Ariana Grande changes her name in Wicked movie credits after reconnecting with her father

Ariana Grande has changed her name back to her full birth name in the credits of her new movie Wicked after reconnecting with her father.

It now reads ‘Ariana Grande-Butera’ when the film credits appear at the beginning and end of the epic musical fantasy film, E! News.

The Thank U, Next star’s full name is a mix of her mother’s last name, Joan Grande, and her father’s name, Ed Butera.

The name change comes after the hitmaker and her estranged father mended their relationship after falling out of contact in 2013.

Grande’s graphic designer father divorced her mother, Joan, when the star was eight.

Lucky moviegoers in Sydney, Australia, were among the first fans to see Wicked, starring Grande-Butera as Glinda The Good Witch of the North, when the film made its world premiere at the State Theater on November 3.

“Wow, that movie was insane,” a fan could be heard in the theater as the credits rolled and the outro music blared in the background.

“It was so good,” a young woman said on camera, wiping tears from her face. “It was so good I cried five times.”

Ariana previously addressed her relationship with her father in the 2018 song Thank U, Next, where she sang, “One day I’ll walk down the aisle / Hand in hand with my mother / I’ll thank my father because she grew of the drama.’

She described their argument as “one of the hardest things” she had to deal with.

“It’s private… It took me so long to come to terms with it,” she said Seventeen magazine from 2014.

“So much of me comes from my father, and I didn’t like that about myself for so long. I had to accept that it’s okay to not get along with someone and still love them.”

She would give fans a brief glimpse into her relationship with her father as it was on the rise in a social media post of a throwback photo of her father in 2017, writing, “I love you.”

The singer, songwriter and actress was born Ariana Grande-Butera on June 26, 1993 in Boca Raton, Florida.

Her family moved from New York to the Sunshine State before her birth, but her parents later separated.

Due to their family dynamic, she chose to use her mother’s last name, Grande, professionally, although some people suspect that her close relationship with her maternal grandmother, Marjorie Grande, may also have played a role in the name change.

Although no specific date has been recorded when she formally changed her professional name, she simply began using “Ariana Grande”, primarily for her music and acting careers, sometime in the late 2000s or early 2010s.

Ultimately, the We Can’t Be Friends singer and her father fell out of touch and became estranged in 2013.

But in recent years, father and daughter have reconnected and appear to be on a much more positive path forward in their lives.

She also posted a black and white photo of herself FaceTiming with him over Christmas in 2018, and another of them posing together backstage at one of her concerts on her Instagram Story, with the caption: “Foreva.”

Fast forward to the world premiere in Sydney and Grande teased fans in the United States by writing “20 days” in an Instagram post, in reference to the highly anticipated US debut, alongside a black and white photo of her and co-star Cynthia Erivo.

She also shared a birthday tribute to film director John M. Chu, who turned 45 on Sunday: “Happy Birthday to truly the greatest director and human being on the planet,” she wrote. “Thank you for being the most thoughtful, empathetic and brilliant leader, as well as the fiercest and most incredible friend.”

The Florida native concluded, “we appreciate and love you so endlessly!!!!!!!!!! @jonmchu.’

She then teased ahead to Sunday’s big world premiere in Sydney, writing: “See you tonight in Oz.”

The superstar performer, who plays Glinda The Good Witch, arrived at the Sydney State Theater alongside her current boyfriend and co-star Ethan Slater Cynthia Erivo.

Wicked is the origin story of “a green-skinned woman who becomes the Wicked Witch of the West.”

It serves as a prequel to The Wizard of Oz, exploring the story before Dorothy’s arrival and exploring the past friendship between the characters Elphaba and Glinda.

In addition to Eviro and Grande, the cast also includes Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Ethan Slater, Marissa Bode, Bowen Yang, Bronwyn James, Keala Settle, Peter Dinklage, Aaron Teoh, Grecia de la Paz, Colin Michael Carmichael , Adam James and Andy Nyman.

The film is about an unlikely friendship that develops between Elphaba and Glinda, two clashing witches in the magical land of Oz.

Elphaba is wrongly cast as an evil witch as she tries to expose the fraudulent, corrupt wizard who rules the land.

Wicked: Part One hits U.S. theaters on November 22, with the sequel, Wicked Part Two, following the following year, premiering in theaters on November 21, 2025.