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Ariana Grande is still in the thick of Wicked mania, but fans are already predicting which film role she’ll take on next, with a little help from one of her recent red carpet looks.
The singer and actress, who most recently portrayed Glinda in the movie adaptation of Wicked, stepped out to accept the Rising Star award at the Palm Springs Film Festival over the weekend. While most fans shared their excitement around Grande’s successful and now-acclaimed venture into acting, others took her new hairstyle and recognizable makeup as a signal for a potential film role to come. Sporting short, gamine bangs swept to the side, Grande’s new look clearly recalled Audrey Hepburn’s style, with her doe-eyed eyeliner with soft pink cheeks uncannily channeling the movie icon.
Naturally, since Grande has expressed interest in taking a break from music to pursue film, many took the Hepburn-inspired look as a sign that she is perhaps campaigning for the role of the iconic actress in an upcoming biopic. “Her subtly campaigning for that Audrey Hepburn role,” one fan theorized on X, “I see you, Ariana.” Others applauded the singer/actress for “using [the] Wicked press tour to campaign for the Audrey Hepburn biopic,” and expressed excitement since the singer “truly is a reincarnation of Audrey Hepburn.”
While the fan-casting has been met with enthusiasm in some corners of social media — with one user declaring “that role WILL BE HERS” — others were less thrilled by the prospect. “I’m actually insulted that anyone thinks Ariana is fit for the role of AUDREY F****N HEPBURN,” one onlooker wrote, “be so for real.” Elsewhere, fans cited Grande’s height as unfit for portraying the much taller Hepburn, or listed fellow actresses’ they believe would be better suited for the role, like Emily in Paris’ Lily Collins. Another name floating around is Rooney Mara, who is actually already attached to a Hepburn biopic project and has discussed its development over the years.
For context, it was announced in 2022 that Hepburn would receive the biopic treatment with Mara in the leading role and Challengers filmmaker Luca Guadagnino on board to direct. In February of last year, however, it was revealed that Guadagnino had dropped out of the project, though Mara didn’t quash hopes that Hepburn’s story would eventually make it to the big screen. “The project is not completely dead,” the actress said last year, “Luca is no longer going to be directing it, but the project is still very much alive.”
Details about the film’s status have remained scarce in the months since, though Grande has proven skillful in channelling her upcoming roles in the past. The actress recently revealed that she began wearing Glinda-like pink clothes during public appearances before her casting in Wicked, so perhaps her Hepburn-inspired looks will make good on her evident knack for manifestation. In any case, the “thank u, next” singer is still firmly in Wicked mode, and received a Golden Globe nomination for Supporting Actress for her role in the blockbuster musical.
For those keeping track, she again sported those Hepburn bangs while walking the red carpet for the ceremony, so don’t be too surprised if Grande follows the yellow brick road all the way to an inevitable biopic. After all, stranger things have certainly happened on the seemingly never-ending Wicked press tour.