Ariana Grande Listed Her Full Name inWickedCredits Because Movie Felt Like 'Such a Homecoming to Myself'

Mar. 15, 2025

Ariana Grande inWicked(2024).Photo:Giles Keyte/Universal Pictures

Giles Keyte/Universal Pictures

Ariana Grandeis honoring her roots.The actress and singer explained onThe Hollywood Reporter’s podcastAwards Chatter,which aired Monday, Feb. 3, that she chose to use her birth name, Ariana Grande-Butera, in the credits forWicked"because that is my full name.““It’s my birth name, and that was my name when I first sawWickedwhen I was a young girl,” said theAcademy Awardnominee, 31. “And I feel like this experience was such a homecoming to myself, my young me, that maybe little pieces of her got lost along the way.““It felt like a homecoming to her, so this felt like a beautiful celebration of that homecoming and wayof including my full me,” Grande added.Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo inWicked(2024).Giles Keyte/Universal PicturesThe “imperfect for you” singer previously spoke out about using her birth name in the credits for theJon M. Chu-directedWicked, an adaptation of the hit 2003 Broadway musical.When Grande and her costarCynthia Erivosat down for an interview with podcaster and journalist Justin Hill, he noted that Grande is credited with her “full grown-up name” on screen, adding, “I wanted to know the symbolism of the importance of that for you.”“Technically, it’s my little girl name. It’s technically little [Ari’s] name,” she replied. (Grande is her mother Joan’s last name; Butera is her father Ed’s. The two divorced when their daughter was 8 years old.)“Ifeel like I came home to myselfin a lot of ways through what I learned from Glinda, from Elphaba,” she added, referencing the characters she and Erivo, 38, play. “That was my name when I went to see the show when I was 10 years old, and it felt like a really lovely way of honoring that. It felt really full-circle.”The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!Grandereceived her first career Oscar nominationon Jan. 23, when she joined fellow nomineesMonica Barbaro,Felicity Jones,Isabella RosselliniandZoe Saldañain the Best Supporting Actress category for the upcoming ceremony on March 2.“Picking my head up in between sobs to say thank you so much to@theacademyfor this unfathomable recognition. Icannot stop crying, to no one’s surprise,” Grande wrote in a caption to anInstagram postshe shared shortly after the nomination announcement.The actress and singer shared a photo of herself as a toddler dressed similarly toJudy Garland’s iconicWizard of Ozcharacter Dorothy, as well as an undated video of her singing portions of"Defying Gravity"fromWickedand photos of her in costume as Glinda, with Erivo.“I’m humbled and deeply honored to be in such brilliant company and sharing this with tiny ari who sat and studied Judy Garland singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow just before the big, beautiful bubble entered. I’m so proud of you, tiny,” Grande wrote in her post.

Ariana Grandeis honoring her roots.

The actress and singer explained onThe Hollywood Reporter’s podcastAwards Chatter,which aired Monday, Feb. 3, that she chose to use her birth name, Ariana Grande-Butera, in the credits forWicked"because that is my full name.”

“It’s my birth name, and that was my name when I first sawWickedwhen I was a young girl,” said theAcademy Awardnominee, 31. “And I feel like this experience was such a homecoming to myself, my young me, that maybe little pieces of her got lost along the way.”

“It felt like a homecoming to her, so this felt like a beautiful celebration of that homecoming and wayof including my full me,” Grande added.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo inWicked(2024).Giles Keyte/Universal Pictures

The “imperfect for you” singer previously spoke out about using her birth name in the credits for theJon M. Chu-directedWicked, an adaptation of the hit 2003 Broadway musical.

When Grande and her costarCynthia Erivosat down for an interview with podcaster and journalist Justin Hill, he noted that Grande is credited with her “full grown-up name” on screen, adding, “I wanted to know the symbolism of the importance of that for you.”

“Technically, it’s my little girl name. It’s technically little [Ari’s] name,” she replied. (Grande is her mother Joan’s last name; Butera is her father Ed’s. The two divorced when their daughter was 8 years old.)

“Ifeel like I came home to myselfin a lot of ways through what I learned from Glinda, from Elphaba,” she added, referencing the characters she and Erivo, 38, play. “That was my name when I went to see the show when I was 10 years old, and it felt like a really lovely way of honoring that. It felt really full-circle.”

The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!

Grandereceived her first career Oscar nominationon Jan. 23, when she joined fellow nomineesMonica Barbaro,Felicity Jones,Isabella RosselliniandZoe Saldañain the Best Supporting Actress category for the upcoming ceremony on March 2.

“Picking my head up in between sobs to say thank you so much to@theacademyfor this unfathomable recognition. Icannot stop crying, to no one’s surprise,” Grande wrote in a caption to anInstagram postshe shared shortly after the nomination announcement.

The actress and singer shared a photo of herself as a toddler dressed similarly toJudy Garland’s iconicWizard of Ozcharacter Dorothy, as well as an undated video of her singing portions of"Defying Gravity"fromWickedand photos of her in costume as Glinda, with Erivo.

“I’m humbled and deeply honored to be in such brilliant company and sharing this with tiny ari who sat and studied Judy Garland singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow just before the big, beautiful bubble entered. I’m so proud of you, tiny,” Grande wrote in her post.

source: people.com