Frankie Marchione

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, accessed December 3, 2014 is an American dancer, actor, singer, producer, television host and YouTube personality. He is the older half-brother of singer and actress Ariana Grande.

He performed on Broadway as Franz in the musical ''Rock of Ages'' (2014–2015) and in ''Mamma Mia!'' (2007–2010) and has played roles Off-Broadway, in regional theatre productions and on tour. Grande has produced Broadway shows and both produced and appeared in cabaret acts, including his own one-man show. In 2012, Grande established a YouTube channel and has also been building a following on Twitter and Instagram. In 2014, he was a contestant on the U.S. reality television series '' Big Brother 16''.

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 UK 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.

Life and career

Early life

Frankie Grande was born in New York City, the son of Victor Marchione, a physician, and Joan Grande, chief executive officer of telephone and alarm system company Hose-McCann Communications.Schultz, 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, accessed July 26, 2014 Musto, Michael
"Frankie Grande, Ariana Grande’s Half Brother, Stars in ''Rock of Ages''"
'' The New York Times'', November 12, 2014 He began performing in musicals in the fifth grade.Weiner, Natalie
"Frankie Grande Talks Broadway, Twitter & (of Course!) His Sister Ariana"
Billboard.com, November 5, 2015 His half-sister is singer and actress Ariana Grande, and he has a half-brother, James Marchione. Grande is openly gay. 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.

He 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, accessed July 26, 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, accessed July 26, 2014
"Who's Who – Frankie James Grande"
, Broadway theatre program for ''Born Yesterday'', April 24, 2011, reprinted at Playbill Vault, accessed July 26, 2014; an
"Who's Who – Frankie James Grande"
, Broadway theatre program for '' Hamlet'', October 5, 2009, reprinted at Playbill Vault, accessed 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, accessed 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. He also produced Brooke Shields' one-woman cabaret show in 2011. Grande has performed in cabaret acts in New York City, including at Birdland Jazz Club and 54 Below. 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''. He also presented his own show in New York, ''Livin' la Vida Grande'', at the Laurie Beechman Theatre.

2014–2016

In February 2014, Grande played Consuela Off-Broadway in a revival of the musical ''Pageant''. In June of that year, he performed at DigiFest NYC. In mid-2014, Grande appeared on the US reality television series '' Big Brother 16''. MTV called his 12 weeks on the show "controversial ... peppered with some powerful, outrageous, and downright impressive moments". Grande placed 5th out of 16 contestants.

Grande returned to Broadway in November 2014 as Franz in the musical ''Rock of Ages'' for a two-month engagement. He appeared on '' Good Day New York'' and performed "Hit Me With Your Best Shot". 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 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". He was featured in a 2014 ABC ''Nightline'' segment about entertainers who use social media to boost their success. Writing in '' The New York Times'' in 2014, Michael Musto termed Grande "friskily ambitious". Another reporter called him "unabashedly enthusiastic about life."

In 2015, ''Billboard'' included Grande in its list of "32 of the top social media stars on the Internet today." In January 2015, Grande again performed his one-man cabaret show at 54 Below. In February, he appeared in a music video for Lance Bass and modeled for Malan Breton at New York Fashion Week. In March, Grande was an ''Entertainment Tonight'' interviewer at the 2015 Kids' Choice Awards."Cody Simpson Responds to Gigi Hadid Cocaine Scandal: 'She Would Never Do Anything Like That'"
''Entertainment Tonight'', March 28, 2015; an
"Fifth Harmony on Zayn Malik Leaving One Direction: 'It's the End of an Era'"
''ET'', filmed March 28, 2015, posted March 30, 2015. See als
"Kids' Choice Awards 2015: Frankie Grande"
CBSNews, March 30, 2015 He also appeared in the documentary short film, "Malan Breton: A Journey to Taiwan", which won the 2015 New York City International Film Festival award for "Best Short Documentary"."''Malan Breton – A Journey to Taiwan'' wins the NYCIFF award for Best Short Documentary"
, ''Daily News Detroit'', May 12, 2015, accessed January 14, 2016 In June he appeared at DigiFest NYC, and the following month he served as a judge for the #JoeyShine Video Contest. Grande was a judge on the 2015 reality TV series '' America's Best Dance Crew All-Stars: Road to the VMAs'', on MTV in 2015.Phillips, Jevon
"''America's Best Dance Crew: Road to the VMAs'' starts, and one crew hits bottom quick"
'' Los Angeles Times'', July 30, 2015 He hosted a TV special on the Oxygen channel in August 2015 called ''Worst.Post.Ever: With Frankie Grande'' about social media ''faux pas''."Worst.Post.Ever: With Frankie Grande"
Oxygen.com, August 18, 2015 The following month, he made a guest appearance on '' Big Brother 17''. He co-hosted the red carpet pre-show of the '' American Music Awards'' again in 2015.Middleton, Ryan
"Skrillex, Diplo Reveal New EP Planned For Early 2016"
MusicTimes.com, November 23, 2015 Throughout the year, he also regularly performed a number in his sister's The Honeymoon Tour. Grande was nominated for a 2016 People's Choice Award.

Grande revived his autobiographical one-man show, ''Livin' La Vida Grande'', in Los Angeles in January 2016. The same month, he and his sister launched a unisex fragrance named "Frankie by Ariana Grande". Beginning March 2016, Grande co-hosted Amazon.com's live show, ''Style Code Live'' (''SCL''), which covers celebrity trends as well as fashion and beauty news and tips. The show allows viewers to shop for the items discussed and to ask questions interactively. It streams live each weeknight. A review in '' The Washington Post'' called the show "something of a mash-up between QVC and E! News". Grande performed his cabaret act, ''Livin' la Vida Grande'', at The Box in New York City over a weekend in June 2016. He was also a guest panelist on Logo TV's ''Gay for Play Game Show Starring RuPaul'' in a 2016 episode. In July and August, Grande appeared on the UK reality TV show '' Celebrity Big Brother 18'', finishing in 6th place."Celebrity Big Brother: Who's in the house?"
BBC, July 29, 2016 He recorded a segment on fashions in the ''Celebrity Big Brother'' house for ''SCL'', and returned to co-hosting ''SCL'' full-time in September 2016. Grande continued to host ''SCL'' until May 2017."Frankie Grande Premieres Video for Debut Single 'Queen,' Talks Ariana, Broadway & Glam Rock Inspirations"
Billboard.com, May 18, 2017

2017–present

Together with Olivia Culpo, he critiqued the 2017 Golden Globes fashions on '' The Today Show''. Grande modeled for Propaganda by Richie Rich, and again for Breton, at Madison Square Garden during New York Fashion Week in February 2017. In May 2017, he released a music single, "Queen", and an accompanying music video, about his inspiration by '70s glam rock icons. He launched an app partnership, YouCam Make-up, in June, which ties in to the single. "Queen" ranked number 35 on the ''Billboard'' Twitter Top Tracks chart for the week dated July 15, 2017. In July, Grande competed on the CBS TV game show '' Candy Crush''. The following month, he appeared on the Vimeo web series ''Indoor Boys''; for this he was nominated for a Best Actor award at the 2018 Indie Series Awards. He guest-starred in September 2017 in a two-part episode of Nickelodeon's sitcom ''Henry Danger'', Season 3, "Live & Dangerous", in the role of Frankini. In October 2017 Grande appeared in the season 2 finale of the Netflix television series '' Haters Back Off'' as a fictionalized version of himself.Spangler, Todd
"Colleen Ballinger on Miranda Sings' Evolution, Working With Netflix and Sexual Harassment in the Industry"
''Variety'', October 25, 2017; and Ballinger, Colleen
"broadway or buts"
'' Haters Back Off, Season 2, Episode 8, Netflix, October 20, 2017 In December, he appeared on ''Trivial Takedown'' on ''Fuse'' TV.

In January 2018, Grande starred in ''The Unauthorized Musical Parody of: Rocky'' at Rockwell Table and Stage in Los Angeles. The following month, he hosted the red carpet and performed at the Make-Up Artists and Hairstylists Guild Awards in Los Angeles. Grande played Frank-n-Furter in '' The Rocky Horror Show'' in Los Angeles and then joined the cast of the off-Broadway show '' Cruel Intentions: The Musical'' at (Le) Poisson Rouge as Blaine in March 2018. In May 2018, Grande reprised the role of Frankini in a fourth season episode of ''Henry Danger'' titled "Captain Man-kini","Captain Man is Going to Body Swap with Frankini?!"
''Henry Danger'', Nickelodeon, May 13, 2018 and also guest-starred on '' RuPaul's Drag Race''.Munzenrieder, Kyle
"RuPaul's Drag Race Season 10, Episode 10 Power Rankings: The Trade of it All"
''W magazine'', May 24, 2018; and Schuessler, Bobby
"Frankie Grande Transforms Into Eureka from Drag Race – and Slays"
''Out'' magazine, May 25, 2018 In July he returned for another guest appearance on ''Indoor Boys''. He starred as Finch in a July 2018 Muhlenberg production of '' How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying''. A reviewer wrote: "His Finch is utterly charming and has an adorable innocence that belies the manipulative techniques he employs to get ahead." In August, he played Captain Victor Garber in New York City in a parody jukebox musical, based on the music of Céline Dion, called ''Titanique: In Conceret''. He also appeared in the show's return engagement later in the year. He continued to performed in ''Titanique'' in pop-up concert engagements in Los Angeles and New York during the Covid-19 pandemic and in a live version of the show carried on the streaming platform Stellar on May 2, 2021.

Grande also continued to perform his one-man show at nightclubs. He returned as Frankini for a musical episode of ''Henry Danger'' in July 2019 titled "Henry Danger: The Musical", in which he places a curse on Swellview that forces everyone to sing instead of speak.Gomez, Patrick
"Exclusive first look at Frankie Grande's return to ''Henry Danger'' – and it's for a musical special!"
''Entertainment Weekly'', May 11, 2019; and Joseph, Trinity and Will Linendoll
"Is it Frankie or Frankini? Frankie J. Grande gets candid about his character"
GMA, July 27, 2019Grant, Stacey
"Ella Anderson & Riele Downs Reveal Secrets About the Henry Danger Musical"
''Seventeen'', June 11, 2019 He reprised his role of Franz in a Los Angeles production of ''Rock of Ages'' in late 2019. Grande played the role of Richard in the 2020 film ''Spree'' He starred in the 2021 Macy Gray video of "Undone". and played Frankini in several episodes of '' Danger Force'' from 2020 to 2022. Since 2021, together with Hector Navarro, he has been hosting the Nickelodeon podcast ''SpongeBob BingePants''. In April 2022, Grande reprised the role of Frankini in a crossover episode of '' Side Hustle'',Martin, Annie
"Nickelodeon stars to converge in ''When Worlds Collide'' crossover special"
UPI.com, April 15, 2022 and from June to September, he reprises the role of Victor Garber in an off-Broadway engagement of ''Titanique'' at The Asylum Theatre.

As of 2022, Grande's social media presence included more than 400,000 YouTube subscribers and 30 million views on YouTube,"FrankieJGrande: About"
YouTube, accessed August 13, 2022 more than 2 million followers on Instagram and one million followers on Twitter.

Philanthropy

In 2007, Grande co-founded the non-profit arts organization "Broadway in South Africa", traveling to South Africa to teach performance arts to disadvantaged youth for seven years, before the charity merged with buildOn. In 2013, Grande helped buildOn to build a school in a rural village in Malawi, in southeastern Africa, and in 2014 buildOn honored him for his efforts with its Global Impact Award.A 2015 video of Grande in Malawi shows him viewing the school that he helped to build there in 2013 and beginning a new school. Grande, Frankie
"Frank Grande School Malawi"
YouTube.com, January 6, 2015 Grande is an anti-smoking advocate. Grande donated the money that he won on ''Big Brother 16'' (from the "Team America" twist he was a part of) to buildOn, to build another school in Africa. In January 2015, he returned to Malawi to help begin construction of the school, named in memory of his grandfather. Grande raised additional money for buildOn, to fund the school, eventually surpassing his goal of $70,000. Grande participated in a 2016 fire prevention public service announcement called 2steps2minutes and the annual ''Broadway Bares'' show to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

In June 2018, Grande headlined the annual "Broadway Sings for Pride" benefit concert at The Cutting Room in New York. He is also an active participant in AIDS/LifeCycle, an annual event that raises money to fight HIV/AIDS. He raised over $38,000 in 2018. Grande also rode in the event in June 2019.

Personal life

In 2019, Grande began dating Hale Leon, and on June 8, 2021, the couple became engaged. On May 4, 2022, the couple married.

Filmography

Films

Television

References

External links

Official website
*
*

Backstage with Grande
at ''Rock of Ages'', 2015, by Broadway.com
*

Interview of Grande on the set of ''Style Code Live''
(October 2016)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grande, Frankie
1983 births
21st-century American male actors
21st-century American singers
American male dancers
American male musical theatre actors
American theatre managers and producers
American gay actors
American gay musicians
Living people
People from Boca Raton, Florida
LGBT people from Florida
LGBT people from New York (state)
LGBT producers
LGBT singers from the United States
Male actors from Florida
Muhlenberg College alumni
Singers from Florida
Singers from New York City
Singers from New Jersey
People from Englewood, New Jersey
Male actors from New York City
American people of Italian descent
LGBT rights activists from the United States
Big Brother (American TV series) contestants
21st-century American male singers
21st-century LGBT people