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
She looks like Minka Kelly. Both could pass as Puerto Rican or Mexican
Puerto Ricans and Mexicans aren’t ethnicities. It’s like saying someone looks American or Canadian. Spaniards and Italians often look similar since they’re both Mediterranean Southern Europeans. Therefore an ‘Hispanic’ who is mostly Spanish would look like a Southern European and could pass for Italian, Greek, Albanian, etc.
No Europeans however look like the mestizos/Indians of Mexico or the blacks/mulattos of the Caribbean.
Puerto Rican and Mexican are ethnicities if you’re native or mestizo. American and Canadian are ethnicities as well if you’re native american or native Canadian.
She could pass as a Spaniard too.
Like the stereotype that American have of Spaniards. You do not look like her unless you are mixed. She does not look like a white Italian. My ex was a white italian. She was white, green eyes and very light brown hair.
Having brown eyes and dark hair and a tan complexion doesn’t make someone non-white. Only skinheads and liberals think that anyone who isn’t pale or light eyed is ‘colored’.
Whites don’t all look like Swedes. Even North Africans and Middle Easterners are racially Caucasian.
Most people from spain don’t have light skin, hair etc not all europians look the same
Looks typical Italian.
She must have something mixed in her blood. She does not look typically Italian.
She also has Greek & North African in her.
By looking at her she looks Italian. All those ethnicities are a bit too much. It’s either one or the other and how you were raised… If her greeat great great grandfather was Greek, then somehow mixed with Italian and thereafter than id say she’s Italian. I mean this whole mixing race thing started only a couple centuries ago… And many people crossed over from their native lands. Every one wants to be something. That’s why these articles aren’t always accurate. I have a famous cousin and they threw in Italian which is not true.
Who’s your “famous” cousin?
She is mixed with North African though…
That’s not definite. She took a supposed ethnic DNA test (which there really isn’t such a thing) that claimed she was a few percentage points of North African Caucasian ancestry. Taking an ethnic DNA test is a lot like reading your horoscope, or having a fortune teller read a tarot card to you. It’s fun and all, interesting even, but at the end of the day it isn’t real. If you want to know what you are you have to do it the old school paper way.