Frank James Michael Grande Marchione (born January 24, 1983)Murphy, T. Michelle. "10 Facts you won't learn about Frankie Grande on Big Brother 16", Metro.us, September 22, 2014. Retrieved December 3, 2014Grande, Frankie. Frankie J. Grande biography , Blacksheepus.com. Retrieved April 4, 2015 is an American actor, singer and dancer. He has performed on Broadway as Franz in the musical Rock of Ages (2014–2015) and as Victor Garber in Titanique (2026); he also appeared in Mamma Mia! from 2007 to 2010 and has played roles Off-Broadway, in regional theatre productions and on tour. He has produced Broadway shows and both produced and appeared in cabaret acts, including his own one-man show. He has played the villain Frankini recurringly, since 2017, in several TV comedy series, including Henry Danger and Danger Force, and in Henry Danger: The Movie.
In 2014, he was a contestant on the American reality television series Big Brother 16, and in 2023, he was a contestant on Big Brother Reindeer Games. Grande was a judge on the 2015 season of America's Best Dance Crew. From 2016 to 2017, he co-hosted Style Code Live, a live Amazon fashion and shopping show that streamed on weeknights, from which he took off time to compete on the British reality show Celebrity Big Brother 18 in mid-2016. His philanthropic work includes co-founding the non-profit arts organization "Broadway in South Africa" and work for buildOn. He is the older half-brother of Ariana Grande.
Life and career
Early years and producing Frankie Grande was born in New York City, the son of Victor Marchione, a physician,Grande, Frankie. "Frankie Grande: Smoking 'Ain't Cute,' Guys", The Advocate, April 1, 2015; and "Blow on This! IntelliQuit, World's First Stop Smoking Biosensor and Platform Launches a Crowdfunding Campaign with Kickstarter", IntelliQuit press release, October 14, 2014 and Joan Grande, chief executive officer of telephone and alarm system company Hose-McCann Communications.Lipton, Brian. "Man of Style: Frankie Grande", MR Magazine, March 26, 2018; McLean, Craig. "Ariana Grande: 'If you want to call me a diva I'll say: cool'", The Telegraph, October 17, 2014; and "About Hose-McCann Communications", Hose-McCann Communications. Retrieved October 1, 2014Schultz, Brandon. "Frankie Grande on Big Brother and the Hetero-Homo 'Zankie' Showmance That Had Everyone Talking", Out magazine, October 2, 2014 He grew up in Englewood, New Jersey, and moved with his mother to Boca Raton, Florida, at age 10, where he later attended Pine Crest School.Erstein, Hap. "Boca-to-Broadway buddies producing Tony-nominated show" , Florida Weekly, May 19, 2011. Retrieved July 26, 2014Musto, Michael. "Frankie Grande, Ariana Grande's Half Brother, Stars in Rock of Ages", The New York Times, November 12, 2014Cox-Henry, Joanie. "Frankie Grande shares social media advice in upcoming TV special", Sun-Sentinel, August 11, 2015; Marr, Madeleine. "Frankie Grande is thinking big", Miami Herald, September 11, 2015 He began performing in musicals in the fifth grade.Weiner, Natalie. "Frankie Grande Talks Broadway, Twitter & (of Course!) His Sister Ariana", Billboard, November 5, 2015 His maternal half-sister is singer and actress Ariana Grande,Lindner, Emilee. "Ariana Grande Lashes Out in Defense of Her Brother", MTV, August 12, 2014. Retrieved October 21, 2014; and Lovece, Frank. "Ariana Grande, raised Catholic, turns to Kabbalah over brother Frankie Grande's homosexuality", Newsday, October 21, 2014 and he has a paternal half-brother, James Marchione.Gilkas, Bruce. "Victor Marchione, son Frankie J. Grande and brother James Marchione pose at his new show Livin' La Vida Grande at 54 Below on January 20, 2015 in New York City", Getty Images, January 20, 2015; and Grande, Frankie. "Watching the @Giants game with my little bro @Marchione1998", Twitter, November 8, 2015 He graduated from Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania in 2005, having triple-majored in biology, theatre and dance. He considered medical school but decided to take a year off to pursue theatre.
Grande began his professional performing career by 2007, when he appeared as Boots the Monkey in a national tour of Dora the Explorer Live! (Dora's Pirate Adventure) and in regional theatre productions, including the title role in George M!, Mike Costa in A Chorus Line and Lewis in Pippin, among others.Gans, Andrew. "Mamma Mia!'s Grande Named Mr. Broadway 2007", Playbill, May 2, 2007. Retrieved July 26, 2014Sobel, Jon. "Big Brother's Frankie J. Grande, Half-Brother of Ariana Grande, Returning to Broadway in Rock of Ages", Classicalite, October 22, 2014 Later in 2007, he joined the Broadway cast of the musical Mamma Mia!, in the ensemble and as understudy for Eddie,"Frankie James Grande", Playbill Vault. Retrieved July 26, 2014; "Who's Who – Frankie James Grande" , Broadway theatre program for Born Yesterday, April 24, 2011, reprinted at Playbill Vault. Retrieved July 26, 2014; and "Who's Who – Frankie James Grande" , Broadway theatre program for Hamlet, October 5, 2009, reprinted at Playbill Vault. Retrieved July 26, 2014 in which he performed for three years.Outwater, Myra Yellin. "Muhlenberg opens summer musical season with Crazy for You", The Morning Call, June 5, 2013. Retrieved July 26, 2014
Grande produced shows on and off Broadway, including Broadway productions of Hamlet (2009) starring Jude Law and revivals of La Bête (2010–2011) starring David Hyde Pierce and Born Yesterday (2011) starring Jim Belushi.McPhee, Ryan. "Broadway in the House! Frankie James Grande, Brother of Ariana Grande, to Compete on New Season of Big Brother", Broadway.com, June 19, 2014. Retrieved December 3, 2014; and "Frankie Grande, Mallory Hagan, and Antoine L. Smith Set to Judge Rising Star Competition on 5/8", BroadwayWorld.com, May 7, 2016 He also produced Brooke Shields' one-woman cabaret show in 2011."Photo Coverage: Brooke Shields Plays Feinstein's", BroadwayWorld.com, February 2, 2011. Retrieved July 30, 2014; and "Frankie Grande, Mallory Hagan, and Antoine L. Smith Set to Judge Rising Star Competition on 5/8", BroadwayWorld.com, May 7, 2016 Grande has performed in cabaret acts in New York City, including at Birdland Jazz ClubBlank, Matthew. "'Miranda Sings Christmas Spectacular', With Lauren Kennedy and Frankie Grande" , Playbill, December 20, 2011. Retrieved July 26, 2014 and 54 Below.Gioia, Michael. "Katie Thompson Celebrates Christmas With a 'K' Dec. 3 at 54 Below With Frankie James Grande, Julia Mattison and More", Playbill, December 3, 2013. Retrieved July 26, 2014 Grande was named "Mr. Broadway" in the "Mr. Broadway 2007" charity benefit. In 2013, he starred as Bobby in a summer theatre production of the musical Crazy for You."Ariana Grande Attends Her Brother Frankie Grande's Performance of Crazy For You" , Disney Dreaming, June 29, 2013. Retrieved July 26, 2014 He also presented his own show in New York, Livin' la Vida Grande, at the Laurie Beechman Theatre."Frankie Grande's One-Man Show Living La Vida Grade (sic) Comes to New York, Now thru 9/15", BroadwayWorld.com, September 13, 2013. Retrieved July 26, 2014Voss, Brandon. "Frankie J. Grande in Rock of Ages", The Advocate, November 24, 2014
2014–2016 In February 2014, Grande played Consuela Off-Broadway in a revival of the musical Pageant.Hetrick, Adam. "New York Return of Pageant Sells Out; Additional Performance Added", Playbill, February 6, 2014. In June of that year, he performed at DigiFest NYC.Smith, Michael Kirby. "Stars of YouTube Take to the Stage", The New York Times, June 7, 2014. See also Photo of Grande singing at DigiFest NYC, The New York Times. Retrieved July 28, 2014"These Photos from DigiFest NYC Will Give You a Serious Case of FOMO", MTV, June 9, 2014 In mid-2014, Grande appeared on the American reality television series Big Brother 16. MTV called his 12 weeks on the show "controversial ... peppered with some powerful, outrageous, and downright impressive moments".Murphy, Shaunna. "Frankie Grande's 7 Most Outrageous Big Brother Moments", MTV, September 17, 2014 Grande placed 5th out of 16 contestants."Frankie Grande Defends Sister Ariana From Diva Rumors at Big Brother Finale", ETOnline, September 25, 2014
Grande returned to Broadway in November 2014 as Franz in the musical Rock of Ages for a two-month engagement.Gomez, Patrick. "Big Brother's Frankie Grande Is Headed to Broadway", People, October 21, 2014; "BWW Flashback: The Final Countdown – Rock of Ages Closes on Broadway Tonight!", BroadwayWorld, January 18, 2015 He appeared on Good Day New York and performed "Hit Me With Your Best Shot"."Frankie J. Grande gushes about sister Ariana", MyFoxNY.com, November 18, 2014 The same month, he co-hosted the red carpet pre-show of the American Music Awards.Walano, Rose. "Ariana Grande's Brother, Frankie J., Hits AMAs Red Carpet Without a Real Shirt: See His Painted-On Outfit!", Us Weekly magazine, November 23, 2014; "Yahoo to Live-Stream the 2014 American Music Awards Red Carpet Preshow", Yahoo Music, November 7, 2014; and Heigl, Alex. "Frankie Grande Wears a Painted-On Shirt to the AMAs", People magazine, November 23, 2014 In 2014, TV Guide called Grande one of "Our Favorite YouTube Stars"."Frankie J. Grande", TV Guide. Retrieved September 17, 2014Piwowarski, Allison. "Big Brother Frankie Grande's YouTube Videos Will Make You Love Him Even More", Bustle.com, July 2014 He was featured in a 2014 ABC Nightline segment about entertainers who use social media to boost their success.Faris, Paula. "When Using Social Media for Do-It-Yourself Fame Leads to Big Breaks", Nightline, American Broadcasting Company, November 20, 2014 Writing in The New York Times in 2014, Michael Musto termed Grande "friskily ambitious". Another reporter called him "unabashedly enthusiastic about life."Weiss, Sabrina Rojas. "Frankie Grande Shares the Secrets to Being a Social Media Magnet", Refinery29, August 17, 2015