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Ariana Grande has transformed before our eyes.
Three years after going blonde for Wicked, the singer and actress unveiled her new brunette hair last month – signaling that she has entered a new era.
The star, 32, now looks worlds away from the teen actress who began her career over on Nickelodeon.
Ariana shot to fame when she was just 16 starring as Cat Valentine in the 2009 sitcom Victorious before going on to star in the show’s spin off Sam & Cat alongside Jennette McCurdy.
Like many child stars, Ariana transitioned from acting into singing and has amassed an impressive 86 chart entries on the Billboard Hot 100 including nine number one hits.
After her bright red hair during her Nickelodeon days, the star became known for her long dark brunette high ponytail and cat ear headbands as she toured across the world.
The star then shocked fans back in October 2022 when she debuted blonde hair as she prepared to transform into Glinda for Wicked filming.
Here Daily Mail takes a look back at the star’s incredible transformation from red-haired teen to tanned pop princess to screen idol.
After impressing people first on cruise ships then Broadway, the Florida-born shot to stardom as a barefaced sweetheart on hot Nickelodeon show Victorious in 2009.
At 16-years-old, the star sported dark brown glowing curls and dimples.
However, after landing her role on the hit American channel alongside Victoria Justice and a predominantly all brunette female cast, she transformed into a red head.
At the time, it was reported that executive producer of the hit show, Dan Schneider, did not want all the girls to have the same hair colour – meaning Ariana had to dye hers red every second week.
Ariana openly spoke about how her commitment to her role on the show caused her natural hair to fall out.
‘I had to bleach my hair and dye it red every other week for the first 4 years of playing Cat… as one would assume, that completely destroyed my hair,’ she later explained in a Facebook post in 2014.
‘I now wear a wig on Sam & Cat.
‘My real hair is back to brown and I wear extensions, but I wear it in a pony tail because my actual hair is so broken that it looks absolutely ratchet and absurd when I let it down.’
Sam & Cat was eventually cancelled by Nickelodeon, with the final episode airing on July 17, 2014.
Ariana confirmed the show’s end on X and later stated she left the network to move forward with her life and career.
Focusing on music, she made her Billboard Hot 100 debut with her single ‘The Way,’ which featured the late Mac Miller.
The song later peaked at No.9 and become the first of her 22 top 10s to date.
As her pop career exploded Ariana’s high ponytail, which she sported while performing on stage, at red carpet appearances and during interviews, became synonymous with her individual look.
Constantly under the spotlight, for years speculation has swirled over whether or not the star has undergone under plastic surgery thanks to her continuously changing appearance.
In December 2019, she addressed allegations that she had gone under the knife to have a nose job.
She responded to a fan who theorised she had it surgically enhanced on X, writing, ‘Hey, this my birth nose what tf did I log onto today. Lemme have a cute nose damn.’
However four years later in September 2023, the singer admitted to having ‘tons’ of cosmetic procedures throughout her decade-long career.
In a video shared by Vogue Beauty Secrets she candidly confessed that she used to get a lot of lip filler and Botox – but stopped in 2018 because she felt like she had gone too far.
‘I had a ton of lip filler over the years and Botox, but I stopped in 2018 because I just felt so — too much,’ she shared in the fiercely honest clip.
She added as she became emotional, ‘I just felt, like, hiding, you know. For a long time, beauty was about hiding for me, and now I feel like maybe it’s not since I stopped getting fillers and Botox.’
Ariana encouraged her followers to embrace their natural looks, especially as they age.
‘For me, I wanna see my well-earned cry lines and smile lines,’ she continued. ‘I hope my smile lines get deeper and deeper and I laugh more and more. I just think aging can be such a beautiful thing.’
But she admitted that she might change in her mind in the future – but explained that what’s important is ‘transparency.’
‘Maybe I’ll start again one day. I don’t know. To each their own. Whatever makes you feel beautiful, I do support,’ she stated.
‘Now might I get a face lift in 10 years? Might, yeah. But these are just thoughts I feel like we should be able to discuss. If we’re talking about beauty secrets, f**k it. Let’s lay it all out there.’
While the star was known for her long eyelashes and dark smokey eyeshadow, she has now adapted a more bare-faced look.
Also discussing how she used to ‘use makeup as a disguise’ when she was younger, she explained that ‘as she gets older,’ she has started to use products to ‘accentuate what is there’ instead.
In August 2021, Ariana landed the role of Glinda in the film adaptation of the smash hit Broadway musical Wicked alongside Cynthia Erivo.
For the star, it was her ‘dream role,’ and something she manifested 13-years-old.
She previously tweeted: ‘Loved seeing Wicked again… amazing production! Made me realize again how badly I want 2 play Glinda at some point in my life! #DreamRole.’
After Ariana dyed her hair a light blonde for her role as Glinda, fans began to voice their concerns about her appearance, and what appeared to be weight loss from her petite frame.
She addressed speculation in a TikTok video, after some fans shared side-by-side images of her early on her career.
But the pop star insisted that she was at her ‘unhealthiest’ in the old photos that people were using, and that she’s doing much better now.
‘I just wanted to address your concerns about my body and talk a little bit about what it means to be a person with a body [that’s] seen and paid such close attention to,’ she began.
‘I think we should be gentler and less comfortable commenting on people’s bodies, no matter what.
‘If you think you’re saying something good or well-intentioned, whatever it is, healthy or unhealthy, big or small, this or that, sexy or not sexy, we should really work towards not doing that as much.
‘I think we should help each other work towards just being safer and keeping each other safer.’
As for her changing appearance, she added: ‘I just want to say: one, there are many different kinds of beautiful.
‘There are many different ways to look healthy and beautiful, and personally for me, the body that you’ve been comparing my current body to was the unhealthiest version of my body.’
She explained that she was ‘on a lot of anti-depressants’ and ‘drinking on them,’ which is usually not recommended because of dangerous interactions.
She also admitted that she was ‘eating poorly and at the lowest point of her life’ when she ‘looked the way people consider healthy.’
‘I know I shouldn’t have to explain that, but I do feel like maybe having an openness or vulnerability, something good might come from it,’ she added. ‘Healthy can look different.’
Ariana has admitted to suffering from PTSD following the fatal bombing at her May 2017 concert in Manchester, England, which killed 22 people.
The star has continued to spark concern from fans throughout the Wicked press tour as she showcased her petite figure at a selection of red carpet events.
In an interview with the New York Times, both Ariana and Cynthia hinted at intensely pressured schedules on set, with both contracting Covid during filming.
‘We only got sick once each, but both were before some of the most important works of the whole movie — mine was the week before ‘Popular”, Ariana said.
‘I came to set with a mask on my final days of recovery to learn the hallway finale.’
When the actors’ strike forced production to a halt last summer, Cynthia also admitted she was ‘grateful’ as they had both ‘worked [themselves] to the bone’.
‘At first, it felt like an interruption, and then as it went on, it felt like the rest we needed’, she said.
‘We’d worked ourselves to the bone. I was really grateful,’
Fast forward to present day, and Ariana has returned to her brunette locks as her Wicked journey comes to an end with part two released on November 21.
Revealing her new look last month, the star posted a mirror selfie for her million’s of followers on Instagram.
Captioning the upload, she wrote: ‘It’s good to see me, isn’t it?’
Making sure her glam squad got the credit, She also tagged London-based hair colorist Francesco De Chiara, hair stylist Alyx Liu and makeup artist Michael Anthony.
Fans of the beloved Side to Side hitmaker celebrated the return of her natural hair colour.
Taking to Reddit, one exclaimed: ‘FINALLY.’
‘Immediately so much better omg,’ added another, while a third said, ‘This hair color looks gorgeous on her.’
