few years, that's where I learned a lot about sheet music and theory. I play a little bit of piano by ear but it's mostly just singing, which I never was trained in.” For somebody who's had no singing lessons, Ariana Grande gives many professional singers nowadays one hell of an example to follow. That is definitely a gift, if ever we've seen it, and it's clear that she was destined for this!