What Happened to Cynthia Erivo?

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Cynthia Erivo.Image via Wikimedia Commons

The Rise to Fame

Cynthia Erivo ( ə-REE-voh; born 8 January 1987) is an English actress and singer. Known for her work on both stage and screen, she is the recipient of several accolades and one of few individuals nominated for an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony Award (EGOT), winning all but the Oscar. Erivo was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2026 New Year Honours for services to music and drama.

Erivo made her West End debut in the stage musical The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (2011), and her Broadway debut as Celie in the musical revival of The Color Purple (2015–2017). Erivo's work for The Color Purple won her the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical and Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album, as well as a Daytime Emmy Award.

She expanded to films in 2018 with the crime thrillers Widows and Bad Times at the El Royale. Erivo earned nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress for portraying Harriet Tubman in Harriet (2019) and Elphaba in Wicked (2024), as well as a nomination for Best Original Song for the song "Stand Up" from the former. For reprising her role as Elphaba in Wicked: For Good (2025), she became the first black actress to be nominated twice for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy at the Golden Globe Awards. Erivo's rendition of "Defying Gravity" with Ariana Grande from the Wicked soundtrack won her a second Grammy Award.

The Peak Years

On television, Erivo portrayed Holly Gibney in the HBO crime drama miniseries The Outsider (2020) and Aretha Franklin in National Geographic's anthology series Genius: Aretha (2021); the latter earned her a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. As a singer, she has released singles as well as two solo albums in 2021 and 2025.

Early life

Cynthia Chinasaokwu Onyedinmanasu Owezuke Amarachukwu Echimino Erivo was born on 8 January 1987 to Igbo Nigerian immigrant parents in Stockwell, London, England. Her mother, Edith, was 15 years old when the Nigerian Civil War broke out, with Erivo saying that "she's not necessarily a refugee, but [...] her home was ravaged, and they were on the run to find safety." Both of Erivo's parents arrived in the UK in their early twenties and they separated when she was very young. Following this, she and her younger sister Stephanie were raised by Edith, who worked as a nurse. They were disowned by their father when Erivo was 16 years old, and she remains estranged from him. She named her production company Edith's Daughter in tribute to her mother.

Erivo attended La Retraite Roman Catholic Girls' School in Clapham Park. Her confirmation name is Perpetua. As a child, she had roles in Bertolt Brecht's Caucasian Chalk Circle, and later appeared on television in Trust Me, I'm a Teenager. She began a music psychology degree at the University of East London in 2004. However, a year into her degree, she applied to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and transferred there upon acceptance. She graduated from RADA with a bachelor's degree in acting in 2010.

What Changed

2011–2017: Early career and The Color Purple

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. On Sunday, 9 December 2012, Cynthia appeared in Alexander S. Bermange's and Stephen Clark's Living Every Day, which was performed as part of The 24 Hour Musicals Celebrity Gala at the Old Vic in London's West End.

In 2013, Erivo played the role of Celie Harris in the Menier Chocolate Factory production of The Color Purple, a role which Whoopi Goldberg 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 also 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.

Where Cynthia Erivo Is Now

She made her Broadway debut in the 2015 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. Her performance earned widespread acclaim, with The New York Times writing, "Ms. Erivo's sobering and stirring portrayal of Celie, in a rapturously reviewed revival of The Color Purple... has brought the kind of praise that can change a performer's career". She won several awards for her performance, including 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 April 2017, Erivo and the cast of The Color Purple won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Musical Performance in a Daytime Program, following their performance on NBC's The Today Show in May 2016. In November 2017, she appeared on the charity benefit Night of Too Many Stars, hosted by Jon Stewart, where she performed the Andra Day song "Rise Up" in a duet with Jodi DiPiazza, accompanied by Questlove and The Roots.

2018–2023: Transition to film

Legacy

Erivo made her film debut in 2018 with 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 Steve McQueen directed 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 played 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. David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter wrote that Erivo "is a powerful physical presence in the title role" adding that "[she] hits all the requisite notes of flintiness and selfless bravery born of suffering, determination and rage". 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". She became the third consecutive and overall person to earn acting and songwriting nominations for the same film, after Mary J. Blige for Mudbound (2017) and Lady Gaga for A Star Is Born (2018), and was the second consecutive and overall person (as well as the first person of color) to do so in a leading role.

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 her production company, Edith's Daughter, and signed a first-look deal with MRC to develop television projects. 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. While the season was met with criticism from Franklin's family, Erivo was praised for her performance, earning Best Actress nominations at the Primetime Emmy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, Critics' Choice Awards, and Screen Actors Guild Awards. She released two songs, "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, she performed a medley of Stephen Sondheim songs during the In Memoriam segment at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards, alongside Rachel Zegler, Leslie Odom Jr. and...

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