Ariana Grande has got jokes ... and the "Wicked" star was not afraid to let one fly at herself during the Palm Springs International Film Awards.

While accepting the “Rising Star” award for her performance in "Wicked" ... AG noted that she never thought when she started out as a child actor, she would be in the biz at 31.

And with that, she quipped ... "I want to start by thanking my good friends Botox and Juvéderm. I thought I’d be hearing ‘Slightly Withering Star’ or ‘Drooping Star’ by now, so thank you.”

Jennifer Coolidge presented Ariana the award ... and had a few jokes of her own about the honor ... "Hasn’t Ariana Grande already risen? I mean, the girl’s barely 30 and it feels like she’s been famous since the Eisenhower administration."

AG made sure to shout out her “sister witch” Cynthia Erivo and director Jon M. Chu of the musical blockbuster ... and to Coolidge, said, “Thank you Jennifer for doing this for me, for showing up, for coming all this way. I can’t tell you what it means to me."

In a separate headline-making moment during the show ... Nicole Kidman teared up while talking about the loss of her late mom as she accepted the International Star Award for her latest movie, "Babygirl."