Immediately following Victorious’ cancellation, Grande continued her role as the fan-favorite flighty Cat in Sam & Cat, the crossover spinoff series co-starring iCarly‘s Jeanette McCurdy. But the popular show ran for just one season, with reports of salary disputes and on-set drama surfacing.
But Grande’s star was already on the rise as a solo artist, thanks to her 2013 debut album Yours Truly, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. She followed that up with 2014’s My Everything, and 2016’s Dangerous Woman, with both albums going platinum.
Since then, the 26-year-old songstress has become one of the most popular and successful recording artists, releasing two more hit albums Sweetener (2018), and Thank U, Next (2019), with the latter shattering streaming records and its first three singles making her the first artist since The Beatles in 1964 to occupy the top three spots of the Billboard Hot 100. Nominated for 11 Grammys, Grande won her first Grammy in 2019 for Best Pop Vocal Album.
Grande’s personal life has made consistently made headlines over the years, with the superstar referencing her ex-boyfriends in her hit song “Thank U, Next,” including Big Sean, Ricky Alvarez, her one-time fiance Pete Davidson and the late Mac Miller, her rapper beau who died of an overdose in 2018. It was recently reported that Grande is dating real estate agent Dalton Gomez.
Grande has also been open about her struggles with mental health and sharing her trauma following the Manchester bombing in 2017. Following the devastating event that resulted in 22 deaths, Grande co-organized and performed at the One Love Manchester benefit concert to help the family of the victims, raising $13 million.