Ariana Grande just returned to the big screen as Glinda in Wicked: For Good—but just like with the first film, you might have noticed that she was credited at the end as Ariana Grande-Butera. Wondering why Ariana opted to use her full legal name for the Wicked credits? It has everything to do with her dad, Ed Butera, who just supported her at the Wicked: For Good Paris premiere earlier this month.

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Want to know more about Ariana’s father? Read on to learn more about him and their relationship over the years.

He’s a graphic designer and photographer.

Creativity runs in the family, because Ed is a graphic designer and photographer who founded Ibi Designs, a studio based in South Florida, in 1992. According to his company’s official website, he’s produced award-winning websites, graphics, and photography throughout his career.

He and Ariana’s mom, Joan, split up when Ari was young.

According to multiple sources, Ed and Joan divorced when Ariana was 8 years old.

Ariana fell out of touch with him in 2013.

During her Seventeen cover story in 2014, Ariana opened up about being estranged from her father and admitted that it was the toughest thing for her to deal with.

“It’s private, but it happened last year,” she said. “It took me so long to be okay with it. The thing that got me there was embracing the fact that I am made up of half my dad and a lot of my traits come from him.”

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

Ed received a shout-out on thank u, next and they reconciled their relationship in 2019.

Yep. On the bridge of her number one hit, Ariana sang, “One day I’ll walk down the aisle / Holding hands with my mama / I’ll be thanking my dad / ‘Cause she grew from the drama.”

Shortly after the song came out, Ed and Ariana seemingly reconciled as they spent Thanksgiving together for the first time in eight years. Since then, he’s attended events, celebrated holidays with Ariana, and they’ve shown each other love on social media.

Ed attended the Grammys with Ariana and Joan in 2020...

Speaking of thank u, next, Ariana performed it at the Grammys, where she brought her parents as her dates for the evening. During her performance, she honored her dad and changed the lyrics to “I’ll be thanking my dad / ’Cause he’s really awesome.”

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...and the VMAs in 2025

Cute cute cuuuute.

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Ariana decided to honor her dad in the Wicked credits.

Ariana chose to go by her full name, Ariana Grande-Butera, in the credits for both Wicked and Wicked: For Good, and she revealed that she made the move to honor her parents’ lifelong support for her. When asked why she went with her “full grown-up name,” Ariana said, “Technically, it’s my little girl name.”

“I just feel like this experience was such a homecoming for me,” she said during a November 2024 interview. “That was my name when I went to see the show when I was 10 years old, and it felt like a really lovely way of honoring that. It felt really full circle.”

He played a big role in eternal sunshine: brighter days ahead short film.

Fans praised Ed for his performance and involvement in Ari’s project, where he symbolically put her back together after her character faced tragic events. She even shared a sweet message for him as she posted behind-the-scenes pics and videos on Instagram. “Hampstead ♡ (featuring my brilliant and most amazing dad @edbutera !!!!!!)” she captioned one of her posts.

ICYMI, check out the full film below.