Ariana Grande fans may have seen the singer’s mom pop up from time to time on her social media, but don’t know too much about her. Below we dive in to everything to know about the star’s mother, Joan Marguerite Grande, from where she grew up to her relationship with Ari’s father, to what she’s up to now.
Who Is Joan Grande?
Fans may know Joan Grande as the mother of superstar Ariana Grande, but she has a very interesting story all on her own. Born on June 11, 1957 in Brooklyn, New York, Joan is of Italian descent.
Joan’s first marriage was to the physician Victor Marchione in 1982 and they gave birth to a son, Frankie Grande on Jan. 24, 1983. They got divorced in 1987, and that’s when Joan moved on to a budding romance with who was soon to be her next husband.
Joan met Edward Butera, Ariana’s father, a graphic designer, in New York City in the early ’90s and they got married in 1992. In 1993, while Joan was pregnant with Ariana, they moved to Boca Raton, Florida and Ariana was born on June 26, 1993. The family lived together in Florida until Joan and Edward got divorced in 2002 when Ariana was 9.
She’s Always Been A Proud & Supportive Mama
Joan has always been there for her kids, Frankie and Ariana, who are both in the entertainment industry. She often attends her daughter’s concerts and shouts out her kids on social media, including the time she sang Ariana’s praises on Twitter after her most recent album, Positions, dropped.
“Brilliant music and impeccable vocals, that will take you on a fantastical deep dive into the heart & soul of a magnificent woman,” Joan wrote on Twitter at the time. “Brava Ariana! I smile, I laugh, I cry, and I marvel at your artistry!”
Moreover, when the single “Positions” was released, Joan wrote, “SO PROUD OF YOU!! Yes, women can do it all!” Moreover, when the song debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, she wrote on Twitter, “Incredible! Ariana, you are a magnificent, formidable woman. I am so proud of you. All my love… and respect!”
When asked during an interview with The Hot Desk TV back in 2014, Joan described her daughter in three words: “Genuine, compassionate, and loving.”
Likewise, Ariana continues to sing her mom’s praises, also supporting her in all her endeavors.
“I look at my mom,” the “God is a Woman” singer once said during an interview, via Showbiz Cheat Sheet. “My mom’s a CEO, an engineer, a mom. The most fierce, baddest b–ch in the world. And I think I learned a lot of that from her because she does everything herself as well.”
SO PROUD OF YOU!! Yes, women can do it all!!!!!! https://t.co/FMrRqtLXUV
— Joan Grande (@joangrande) October 23, 2020
She’s Worked As A CEO And Entrepreneur
Joan’s children may be successful in the entertainment industry, but she is also a force to be reckoned with all her own. Joan has been a success in the business industry, first working as the president and CEO of Hose-McCann Communications, a communications and alarm systems company that’s provided products for the US Marines and Navy. The company was Charles G. Hose and Thomas J. McCann in Brooklyn in 1923 but bought by the Grande family in 1964.
Now, Joan heads Diamond Dog Entertainment, a production company founded by herself and a slew of partners whose website describes it as “focused on fostering talent in a collaborative environment and investing in diverse projects that seek to change the landscape of the entertainment world.” The company shows numerous projects they’ve done, including musicals, parties, and events.
“My mom is a CEO and owns a company that manufactures communications equipment for the Marines and the Navy, so she’s not really the housewife type, if you get what I’m saying,” Ariana told Complex back in 2013. She’s the most badass, independent woman you’ll ever meet—not the cookies in the oven type.”