All About Ariana Grande’s Grandmother Marjorie Grande

Ariana Grande has always spoken about her tight-knit bond with her family, including her “Nonna,” Marjorie Grande.

The “yes and?” singer’s grandmother is featured on her seventh studio album, Eternal Sunshine, which was released in March 2024. Ariana teased her appearance when she posted the tracklist 10 days before the album came out and the last song, “ordinary things,” had “feat. nonna” written next to it.

After the album was released, Marjorie’s feature made her the oldest artist to chart on Billboard’s Hot 100 when “ordinary things” hit No. 55.

Marjorie is Ariana’s mother Joan’s mom. In October 2023, Ariana and her brother Frankie Grande celebrated her 98th birthday.

“Happy birthday to our superstar Nonna! 98 with the spirit of a 19 year old – we love you to the ends of the universe and back 💕,” Frankie captioned a set of photos of him and Ariana posing with Marjorie, who was wearing a “Birthday Queen” sash.

From getting tattoos together to accompanying Ariana to award shows, here’s everything to know about Ariana Grande’s grandmother, Marjorie Grande.

She met her husband, Frank Grande, when she was 11 years old

In a video Ariana posted on YouTube in 2012, Marjorie and Frank recounted the story of how they first met. Marjorie was 11 years old and had just moved across the street from Frank, who had recently had surgery and was in a wheelchair.

One of Marjorie’s friends would push Frank up and down their street while Marjorie sat alone on her stoop since she didn’t know anyone. Frank would occasionally stop and say hello, but things only got romantic when Marjorie moved away when she was 14 years old.

At the time, Marjorie’s friend was dating Frank’s best friend and suggested the four of them start hanging out more and that’s when things “started up again,” Marjorie said. Though initially hesitant because he was “short” and she would have to wear “low heels,” she decided to date Frank, and the two lasted through his military service and got engaged soon after he was discharged.

However, Marjorie said she knew he was the one long before.

“I think when I was standing on that stoop and I looked at him,” she said. “When I was 11 years old.”

She has two daughters and three grandchildren

Frank and Marjorie welcomed two daughters together — Judy and Joan — who then went on to have three children between them. Joan welcomed two kids, Frankie and Ariana, while Judy has a daughter, Lani.

In 2018, Ariana brought out her grandmother, mother and Lani on stage with her during her performance of “God is a woman” at MTV’s Video Music Awards. The four women held hands at the end of her performance and Ariana gave her nonna a sweet kiss before they went in for a group hug.

She has always believed in Ariana

Marjorie saw Ariana’s talent from an early age and even had her audition for a part in a Boca Raton, Florida, production of Annie.

“I said you know, Ariana could do that,” she shared on Today in 2014. “She became the star. She auditioned and she became Annie.” 

She has accompanied Ariana to award shows

A month after Ariana’s grandfather died, she took Marjorie as her guest to the 2014 VMA’s in August. Marjorie has since joined Ariana at a number of other award shows, including the 2015 American Music Awards and the 2016 Time’s Gala, where she met Melissa McCarthy and her husband Ben Falcone.

She got her first tattoo with Ariana

When Marjorie was 93 years old, she got her first tattoo with her granddaughter by her side. Ariana posted about the special moment on her Instagram Story in December 2018, sharing that her nonna got “ciccio” tattooed on her left ring finger in honor of her late husband.

In a video, Ariana asked Marjorie how she was handling the pain, to which she replied, “I feel fine. I’ve had a little bit more excitement than this!”

After Nonna was done with her tattoo and the room applauded, it was Ariana’s turn. She got a crescent moon next to several stars and a sun on top of her hand.

She is featured on Ariana’s music

Marjorie is the only feature on Ariana’s March 2024 album Eternal Sunshine, making an appearance on the last track to answer her granddaughter’s question from the first song, “How can I tell if I’m in the right relationship?”

“Never go to bed without kissing goodnight. That’s the worst thing to do,” Marjorie answers in “ordinary things.” “Don’t ever ever ever do that. And if you can’t, and if you don’t feel comfortable doing it, you’re in the wrong place. Get out.”

Her appearance on the song made Marjorie the oldest person to chart on the Billboard Hot 100.

In an interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music 1, Ariana said she didn’t know how to properly end the track until she found a “voice note” of Nonna talking to a friend.

“I knew ‘ordinary things’ was the end of the album,” she said. “I was like, ‘This is the last song, but I wonder how I can put that button on it and have it land emotionally the way that I feel it can, and how can I answer the question?’ ”

The answer came “right smack in the middle” of Marjorie’s 30-minute note and immediately Ariana knew that was it.

However, this isn’t the first time Marjorie has made an appearance in her granddaughter’s music. She also has an uncredited sample in 2019’s “bloodline” and 2013’s “daydreamin.’”

Ariana flew to her hometown to watch Wicked with Marjorie

Ariana took on the leading role of Glinda in 2024’s Wicked, which released on Nov. 22. She flew back home to Boca Raton, Fla., to watch the movie with her grandma, alongside her boyfriend, Ethan Slater, who also stars in the film, and brother Frankie Grande.

“Flew to boca for a day to watch with Nonna at the movie theater I grew up going to every weekend, Cinemark 20 in Boca,” Ariana wrote in the caption of an Instagram Stories post.

“Thrilled to report that when the sugar glider had her drum solo nonna exclaimed loudly ‘oh I LOVE that’ @jonmchu,” she wrote on another photo, tagging the director of the movie.