Ariana Grande
Grande in 2011, s_bukley / Shutterstock.com
Birth Name: Ariana Grande-Butera
Place of Birth: Boca Raton, Florida, U.S.
Date of Birth: June 26, 1993
Ethnicity: Italian [including Sicilian]
Ariana Grande is an American singer and actress. She has starred on the shows Victorious, Sam & Cat, and Scream Queens, and appeared in the film Don’t Look Up. Her most popular songs include “The Way,” “Problem,” “Break Free,” “Bang Bang,” “Love Me Harder,” “Focus,” “Dangerous Woman,” “Side to Side,” “No Tears Left to Cry,” “God Is a Woman,” “Thank U, Next,” “7 Rings,” “Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored,” “Boyfriend,” “Stuck with U,” “Rain on Me,” “Positions,” “Save Your Tears,” and “Die for You.”
Her mother, Joan Grande, has been CEO of the family firm, a manufacturer of communications and safety equipment. Her father, Edward Butera, owns a graphic design firm. Her parents are of Italian descent. She stated on her Twitter account that she is of half Sicilian and half Abruzzese Italian ancestry. Her maternal half-brother, Frankie Grande, is an actor, dancer, and musician. A picture of Ariana’s father can be seen here, and a picture of some of her father’s family can be seen here. A picture of Ariana’s mother can be seen here. A picture of Ariana’s paternal grandfather can be seen here, and a picture of Ariana with her maternal grandparents can be seen here.
Ariana’s paternal grandfather was Anthony Vincent Charles Butera (the son of Carlos/Charles Antonio Butera and Marie/Mary Passalaqua/Passalacqua). Anthony was born in New Jersey. Ariana’s great-grandfather Charles was born in New Jersey, to Italian parents, Antonino Butera and Magherita Azzara/Azzala, from Menfi, Provincia di Agrigento, Sicily. Marie was Italian. The surname Butera is Sicilian.
Ariana’s paternal grandmother was Florence P. Citrano (the daughter of Enrico “Henry” Cetrano and Lucia “Lucy” Ciarfella). Florence was born in Newark, New Jersey, to Italian emigrants, from Civitaquana, Abruzzo. Enrico was the son of Carmine Cetrano and Giulia/Julia Trabucco. Lucia was the daughter of Ascenzio Ciarfella and Margherita Taddeo.
Ariana’s maternal grandfather was Frank Anthony Grande (the son of Antonio “Anthony” Grande and Filomena/Felmino “Philomena”/”Phyllis” Lavenditti). Frank was born in New York, to Italian parents. Antonio was born, c. 1900, the son of Raffaela/Raffaele V. Grande (b. 1876) and Sabato/Rose Cardalisca (b. July 1877, in Lanciano, Province of Chieti, Abruzzo, Italy), and moved to the U.S. in May 1903. Ariana’s great-grandmother Filomena was the daughter of Francesco Lavenditti/La Venditti and Benedetta Perrotti. Ariana’s grandfather also had roots in Bojano and Gildone, in Campobasso.
Ariana’s maternal grandmother is Marjorie M. Damico (the daughter of John Viovanni Damico/D’Amico and Felomina F. “Minnie” Gigante). Marjorie was born in New York, to Italian parents, with roots in San Fele, Potenza, Basilicata.
Ariana also once twitted that she “just found out my grandparents are heavily greek and part north African,” and then specified “…the chart says Greece/Italy. I just thought it was funny. I’m assuming the North African bit is Moroccan or Tunisia?”
Ariana’s reference to “the chart” makes it likely that she took some sort of DNA test to map out her heritage. DNA tests for people of Sicilian descent sometimes indicate some kind of Greek or North African ancestry.
Grande in 2013, photo by Prphotos.com
Sources: Genealogies of Ariana Grande – https://www.geni.com
https://2.bp.blogspot.com
Ariana’s paternal grandfather, Anthony Vincent Charles Butera, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Obituary of Ariana’s paternal grandmother, Florence P. (Citrano) Butera – https://www.obrienfuneralhome.com
History of Ariana’s maternal grandparents, Frank Anthony Grande and Marjorie M. Damico – https://www.youtube.com
Ariana’s half-brother, Frankie Grande, 2008, photo by Prphotos.com
mmessina92,
I agree with some of your points. Mainly 3 and 4. I have to disagree, especially with #1. You kind of contradicted yourself when you said that “some (North Africans) assimilated,” but claim that all Sicilians have North African DNA. For the amount of time they ruled (not very long at all), there’s no way that every Sicilian possesses North African DNA. Some of them…yes. Definitely not even close to all, however. Additionally, in the ones that do possess some of the DNA, the 2-3% is definitely overstated. It’s been almost 1000 years since anyone of Arab decent has been on the island. Granted, I’m sure a microscopic amount of them slipped through the cracks when the Normans drove them out, but from everything I’ve read, roughly .05-1% would be about as high as it would go. I’ve ran the mathematics of the situation, as well, and that seems to make sense. It’s simply been way too long for much of the North African/Arab DNA to even be measurable.
The final thing I have to say though, is that if we’re relying on this data, coming from “ethnic testing” sites, then it’s just simply not accurate. I’m not trying to throw a jab at you with that comment. I very well thought they (ethnic testing sites) were really accurate up until a few years ago, but they just aren’t, unfortunately.
Well, maybe some of the North African DNA in Sicily is not from the Moorish rule, but from the hundreds of years of Carthaginian presence on the island. Interestingly, the North African DNA is stronger in western Sicily than in the east (those on the east coast and Enna are more or less Italianized Greeks, identical genetically to islander Greeks), so it makes sense.
Personally, I think Sicilians have changed very little genetically since ancient Greek times.
What is sure though is that Normans had only moderate genetic influence, and the Spanish none.
she’s just Italian, that’s ridiculous. Of course she can have Greek genes, as southern italian.
Apparently she has Arab genes too, as sicilians.
Balkanboy,
Not all Sicilians have “Arab” genes. Not even close. “Arabs” (as they are now called) only ruled the island of Sicily for a few hundred years out of the entire existence of the world. I have to point out that just because one group of people rules a territory of land, that doesn’t mean that the entire population ceases to be their original ethnicity, or that the new ethnicity’s genes are somehow transformed into all of the original people. It would take thousands of years of ruling for the new ethnicity’s genes to transfer over to all of the original inhabitants, and that’s assuming that they mate with every female on the island. This definitely didn’t happen. It basically only meant that rules and religion changed for a period of time. Additionally, of the tiny minority of people that did happen to absorb some of the “Arab” genes, the representation (in their blood) would be only .05% – 1%, today. Basically, non existent. One last point, when people hear the term “Arab,” they usually think of modern day Iraqi’s, Palestinians, etc. The vast majority of “Arabs” (back in the time we are referring to) were Spanish converts to Islam, or Caucasoid Berbers. They are only referred to as “Arabs” because of the religion of the inhabitants. It doesn’t have anything to do with their ethnicity. Modern day Sicilians are usually a combination of Siculi (the original ancient Italic tribe), some Greek, possibly Spanish, and possibly trace amount of Norman (French).
I mean, I agree with you, but – I think there´s more that 05% – 1% sicilians with remote arab blood. Probably around 5-10%, something in between there. With arab blood i meant North African (because there is mostly arabs there), because after Ariana took the test the dna results showed that she had some North-African blood (Moroccan or Tunisian, which is in my opinion obvious on her looks). The sicilians with dark features and complexions like Ariana must have some North African in them, you can either agree or disagree. It makes sense that sicilians aren´t full blooded italic because Sicily is quite close to North Africa. The same with the people who lives on the Islands on spain that lay close North Africa, they are descenders of Berbers that ruled in those islands have i read. I´m sorry if my english isn´t that good (It´s not my first language).
No worries. I think something might have gotten lost in translation with the language barrier. When I said, “.05% – 1%, I was referring to the percentage of “Arab” DNA that would be left in the peoples’ blood that did happen to absorb some of the Arab DNA. I agree with you, probably somewhere between 5%-10% of the people received some of those genes, however, the percentage in their blood is almost non existent at this point.
There haven’t been any Arabs on the island since the year 1061. That’s the year the Norman invaders took over, and they made sure that all of the Arabs were removed from their new territory. So, given the fact that this happened, that means that the people that did receive some of the Arab genes weren’t able to breed with anymore pure Arabs, hence the reason the Arab representation in their blood would be so small, today. After a certain point in time, genes become unmeasurable if a certain ethnicity isn’t bred with for a super long period of time. It’s been almost a thousand years, now.
That means that for modern day Sicilians, the “Arab” portion is basically gone. As far as the DNA test is concerned, I definitely wouldn’t trust them. They’re basically pseudoscience. I’m not going to say that Ariana doesn’t have any “Arab” in her DNA, because I just don’t know, but I’m extremely skeptical of DNA tests regarding ethnic background. They’ve come under quite a bit of scrutiny, and I think they’re very gimmicky. I wouldn’t be surprised if the person that examined her DNA didn’t just come on here, and look at what everyone was saying, and then come to their conclusion.
P.S. The Spanish Berber thing is a lot like the Sicily thing. It’s extremely exaggerated. Most Spaniards are just that, Spanish.
I also don’t think that just because some Sicilians are darker that means they have “Arab” influence. When you take into account the entire history of the world, the hundreds of thousands of years that ethnicity’s have existed, people from North Africa have only existed on that island for a few hundred years, and then they were forcefully removed.
The core of what a Sicilian is, is basically ancient Italic/Greco. Many Greeks are very dark. Additionally, the extreme sun exposure due to the Mediterranean environment plays a huge part in the dark skin, as well. I have a friend who has a pure-blooded Sicilian dad, and in the summer you would swear he’s a very dark ethnicity, and in the winter he could easily pass for a lighter ethnicity . Don’t forget, Ariana is a typical girly girl. She artificially tans.
i dont think so.
http://www.theapricity.com/forum/showthread.php?74723-Sicilian-Italian-and-Greek-23andme-AC-Results-%28Speculative%29-and-Haplogroups&p=2439720#post2439720
A lot of italians still manage to have 5-15% of MENA ancestries.
Sorry, but it is I who “don’t think so.” Those tests in your link seem to all be administered by “23andme,” a site where you can supposedly tell exactly what your ethnic makeup is by sending in a saliva sample. The problem, however, is that this technology isn’t real. It’s a gimmicky money-making scam.
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/11/23andme-genetic-test-fda-100385.html
I am Sicilian myself (I was the one who posted the 23andme results in the above link) and I will clarify a few things.
1) All Sicilians have minor amounts of North African DNA, around 2-3% but some have more.
2) We do, on the other hand, have significant amounts of ancestry from the Levant — the Lebanon, Palestine area — due to ancient migrations from that area and the Phoenicians, who settled the island’s shores.
3) MOST of Sicilian DNA is shared with Greeks, especially those on the islands. Like Crete for instance.
4) Norman, or any other Northern European DNA, is very small and minor in Sicily and DNA tests all show that.
5) No, not all of the North Africans were expelled, some assimilated. Any time history says any one group was entirely annihilated or expelled, chances are it’s false. They still find Taino DNA in Puerto Rico despite everyone thinking they were totally killed by the Spanish.
6) There is little to no Spanish DNA in Sicily. They were rulers, not colonizers and very few of them actually set foot on the island.
@Dan2349 I tested myself 23andMe, and i am more happy about the results. There is no gimmick about it.
@mmessina92 i got a tiny amount of sicilian ancestry and some parts of my DNA which are indicated as italian are also shared by some greeks.
PS:you’re smoking hot :)
The picture of the user and administrator Sikeliot in your link is the Greek singer Kostas Martakis. Google him! He has original ancient Cretan Greek beauty and he considered a living Greek God! :)
Yes I’ve been tested on 23andMe as well and it is quite scientific. My dna is fairly typical of my nationality. Genetic testing is getting better all the time especially when their databases have more populations in them to compare.
“CORRECTION” Instead of putting in the ethnicity area that she’s Italian. It should say “Italian (Sicilian and Abruzzese), Greek, North African (Moroccan or Tunisian)
Really, Greek? Especially since she said her “chart” listed “Greece/Italy”, which means it could be either one?
The tweets about her DNA test are already mentioned up there in the text. But going beyond that seems like too much to me. It would be like listing Larry David as 37% Native American because his DNA test apparently said so.
Every Sicilian has Greek and North African genes but they are just Sicilian. The same with Southern Italians, Greek forms a big part of them. It is just genetic testing. If any Southern Italian or Sicilian takes a dna test they ALL have Greek ancestral dna and some North African. But they are all Sicilian or Italian. Any nationality is formed from different groups. This is not recent admixture. Northern Italians don’t have the Greek and North African admixture. Just take a dna test and see what interesting things you’ll discover.
Alice, not all Sicilians have North African admixture. A tiny minority of them? Yes, but certainly not even close to all of them. Arabs only ruled the island for a few hundred years out of the entire existence of Sicily/the world. That’s not nearly enough time to spread the genes around to much of anyone. Additionally, the year 1061 was the last year that anyone from North Africa has ruled in Sicily. It’s been a pretty long time, and most of the genes have been bred out of existence in the tiny minority of people that did receive them. The Norman (French) invasion put a stop to this. For anyone that did happen to absorb some of the North African Arab genes, the representation would be under 1%, which is basically non existent, as almost everyone on the planet possesses at least .5%-3% of something else. The vast majority of modern day Sicilians are Sicel (an original Italic tribe), with a decent amount of Greek, followed by a small amount of Norman (French), and possibly Spanish, and are 100% European Caucasian. Unfortunately a lot of misinformation exists, and many false media stereotypes about Sicilians have been perpetuated that just, quite frankly, aren’t true.
Thanks Dan. They do have quite a bit of Greek though. Is that correct?
If David took a reputable dna test he would be highly unlikely to have any Native American.
There really is no such thing as a reputable DNA test test. They’re basically pseudoscience. In fact, many of them have recently come under intense scrutiny for not being accurate at all.
i doubt she is greek. but you are right, when it says greek/italian it means she is either one
Nothing special about her, I see prettier girls everyday.
Most celebrities are overrated.
I agree, but she’s queen
She acts like a stereotypical white girl.
like you.
Define what a stereotypical white girl. Enlighten me. Oh… wait. Do you mean someone who doesn’t act like they’re from the ghetto and knows how to speak and write properly?