1. Cynthia Chinasaokwu Onyedinmanasu Amarachukwu Owezuke Echimino Erivo is a British actress and singer.
34 Facts About Cynthia Erivo
1. 2.
Cynthia Erivo later made her Broadway debut playing Celie in the musical revival of The Color Purple.
3.
Cynthia Erivo expanded to films in 2018 with the crime thrillers Widows and Bad Times at the El Royale.
4.
Cynthia Erivo earned nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress for portraying Harriet Tubman in Harriet and Elphaba in Wicked, as well as a nomination for Best Original Song for the song "Stand Up" from the former.
5.
On television, Cynthia Erivo portrayed Holly Gibney in the HBO crime drama miniseries The Outsider and Aretha Franklin in National Geographic's anthology series Genius: Aretha ; the latter earned her a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.
6.
Cynthia Erivo was born on 8 January 1987 to Nigerian immigrant parents in Stockwell, London, England.
7.
Cynthia Erivo named her production company Edith's Daughter as a tribute to her mother.
8.
Cynthia Erivo attended La Retraite Roman Catholic Girls' School in Clapham Park.
9.
Cynthia Erivo began a music psychology degree at the University of East London in 2004.
10.
Cynthia Erivo graduated from RADA with a bachelor's degree in acting in 2010.
11.
Cynthia Erivo first appeared in roles on British television programmes such as Chewing Gum and The Tunnel.
12.
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.
13.
In 2013, Cynthia 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.
14.
Cynthia Erivo is featured on the soundtrack to the musical drama film Beyond the Lights, co-writing and performing the song "Fly Before You Fall".
15.
Cynthia 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.
16.
Cynthia Erivo 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.
17.
Cynthia Erivo won several awards for her performance, including the 2016 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical.
18.
Cynthia 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.
19.
In February 2017, at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards, Cynthia Erivo performed "God Only Knows" alongside John Legend, as a tribute to musicians who had died over the past year.
20.
Cynthia Erivo made her film debut in 2018 in the neo-noir thriller film Bad Times at the El Royale.
21.
In 2019, Cynthia 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".
22.
Cynthia Erivo portrayed the title role in Harriet, a biographical film about American abolitionist Harriet Tubman.
23.
David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter wrote that Cynthia 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".
24.
In 2020, Cynthia Erivo starred as investigator Holly Gibney in the HBO miniseries The Outsider, a television adaptation of Stephen King's novel of the same name.
25.
Cynthia Erivo 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.
26.
Cynthia Erivo portrayed singer Aretha Franklin in the third season of the anthology series Genius, which premiered in March 2021.
27.
Cynthia Erivo released two songs titled "The Good" and "Glowing Up" to promote her debut studio album, Ch.
28.
In July 2022, Cynthia Erivo performed as part of the BBC Proms, singing tributes to women who have inspired her.
29.
Cynthia Erivo played The Blue Fairy in Disney's 2022 live-action film adaptation of Pinocchio, directed by Robert Zemeckis.
30.
Cynthia Erivo said to have taken inspiration from her mother's experience as a refugee during the Nigerian Civil War for this role.
31.
Cynthia Erivo paid tribute to Dionne Warwick at the Kennedy Center Honors where she sang a rendition of "Alfie" from the 1966 film of the same name.
32.
Cynthia Erivo portrayed Elphaba in the musical fantasy film Wicked, which served as the first part of a two-film adaptation of the musical play.
33.
The film's accompanying soundtrack album was co-billed to Cynthia Erivo, who performed seven songs from the musical.
34.
In 2024, Cynthia Erivo was appointed vice president of her alma mater, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.