Ariana Grande Shares How Mac Miller Inspired Her to 'Shed' Her Nickelodeon Look and Embrace Her Natural Hair
- - Ariana Grande Shares How Mac Miller Inspired Her to 'Shed' Her Nickelodeon Look and Embrace Her Natural Hair
Michelle LeeJanuary 14, 2026 at 11:06 PM
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Mac Miller and Ariana Grande in 2016 -
Ariana Grande reflected on her relationship with Mac Miller, who died in 2018
On The Hollywood Reporter's podcast, the singer said that the rapper encouraged her to "embrace" her natural hair color during her Your Truly era
Grande also talked about balancing her music and acting careers and how her hair was affected by that time in her life
Ariana Grande is remembering the way the late Mac Miller influenced her life.
In a Jan. 13 episode of The Hollywood Reporter's Awards Chatter podcast (which was recorded in front of an audience at Chapman University in December), the Grammy winner shared how the rapper, in her words, "encouraged me to be myself."
While reflecting on the making of her first solo album, Yours Truly, during her Nickelodeon days, Grande, 32, shared that her former boyfriend told her, "that it was okay to kind of shed that character and embrace my brown hair and make R&B-influenced pop music and...do the brave thing. I've never said that, but it was great influence."
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Mac Miller and Ariana Grande performing in 2013
Grande and Miller went public with their relationship in September 2016, three years after they collaborated on her hit single “The Way.” The two amicably split as their busy schedules became too much, TMZ reported at the time.
Miller died on Sept. 7, 2018, at age 26 from an apparent overdose. At the time, a rep close to Grande told PEOPLE that his death was "devastating and shocking to her. It’s had a huge, negative impact on her life. It made her rethink many things in her life.”
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Mac MIller in 2016 and Ariana Grande in 2026
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Elsewhere in her interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the "Honeymoon Avenue" singer looked back on the evolution of her hair from her Cat Valentine red to her natural brunette.
"I think there was definitely a time when it was hard to do [acting and music] at the same time," Grande said. "I do remember when, before the red wig entered the chat, when my hair was actually dyed red, there was a time when I was performing on the weekends as Ariana Grande, and I would have to tone my hair brown on Friday night after we wrapped filming. And then late Sunday night, I would have to do a clarifying rinse to try and get the red back for Monday morning to be on set at 6 a.m."
And when conversation of her signature ponytail came up, Grande explained that it was "not a strategic thing" that symbolized her next era. "Since I was a little girl, I always liked my hair out of my face. I always had a headband on or a bun or a ponytail or something."
More recently, Grande again returned to her natural hair color after rocking blonde hair for three years asWicked's Glinda. She stepped out with her darker hair color at the 2026 Critics Choice Awards on Jan. 4.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
