Cynthia Erivo facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Cynthia Erivo
Erivo at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival
Born	(1987-01-08) 8 January 1987 (age 37) 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 Onyedinmanasu Chinasaokwu Erivo (/əˈriːvoʊ/; born 8 January 1987) is a British actress and singer. She gained recognition for starring in the Broadway revival of The Color Purple from 2015 to 2017. The role earned her numerous accolades including the 2016 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical, a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Musical Performance in a Daytime Program and the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. Erivo ventured into films in 2018, playing roles in the heist film Widows and the thriller Bad Times at the El Royale.

For her portrayal of American abolitionist Harriet Tubman in the biopic Harriet (2019), Erivo received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress; she also wrote and performed the song "Stand Up" on its soundtrack, which garnered her a nomination in the Best Original Song category. She has since starred as Elphaba in the musical fantasy film Wicked (2024).

On television, Erivo had her first role in the British series Chewing Gum (2015). She went on to star in the crime drama miniseries The Outsider (2020), and received a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress for her portrayal of American singer Aretha Franklin in National Geographic's anthology series Genius: Aretha (2021). She has also released several singles as well as a solo album, Ch. 1 Vs. 1 (2021).

Early life and education

Cynthia Onyedinmanasu Chinasaokwu Erivo was born on 8 January 1987 to Nigerian immigrant parents in Stockwell, South London. Her parents separated when she was very young. Her mother, Edith, was a nurse, and was 15 when the Nigerian Civil War broke out. Erivo also has a sister, Nicolette.

She attended La Retraite Roman Catholic Girls' School in Clapham Park. As a child, she had roles in Brecht's Caucasian Chalk Circle, and later appeared on television in Trust Me, I'm a Teenager.

Erivo began a music psychology degree at the University of East London in 2004; however, a year into her degree, she applied to, and subsequently trained at, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in acting in 2010.

Career

Career beginnings and theatrical roles (2011–2017)

Erivo first appeared in roles on British television programmes such as Chewing Gum and The Tunnel. Her first stage role was in Marine Parade by Simon Stephens at the Brighton Festival. Her first musical role was in John Adams' and June Jordan's I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky at Theatre Royal Stratford East.

In 2013, Erivo played the role of Celie Harris in the Menier Chocolate Factory production of The Color Purple, a role which Whoopi Goldberg had originated onscreen. Erivo had previously portrayed Sister Mary Clarence / Deloris Van Cartier in a UK tour of the stage musical Sister Act, which Goldberg had originated in its film adaptation. She is also featured on the soundtrack to the musical drama film Beyond the Lights, co-writing and performing the song "Fly Before You Fall".

Erivo originated the role of Chenice in the West End musical I Can't Sing!, which opened at the London Palladium on 26 March 2014, garnering mixed reviews. The production closed on 10 May, just six weeks and three days after its official opening night. Erivo starred in the European premiere of Dessa Rose at London's Trafalgar Studios from July to August 2014, for which she was nominated as Best Leading Actress in a musical at the 2015 BroadwayWorld UK awards.

She made her Broadway debut in the 2015 Broadway revival transfer of the Menier Chocolate Factory production of The Color Purple, reprising her role as Celie Harris alongside American actresses Jennifer Hudson as Shug Avery and Danielle Brooks as Sofia. The production began performances at Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, from 10 December 2015. Among other awards for her performance, Erivo won the 2016 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical.

Erivo starred as Cathy alongside Joshua Henry in a one-night benefit concert performance of Jason Robert Brown's The Last Five Years on 12 September 2016. Proceeds from the performance went to the Brady Center, a national gun violence organisation. In February 2017, at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards, Erivo performed "God Only Knows" alongside John Legend, as a tribute to musicians who had died over the past year.

In March 2017, Erivo and the cast of The Color Purple were nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for their performance on NBC's The Today Show in May 2016. In April 2017, it was announced that Erivo and the cast of The Color Purple alongside The Today Show won the Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Award in the Outstanding Musical Performance in a Daytime Program category. In November 2017, she appeared on the charity benefit Night of Too Many Stars, hosted by Jon Stewart, where she performed a duet with frequent contributor Jodi DiPiazza of the Andra Day hit "Rise Up" they were accompanied by Questlove and The Roots.

Film career (2018–present)

Erivo during an interview in 2018

Erivo made her film debut in 2018 in the neo-noir thriller film Bad Times at the El Royale. Justin Chang of the Los Angeles Times deemed Erivo's performance "revelatory in the most rewarding sense". That same year, she also starred in the heist thriller film Widows, which marked the first film she had ever shot. In his review of the film for The Atlantic, David Sims highlighted Erivo's "incredible work" in portraying her character's dramatic transformation. In 2019, Erivo produced and starred in the scripted science fiction thriller podcast Carrier, voicing the lead role of Raylene Watts, a long-haul truck driver transporting a trailer with "disturbing, mysterious contents".

Erivo portrayed the title role in Harriet, a biographical film about American abolitionist Harriet Tubman. The film began production in October 2018, completed filming in January 2019, and was released on 1 November 2019. Her performance earned her a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama; she also received a second nomination for Best Original Song for a song she co-wrote and performed for the film entitled "Stand Up". In 2020, Erivo garnered nominations for two Academy Awards–one for Best Actress for her portrayal of Tubman and the other for Best Original Song for "Stand Up".

In 2020, Erivo starred as investigator Holly Gibney in the HBO miniseries The Outsider, a television adaptation of Stephen King's novel of the same name. That same year, she launched a production company named Edith's Daughter as well as signed a deal with media company MRC to develop television projects through the production company. She appeared in the science fiction film Chaos Walking, based on Patrick Ness' novel The Knife of Never Letting Go, which was released on 5 March 2021. Erivo portrayed singer Aretha Franklin in the third season of the anthology series Genius, which premiered in March 2021. She released two songs titled "The Good" and "Glowing Up" to promote her debut studio album, Ch. 1 Vs. 1, which was released on 7 September 2021. That same month, she joined the jury of the 78th Venice International Film Festival.

In July 2022, Erivo performed as part of the BBC Proms, singing tributes to women who have inspired her. Writing in The Times, John Bungey highlighted her performances of the songs "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" and "Ain't No Way". That same year, Erivo played The Blue Fairy in Disney's live-action film adaptation of Pinocchio, directed by Robert Zemeckis. In 2023, she appeared in Luther: The Fallen Sun, a film continuation of the crime drama series Luther.

In the same year Erivo portrayed Jacqueline, a refugee during a war-torn Africa, in the movie Drift. Erivo said to have taken inspiration from her mother's experience as a refugee during the Nigerian Civil War for this role. She was also a producer for the movie.

Erivo is set to portray Elphaba in a two-part Universal film adaptation of the musical Wicked. The movies are directed by Jon M. Chu and see Erivo starring alongside Ariana Grande-Butera in the role of Glinda, with Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard of Oz, Ethan Slater as Boq and Marissa Bode as Nessarose, Elphaba's sister. The first film is set to be released on 22 November 2024.

She is also attached to produce and star in the science fiction film Blink Speed and a film adaptation of the podcast Carrier, reprising the role of Raylene.

..... Written by Australian playwright Suzie Miller, it is best known for Jodie Comer's performance at the West End in 2022. The screenplay was written by Miller, and is in pre-production as of September 2024^[update]. The film is being directed by Susanna White.

Personal life

Erivo is Roman Catholic. She identifies as queer and bisexual. In 2024, Erivo was appointed vice president of her alma mater, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

Filmography

Film

Key

Denotes films that have not yet been released

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	Disney's Pinocchio	The Blue Fairy
2023	Drift	Jacqueline	Also producer
	Luther: The Fallen Sun	Odette Raine
2024	Wicked	Elphaba
2025	Wicked Part Two		Post-production

Television

Podcasts

Theatre credits

Discography

Albums

Solo studio albums

Collaborative studio albums

Soundtrack albums

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Other charted songs

Other appearances

Accolades

Some of Erivo's accolades include:

• 2016 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical – The Color Purple
• 2017 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Musical Performance in a Daytime Program – The Color Purple
• 2017 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album – The Color Purple

See also

In Spanish: Cynthia Erivo para niños