Cynthia Erivo

Biography

Cynthia Chinasaokwu Onyedinmanasu Amarachukwu Owezuke Echimino Erivo(/əˈriːvoʊ/ə-REE-voh; born 8 January 1987) is a British actress and singer. Known for her work on both stage and screen, she is the recipient of several accolades and one of the few individuals nominated for an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony Award (EGOT), winning all but the Oscar.

Erivo made her West End debut in the stage musical The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (2011). She later made her Broadway debut playing Celie in the musical revival of The Color Purple (2015–2017). Erivo's work for the production won her the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical and Grammy Award for Best Musical Theatre 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.

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.

Description above from the Wikipedia article Cynthia Erivo, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.