Frankie J. Grande

Frankie J. Grande, born Frank James Michael Grande Marchione on January 24, 1983, in New York City, is an American actor, singer, dancer, television host, and producer whose career has spanned Broadway, Off-Broadway, regional theatre, television, and cabaret. He is the older half-brother of singer and actress Ariana Grande. His father, Victor Marchione, is a physician, and his mother, Joan Grande, serves as chief executive officer of Hose-McCann Communications, a telephone and alarm system company. Grande grew up in Englewood, New Jersey, before relocating with his mother to Boca Raton, Florida, at age ten, where he attended Pine Crest School. He began performing in musicals as early as the fifth grade. He went on to graduate from Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania in 2005 with a triple major in biology, theatre, and dance, and considered pursuing medical school before choosing to dedicate himself to theatre.

Grande launched his professional performing career around 2007, taking on the role of Boots the Monkey in a national tour of Dora the Explorer Live! and appearing in regional theatre productions in roles including the title role in George M!, Mike Costa in A Chorus Line, and Lewis in Pippin. Later that same year, he joined the Broadway cast of Mamma Mia!, performing in the ensemble and understudying the role of Eddie for three years, from 2007 to 2010. In 2013, he starred as Bobby in a summer theatre production of Crazy for You, and in February 2014 he played Consuela Off-Broadway in a revival of Pageant. He returned to Broadway in November 2014, joining the cast of Rock of Ages as Franz for a two-month engagement.

Alongside his performing work, Grande built a substantial career as a Broadway producer. His producing credits include the 2009 Broadway production of Hamlet starring Jude Law, a 2010–2011 revival of La Bête starring David Hyde Pierce, and a 2011 revival of Born Yesterday starring Jim Belushi. The La Bête and Born Yesterday productions each received Drama Desk Award nominations for Outstanding Revival of a Play, in 2010 and 2011 respectively. He also produced a one-woman cabaret show for Brooke Shields in 2011. As a performer in cabaret, Grande has appeared at venues including Birdland Jazz Club and 54 Below in New York City, and presented his own autobiographical one-man show, Livin' la Vida Grande, at the Laurie Beechman Theatre. He revived that show at 54 Below in January 2015 and in Los Angeles in January 2016, and performed it at The Box in New York City in June 2016.

Grande's television work has been extensive. In mid-2014, he competed on the American reality series Big Brother 16, placing fifth out of sixteen contestants after twelve weeks. In 2023, he returned to compete on Big Brother Reindeer Games. He served as a judge on the 2015 MTV series America's Best Dance Crew All-Stars: Road to the VMAs and co-hosted the live Amazon fashion and shopping program Style Code Live from March 2016 through May 2017, taking a break in mid-2016 to appear on the British reality series Celebrity Big Brother 18, where he finished in sixth place. Beginning in September 2017, Grande began a recurring role as the villain Frankini on the Nickelodeon sitcom Henry Danger, a character he has continued to portray across several related series, including Danger Force and Henry Danger: The Movie. He also appeared in October 2017 in the season two finale of the Netflix series Haters Back Off as a fictionalized version of himself, and competed on the CBS game show Candy Crush in July 2017. The following month, he appeared in the Vimeo web series Indoor Boys, earning a Best Actor nomination at the 2018 Indie Series Awards.

In addition to his entertainment career, Grande co-founded the non-profit arts organization Broadway in South Africa and has done philanthropic work with the organization buildOn. He was named Mr. Broadway at the 2007 charity benefit of the same name. In January 2016, he and his sister launched a unisex fragrance called Frankie by Ariana Grande. In May 2017, he released a music single titled Queen, which reached number 35 on the Billboard Twitter Top Tracks chart for the week of July 15, 2017. His Broadway credits span from 2001 to 2026 and include Titanique in addition to his work in Rock of Ages and Mamma Mia!.