SINCE first entering the Hollywood zeitgeist at age 16, A-lister Ariana Grande has gone through many phases throughout her tenure.
Besides her ever-changing love life and constantly evolving career, Grande’s physical appearance, too, refuses to remain stagnant.
2007
Before the Nickelodeon show Victorious aired and put Grande on the map, she was just a regular Florida girl with a passion for creative things.
With dark hair, big eyes, and childlike features, she looked like any other teenager.
2010
Grande’s first exposure to the world of mainstream entertainment came when she was 16 years old and appeared in Victorious, alongside main star Victoria Justice.
To embody her character of Cat, she dyed her hair bright red and spoke in a much higher tone of voice.
Still only known by her young fans, the actress didn’t yet look Hollywood glam.
Her hair was also curly and her outfits were nothing like the high-end brands she wears today.
Grande later discussed how her commitment to the role caused her natural hair to fall out.
“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 later explained in a Facebook post in 2014.
“I now wear a wig on Sam & Cat. My real hair is back to brown and I wear extensions, but I wear it in a pony tail because my actual hair is so broken that it looks absolutely ratchet and absurd when I let it down.”
2013
In 2013, Grande started to look slightly more like the star we know today.
She ditched her red locks for a lighter look and swapped the frizzy curls for a girly updo.
Her nose also appeared slimmer, leading many to speculate she’d had a nose job, and her face more chiseled.
In 2019, Grande shut down rhinoplasty rumors from a fan account on Twitter, writing: “hayyy this my birth nose what tf did i log onto today lemme have a cute nose damn.”
This is the year she also entered the music world, releasing her first album titled Yours Truly, and starred in her Victorious spin-off show Sam And Cat.
2015
In 2015, Grande’s first Hollywood relationship went public – as she began dating rapper Big Sean. The pair would stay together for nine months.
The young rising star also began styling her hair in the manner that is now synonymous with her image: a high pony.
Fans also speculated that her lips looked fuller – although she has publicly denied having filler.
2016
A year later, the mainstay on Hollywood red carpets proved her love life would change just as frequently as her looks.
She began dating rapper Mac Miller and the pair would stay together for two years – a relationship she recalls fondly.
Flaunting highlighted hair and straight bangs, the singer’s innocent look was now gone.
She began to sport a more punk look, wearing revealing tops, winged eyeliner, and flashing her tattoos while cuddling up to her man.
This is also the year her iconic, sensual song Side To Side debuted.
2018
2018 was perhaps the year when the star’s love life was top of mind thanks to her whirlwind engagement to ladies’ man Pete Davidson.
Shortly after she and Miller called it quits, the Positions singer fell head over heels for the former Saturday Night Live headliner.
The two would get engaged after just a few weeks, only to call it off months later.
She stepped out with Davidson in a now-iconic outfit that represented the cool street girl she had become: an oversized hoodie, thigh-high boots, and her uber-high ponytail.
The lollipop lick pose went viral, just like their PDA-filled relationship.
During this time, fans speculated Grande might have had a boob job, asking: “Does she look a bit different or is it just me? I don’t remember her boobs being that big before?”
A surgeon told the Daily Star at the time: “It is possible that Ariana Grande has undergone a breast augmentation to increase the volume of her breasts.
“We would speculate that Ariana would have requested a smaller implant and a natural result to keep her in proportion to her slim frame.”
But the doctor added Grande’s breasts may have simply changed size due to hormone changes, or even a push-up bra. Grande has never admitted to surgery.
2020
In 2020, a new man – realtor Dalton Gomez – entered Grande’s life and made her a bride.
At the same time, she had ditched her grungy looks from the past and opted for high glam, with long, frosty blond locks, glossed lips, princess gowns, and diamonds.
Now grown into her features, fans continued to speculate about her thin nose and plumped lips.
2021
In 2021, Grande made yet another career shift when she became a judge on The Voice.
With darker hair than ever before, she looked different from the girly girl we knew well.
Her eyes were also more pulled back, a la Bella Hadid, and her cheekbones more defined – but a brow lift is among the operations Grande has firmly denied.
She reacted to a magazine cover that claimed she’d had a “boob job, brow lift, cheek shaving and lips done.”
In a YouTube video, Grande said: “I was like, ‘You’re comparing a picture of me from when I’m 14 years old to when I’m 21, and I’m wearing a push-up bra.
“That’s why I’m on the cover of [a] magazine and they’re saying I got plastic surgery. Goddamn, puberty went nice. It came late, but she finally came through for me.”
2023
This year, 29-year-old Grande’s pale look is one that could be attributed to her latest role: starring as Glinda in the upcoming Wicked movie.
With bleached eyebrows, white hair, and a thinner frame, the star made a major pivot away from her usual look that involved a spray tan and brown hair.
After fans speculated on her new look, claiming she appeared “AI-generated,” Grande responded in a TikTok post: “I just wanted to address your concerns about my body and talk a little bit about what it means to be a person with a body and to be seen and to be paid such close attention to.
“There are many different ways to look healthy and beautiful.
“I know personally, for me, the body that you’ve been comparing my current body to was the unhealthiest version of my body.
“I was on a lot of antidepressants, and drinking on them, and eating poorly, and at the lowest point of my life when I looked the way you consider my healthy.
“I guess I just wanted to extend some love your way and tell you that you’re beautiful, no matter what phase you’re in.
“No matter what you’re going through, no matter what weight, how you like to do your makeup these days, no matter what cosmetic procedures you’ve had or not, or anything.
“I just think you’re beautiful and wanted to share some feelings.”
Her new look marks a new relationship too, as she was recently embroiled in a reportedly scandalous affair with her Wicked co-star, Ethan Slater.
