Ethan Slater

Ethan Samuel Slater is an American actor and singer who made a splash on Broadway by originating the title role in SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical in 2016. His performance earned him a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical and a Tony nomination for Best Actor in a Musical. Slater's work is marked by physical comedy and vocal precision, bringing animated characters to life on stage and screen.

He currently plays Boq Woodsman, the future Tin Man, in the two-part film adaptation of Wicked, with part one released in 2024 and part two, Wicked: For Good, scheduled for 2025. On television, he stars as Thomas Godolkin in the Prime Video series Gen V, a spin-off of The Boys, and will reprise the role in the prequel Vought Rising set for 2027. As a singer, he has released two EPs, Wanderer (2019) and Life Is Weird (2020), in a folk-pop style.

Slater's career spans Broadway, major film franchises, and streaming series, establishing him as a versatile performer with a growing presence in Hollywood. He has been named one of Variety's "10 Broadway Stars to Watch" (2017) and appeared on the cover of Playbill (February 2017) and Them (July 2024).[edit]

Ethan Slater was born on June 2, 1992, in Washington, D.C., and grew up in the Washington metropolitan area. His father, Jay S. Slater, is a federal government lawyer, and his mother, Judy Slater, is a psychotherapist. He has two older siblings. His love for performing began early: at age eight, seeing a production of The Phantom of the Opera sparked his interest in theater. He attended Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville, Maryland, where he appeared in school musicals, and later the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, D.C.

He enrolled at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, graduating in 2014 with a Bachelor of Arts in Drama. During his junior year, a pivotal opportunity arose: he was cast as the lead in a workshop of a new musical based on SpongeBob SquarePants at the New York Stage and Film festival. That workshop became his first professional credit and directly led to his career-defining role. After college, he worked as a teaching artist in New York City schools while auditioning for theater roles. At Vassar, he also wrote and performed original musicals and met his future first wife, Lilly Jay.[edit]

Slater originated the title role in SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical at the Palace Theatre in 2016, performing in heavy prosthetic makeup and a yellow bodysuit. His physicality and vocal precision earned him the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical in 2018 and a Tony nomination for Best Actor in a Musical. The musical itself received 12 Tony nominations. He also received nominations for the Drama League Award for Distinguished Performance and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical in 2018. The cast recording debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Cast Albums chart.

In 2022, he was cast as Boq Woodsman in Jon M. Chu's two-part film adaptation of Wicked, starring alongside Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo. Wicked: Part One was released in 2024, with Wicked: For Good following in 2025. On television, he began starring as Thomas Godolkin in the Prime Video series Gen V in 2024, a role he will reprise in the prequel Vought Rising set for 2027. He also released two EPs, Wanderer in 2019 and Life Is Weird in 2020. In 2021, he played Roger in a staged concert reading of Rent at the Hollywood Bowl. He appeared as a featured dancer in Fosse/Verdon (2020) and the film The Shivering Truth (2022).[edit]

Slater is often described as having an everyman charm and boyish energy, with a public image centered on being a hardworking, physically expressive performer. His personal style is casual and understated. Media coverage shifted significantly from his Broadway success to his personal life, particularly his relationship with Ariana Grande, portraying him as a talented but private individual caught in a celebrity spotlight. His fanbase is largely composed of Broadway enthusiasts, Wicked movie followers, and Gen V viewers. His social media presence is professional and low-key, primarily promoting projects and sharing behind-the-scenes content, rarely engaging with personal controversy. He has approximately 500,000 followers on Instagram and 30,000 on X (Twitter). Notable quotes include: "I think the challenge of playing SpongeBob is that you have to be completely, utterly sincere" (Playbill, 2017) and "It's a dream come true to be a part of something this big and this special" (Them, 2024 on Wicked).[edit]

Ethan Slater's global profile is a curious mix of Broadway acclaim and tabloid ubiquity. While he is not currently placed in iFANN's published rankings, he has been evaluated by the Global Fame Engine but holds no spot in the Global Top 1,000 or any Top-100 scope list, his name recognition far exceeds what his modest follower count might suggest. This disconnect stems from his high-profile personal life, which has generated sustained media coverage across entertainment and gossip outlets worldwide.

His fanbase is a diffuse, passive audience rather than a structured community. There is no formal fandom name documented for Slater, and none has emerged organically. His supporters largely overlap with the fandoms of his projects, the Wicked film, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical, and Gen V, as well as the Ariana Grande fandom, where he is often discussed in relation to his ex-partner. His Instagram following of 288,000 is modest for a celebrity of his profile, and there are no fan-run sites, organized campaigns, or dedicated fan rituals. His interactions with fans are limited to standard press appearances and occasional social media posts, reflecting a fanbase that follows his career through mainstream news rather than through any dedicated community structure.[edit]

Ethan Slater's path to Broadway legend began with an unlikely hero: he performed in a music video for The National, and wrote and performed a one-man show at Vassar College titled The Amazing Adventures of Ethan Slater. A devoted gamer, he is a fan of The Legend of Zelda. To embody SpongeBob SquarePants, he studied the cartoon extensively and worked with a movement coach to perfect the character's physicality, a preparation that showcased his trained dancer's precision. He stands 5 feet 8 inches tall and was born on June 2, 1992, making him 33 as of 2025.

The defining story fans tell about Slater is his relationship with Ariana Grande. After meeting on the set of Wicked, their relationship became a cultural flashpoint, with his estranged wife's public statement, calling Grande "not a girl's girl", sparking a media frenzy. They attended the Oscars together in 2025, but by June 2026, reports confirmed a quiet split. The saga took another turn when Grande rekindled a romance with an ex, while speculation swirled about Slater's possible reconciliation with his ex-wife. Fans also note the irony that he plays Boq, a character trapped in unrequited love, and that he later starred in Little Shop of Horrors, a musical about a man undone by a monstrous plant.[edit]

Slater's father, Jay S. Slater, is a federal government lawyer, and his mother, Judy Slater, is a psychotherapist. He has two older siblings. He married clinical psychologist Lilly Jay in 2022; they met as students at Vassar College. The couple has one son, born in 2022. Slater and Jay separated in 2023 amid his relationship with Ariana Grande, and their divorce was finalized in 2024. As of 2026, Slater is in a relationship with Grande.[edit]

Slater frequently collaborates with Ariana Grande, his partner and co-star in Wicked, as well as Cynthia Erivo, his other co-star in the film. Director Jon M. Chu cast him in the Wicked adaptations. On Broadway, he worked closely with the creative team of SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical, including director Tina Landau.[edit]

Slater married Lilly Jay, a clinical psychologist, in 2022. They met as students at Vassar College and dated for several years before marrying. The couple has one son, born in 2022. In July 2023, news broke that Slater and his Wicked co-star Ariana Grande were dating, and Slater and Jay subsequently separated. Their divorce was finalized in 2024. Jay has publicly described the end of the marriage as devastating and "not a good look" for Grande. Slater has been romantically linked to Grande since July 2023, when they were first publicly reported together shortly after his separation. As of 2026, Slater and Grande are in a committed relationship.[edit]

iFANN currently estimates Ethan Slater's net worth at $3 million. His primary income sources include his Broadway salary for SpongeBob SquarePants, where as a lead he likely earned a weekly base salary typical for a Broadway star (estimated $1,500 to $3,000 per week plus royalties). His film and television roles provide significant earnings: his supporting role in the major franchise Wicked (Parts 1 and 2) likely earned him a six-figure sum, and his starring role in the Prime Video series Gen V provides a steady income stream. Revenue from his two EPs is minimal, and no major endorsement deals are publicly known.[edit]

Slater won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical in 2018 for his performance in SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical. He also received a Tony nomination for Best Actor in a Musical for the same role.[edit]