Cynthia Erivo facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Cynthia Erivo
Erivo performing in 2025
Born	Cynthia Chinasaokwu Onyedinmanasu Amarachukwu Owezuke Echimino Erivo (1987-01-08) 8 January 1987 (age 38) Stockwell, London, England
Alma mater	Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Occupation	Actress singer
Years active	2010–present
Awards	Full list
Musical career
Genres	R&B soul urban contemporary gospel Broadway
Instruments	Vocals

Cynthia Erivo (born January 8, 1987) is a talented British actress and singer. She is famous for her amazing work on both stage and screen. Cynthia has won many awards, including a Grammy Award and a Tony Award. She is also one of the few people to be nominated for an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony Award (known as an EGOT). She has won all of these except the Oscar.

Cynthia first performed in London's West End in the musical The Umbrellas of Cherbourg in 2011. She then made her Broadway debut in The Color Purple from 2015 to 2017. Her role in this musical earned her a Tony Award for Best Actress. She also won a Grammy Award and a Daytime Emmy Award for her work on the show. In 2018, Cynthia started acting in movies like Widows and Bad Times at the El Royale. She was nominated for an Academy Award for playing Harriet Tubman in the movie Harriet (2019). She also received a nomination for Best Original Song for "Stand Up" from the same film.

On television, Cynthia played Holly Gibney in the HBO series The Outsider in 2020. She also played Aretha Franklin in the series Genius: Aretha in 2021. This role earned her a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award. As a singer, she has released several songs and two solo albums. Her most recent album, I Forgive You, was released in June 2025.

Early Life and Education

Cynthia Erivo was born in Stockwell, London, England, on January 8, 1987. Her parents were immigrants from Nigeria. Her mother, Edith, was a nurse and raised Cynthia and her younger sister, Stephanie. Cynthia's parents separated when she was very young. Cynthia named her production company "Edith's Daughter" to honor her mother.

Cynthia went to La Retraite Roman Catholic Girls' School. As a child, she acted in school plays and even appeared on a TV show called Trust Me, I'm a Teenager. She started studying music psychology at the University of East London in 2004. However, after a year, she decided to apply to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). She was accepted and graduated from RADA in 2010 with a degree in acting.

Career Highlights

Early Theatre Work (2011–2014)

Cynthia first appeared on British TV shows like Chewing Gum and The Tunnel. Her first stage role was in Marine Parade. Her first musical role was in I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky. In 2012, she performed in a special musical gala called Living Every Day at the Old Vic theatre in London.

In 2013, Cynthia played Celie Harris in The Color Purple at the Menier Chocolate Factory. This was a role that Whoopi Goldberg had played in the movie version. Cynthia had also played Deloris Van Cartier in a UK tour of Sister Act, another role Whoopi Goldberg made famous. Cynthia also helped write and perform the song "Fly Before You Fall" for the movie Beyond the Lights.

Cynthia also starred in the musical I Can't Sing! in London's West End in 2014. She then appeared in Dessa Rose, where she was nominated for Best Leading Actress at the 2015 BroadwayWorld UK Awards.

The Color Purple and Film Roles (2015–2019)

Cynthia Erivo with Lupita Nyong'o at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival.

Cynthia made her Broadway debut in 2015, bringing her role as Celie Harris from The Color Purple to New York. She starred alongside famous actresses Jennifer Hudson and Danielle Brooks. Critics loved her performance, with The New York Times saying her portrayal of Celie was "sobering and stirring." For this role, she won many awards, including the 2016 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical.

In 2016, Cynthia performed in a special concert of The Last Five Years to raise money for a gun violence prevention organization. In 2017, she performed "God Only Knows" with John Legend at the Grammy Awards. Later that year, Cynthia and the cast of The Color Purple won a Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Award for their musical performance on The Today Show. She also performed with Jodi DiPiazza and Questlove on the charity show Night of Too Many Stars.

Cynthia made her film debut in 2018 in the thriller Bad Times at the El Royale. Critics praised her performance. That same year, she also starred in the movie Widows, directed by Steve McQueen. In 2019, Cynthia produced and voiced the main character, Raylene Watts, in the science fiction podcast Carrier.

Cynthia played the main role in Harriet, a movie about the American hero Harriet Tubman. The film was released in November 2019. Her performance earned her nominations for a Golden Globe Award and two Academy Awards (one for Best Actress and one for Best Original Song for "Stand Up").

Career Expansion (2020–Present)

In 2020, Cynthia starred as investigator Holly Gibney in the HBO series The Outsider. She also started her own production company, Edith's Daughter. In 2021, she appeared in the science fiction film Chaos Walking. Cynthia also played singer Aretha Franklin in the series Genius, which premiered in March 2021. She released her first solo album, Ch. 1 Vs. 1, in September 2021.

In July 2022, Cynthia performed at the BBC Proms, singing songs that inspired her. She also performed a medley of Stephen Sondheim songs at the Grammy Awards as a tribute. Cynthia played The Blue Fairy in Disney's 2022 live-action movie Pinocchio. In 2022, she also sang "Edelweiss" to honor Julie Andrews at the AFI Life Achievement Award ceremony.

Cynthia Erivo (center) with co-stars Jonathan Bailey (left) and Ariana Grande (right) promoting Wicked in 2024.

In 2023, she appeared in the Netflix thriller Luther: The Fallen Sun. She also starred in and produced the film Drift, playing a refugee during a war. Cynthia said her mother's experiences during the Nigerian Civil War inspired her for this role. In 2024, she played Petra in a concert production of Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music. She also honored Dionne Warwick at the Kennedy Center Honors by singing "Alfie".

Cynthia played Elphaba in the musical fantasy film Wicked (2024). This movie is the first part of a two-film adaptation of the musical play. The movie's soundtrack, which features Cynthia singing seven songs, was very popular. Her performance as Elphaba received great reviews. For this role, she was nominated for Best Actress at the Golden Globe Awards, British Academy Film Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards, and Academy Awards. This made her the second Black actress to be nominated for Best Actress more than once.

In May 2025, it was announced that Cynthia would return to the West End in a one-woman play based on Dracula. She will play all 23 roles in the show. The play will run from February 4 to May 31, 2026. On June 8, 2025, Cynthia hosted the 78th Tony Awards. She received very positive reviews for her hosting, with Deadline Hollywood calling her performance "absolutely flawless."

Personal Life

Cynthia Erivo is Roman Catholic. She identifies as queer and bisexual. Cynthia is currently dating actress and producer Lena Waithe.

In 2024, Cynthia was appointed vice president of her former school, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2018	Widows	Belle
	Bad Times at the El Royale	Darlene Sweet
2019	Harriet	Harriet Tubman
2021	Chaos Walking	Hildy
	Needle in a Timestack	Janine Mikkelsen
2022	Pinocchio	The Blue Fairy
2023	Drift	Jacqueline	Also producer
	Luther: The Fallen Sun	Odette Raine
2024	Wicked	Elphaba Thropp
2025	Wicked: For Good		Post-production
2027	Children of Blood and Bone	Admiral Kaea	Filming

Television

Theatre

Podcasts

Discography

Albums

Solo Studio Albums

Collaborative Studio Albums

Soundtrack Albums

Extended Plays

Singles

As Lead Artist

As Featured Artist

Other Charted Songs

Other Appearances

Awards and Nominations

Cynthia Erivo has won many awards throughout her career. These include a Daytime Emmy Award, a Grammy Award, and a Tony Award. She has also been nominated for three Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards.

For her role in the Broadway revival of The Color Purple, Cynthia won the 2016 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. The next year, she and the cast of The Color Purple won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Musical Performance in a Daytime Program. They also won the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.

See also

In Spanish: Cynthia Erivo para niños