Ariana Grande had an important member of her real-life family to lean on for inspiration after joining the Focker clan: her late grandmother, who the pop star says has things in common with her Focker-in-Law character, Olivia.
While speaking to Variety on Sunday (Nov. 16) at the 2025 Governors Awards, Grande was asked to confirm rumors that she plays a “ballbuster” in Focker-in-Law. Hitting theaters next year, the film will serve as the fourth installation in the Meet the Parents saga.
“She is, she can be that way,” the singer-actress replied, laughing. “But she’s a really good girl.”
When asked whether she’s also a “ballbuster” in real life, Grande replied, “I’m Italian, so technically, yes, I’m like that.”
“My Nonna was a ball-buster,” she added affectionately.
Grande’s grandmother died at the age of 99 in June. She was a beloved figure in the Wicked star’s fanbase, and by guesting on her granddaughter’s Eternal Sunshine track “Ordinary Things,” Nonna became the senior-most artist to ever chart on the Billboard Hot 100.
Details of Focker-in-Law have largely been kept under wraps, but Grande will star alongside Ben Stiller, Robert De Niro, Owen Wilson, Teri Polo, Blythe Danner and Skyler Gisondo in the project. After filming wrapped in October, the R.E.M. Beauty founder gushed on Instagram, “these past few months have been so, so unimaginably special. i love my Fockers, and i love my Byrnes… so, so very much. i will miss this bunch terribly.”
Stiller has also previously praised Grande, telling Jimmy Fallon earlier in November, “It’s crazy how talented [she is] … She’s so great with comedy. She’s amazing in Wicked and she’s such a good singer, obviously, too.”
Focker-in-Law is one of several screen projects Grande has taken on since shifting her career to include more acting post-Wicked. She will also lend her voice to Jon M. Chu’s animated film adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ Oh, the Places You’ll Go!, and soon, she’ll make her debut in Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Story, reuniting with her “We Can’t Be Friends” music video leading man Evan Peters and former Scream Queens costar Emma Roberts.
Of AHS, Grande told Variety that she only knows “a little tiny bit” about what’s in store for season 13.
“I am coming into the world in a way that I don’t know much about yet,” she revealed. “But I think I’ll probably have a very tiny thing to do in it, but I’ll be grateful to be a part of it because I love everyone involved.”
Watch Grande chat about Focker-in-Law, her Nonna and AHS below.
