Ariana Grande’s Wicked bubble surely didn’t burst at the 2026 Critics Choice Awards, even though she did not take home the trophy for Best Supporting Actress.
Grande, 32, was honored for her role as Glinda in Wicked: For Good during the Sunday, January 4, awards ceremony held at California’s Barker Hangar. It was Amy Madigan who took home the trophy for Weapons.
Grande had been nominated against Elle Fanning (Sentimental Value), Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas (Sentimental Value), Madigan, Wunmi Mosaku (Sinners) and Teyana Taylor (One Battle After Another).
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Wicked: For Good, the second half of the movie musical based on the acclaimed Broadway production of the same name, is also nominated in six other Critics Choice categories, including Best Picture.
Grande completely transformed into the Good Witch of the North, a role she long dreamed of playing, for the two-part Wicked films.
“Maybe people underestimate how long we spent finding and disappearing into these women,” Grande told Variety in a January 2025 profile, also referring to Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba. “When certain inflections or mannerisms take time to melt away, sometimes people poke fun, but we had a job to do, and we had things to get lost in — because that’s what the piece required.”
She continued, “Glinda required a lot of vocal work for me. Certain things maybe won’t melt away. Some will, but I’m really grateful for the pieces that will stay with us forever. What a beautiful thing to be left with, and to feel the ghost of every day.”
Grande and Erivo, 38, got especially close on set, even making a “pact” to protect one another.
“We hear often how female costars — or really, any costars — can sometimes let their egos get in the way until they battle each other, destroying the creative process for everyone involved,” Erivo wrote in her Simply More memoir, which was published in November 2025. “We were determined to do the opposite. To be the opposite. To build on each other’s strengths, to encourage the other, to see if, like our voices, we could become more than the sum of our parts.”
Just like Elphaba and Glinda, the two actresses “worked in tandem” behind the scenes.
“Our partnership was important,” Erivo wrote in her book. “We shared a strong synergy, a commitment to authenticity, and that, combined with the natural connection we fostered both on and off set, allowed us to support each other emotionally and professionally.”
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At the end of the Wicked shoot, Grande and Erivo even got matching themed “For Good” tattoos after the name of their onscreen duet.
“I think that was one of my most cherished parts of this experience: I felt held and like I had a friend every step of the way,” Grande previously told The New York Times in 2024. “I’m really proud of us for how genuinely we took care of each other throughout this whole time.”
Wicked and Wicked: For Good were both directed by Jon M. Chu and also starred Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Ethan Slater, Marissa Bode and Bowen Yang.
