Frankie Grande has played many roles. That can be taken literally, considering his work across Broadway, including his current turn as Victor Garber in the parody musical Titanique. Additionally, the 43-year-old has served as everything from a TV judge to a live shopping show host. But, for 88 days in the summer of 2014, he added another point to his resume, competing for half a million dollars in the sixteenth season of Big Brother.
The result was, for lack of a better term, a star turn. Frankie set a record during his time in the house, winning five Head of Household competitions. He pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the show’s history when he won a pair competition by himself, after his partner chose to sit out completely. During a particularly dramatic moment, he revealed to the house not only his job as a “social media mogul,” but also that his half-sister was Ariana Grande.
That all culminated in Week 12 of Big Brother 16, when Frankie found out firsthand why the CBS summer show’s motto is “Expect the Unexpected.” After winning HoH and Veto back-to-back, everything was completely nullified with the press of a “Rewind Button.” In the blink of an eye, everything was reset, and while the competitions were repeated, Frankie couldn’t duplicate his performance. And so he went from the most locked-in safe player to the next evicted, taken out by his own alliance.
The Big Brother 16 cast has brought about a number of successful returnee appearances. Most prominently, both Nicole Franzel and Cody Calafiore would go on to win in their second attempts. As the years went on, and several houseguests would re-enter the game, however, Frankie would be surprisingly absent. But let it be known, despite his success on stage and screen since his days on reality TV, he’s eager to make a return appearance.
“I would do Big Brother All Stars,” he tells Parade during a sitdown interview in his backstage dressing room. “And they should call me, because now they know that I want to do it.”
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“Apparently, for years, they thought I didn’t want to play,” he continues. “When I was drunk or high, I probably said in an interview, like, ‘I would never play again.’ But I was like, ‘I was drunk and high. Leave me the f—k alone! Why don’t you guys ask me directly?'”
Frankie would get his chance in the intervening years to play Big Brother again, albeit from across the pond. In mid-2016, he was one of the famous faces on Celebrity Big Brother in the U.K., where he yet again turned out a fifth-place finish. It wasn’t until 2023 that American producers finally reached out. Whether they believed Frankie would avoid a summer stay or not, CBS was producing a brand-new spin-off, Reindeer Games, a holiday-themed special revolving around the competitions. And that’s how he found himself back in the house, trading in bathing suits for cozy sweaters.
Frankie replicated his success from the flagship show on Reindeer Games, seen as arguably the frontrunner going into the finale. Unfortunately, he finished just shy of the grand prize of $100,000 and a personal thank-you from Santa Claus. And, as he reveals to Parade, fans may not have seen the biggest reason why.
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“I had a horrific bronchial infection,” he recounts. “Which is always why I say I didn’t win, because I literally couldn’t breathe by the end of it. I was puffing on my inhaler, and they’re like, ‘Are you okay?’ And I was like, ‘[Makes extensive gasping noises.]’ And they’re like, ‘Okay, he’s dying.'”
Despite not returning to Big Brother as a houseguest, Frankie has made extensive cameos on the show. He took select houseguests to an Ariana concert the summer after he played. He showed up in the show’s attempt to build out their own MCU around superheroic “BB Comics” personas. He was part of the trio that sought to undo history with the infamous “Time Laser.” In fact, he played a prominent role in last season’s finale, serving as not only the host for Part 2 of the final HoH competition, but also one of the “Masterminds” responsible for wreaking havoc all season long, looking to get revenge for having his game ruined by a twist.
Big Brother clearly has a lot of love for Frankie Grande in their heart. And it’s quite mutual, as he reveals even host Julie Chen Moonves came to see him on Titanique’s opening night. And, as he believes, now that he and the producers are on the same page about his willingness to play again, his prospects of doing another season shine as bright as…well, a Frankie.
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This story was originally published by Parade on Jun 10, 2026, where it first appeared in the TV section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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