Cynthia Erivo

Acting

Cynthia Erivo

Born 1987-01-08 · Stockwell, London, England, UK

Cynthia Chinasaokwu Onyedinmanasu Amarachukwu Owezuke Echimino Erivo MBE(/əˈriːvoʊ/ ə-REE-voh; born 8 January 1987) is an English actress, singer, musician, and songwriter. 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), 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. 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 and 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.

Acting credits

Wicked: For Good poster
6.6

As an angry mob rises against the Wicked Witch, Glinda and Elphaba will need to come together one final time. With their singular friendship now the fulcrum of their futures, they will need to truly see each other, with honesty and empathy, if they are to change themselves, and all of Oz, for good.

Wicked: For Good

2025

Wicked poster
6.9

In the land of Oz, ostracized and misunderstood green-skinned Elphaba is forced to share a room with the popular aristocrat Glinda at Shiz University, and the two's unlikely friendship is tested as they begin to fulfill their respective destinies as Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.

Wicked

2024

Bad Times at the El Royale poster
6.8

Lake Tahoe, 1969. Seven strangers, each one with a secret to bury, meet at El Royale, a decadent motel with a dark past. In the course of a fateful night, everyone will have one last shot at redemption.

Bad Times at the El Royale

2018

Chaos Walking poster
6.5

Two unlikely companions embark on a perilous adventure through the badlands of an unexplored planet as they try to escape a dangerous and disorienting reality, where all inner thoughts are seen and heard by everyone.

Chaos Walking

2021

Widows poster
6.5

A police shootout leaves four thieves dead during an explosive armed robbery attempt in Chicago. Their widows have nothing in common except a debt left behind by their spouses' criminal activities. Hoping to forge a future on their own terms, they join forces to pull off a heist.

Widows

2018

Pinocchio poster
6.3

A wooden puppet embarks on a thrilling adventure to become a real boy.

Pinocchio

2022

Luther: The Fallen Sun poster
6.6

A gruesome serial killer is terrorizing London while brilliant but disgraced detective John Luther sits behind bars. Haunted by his failure to capture the cyber psychopath who now taunts him, Luther decides to break out of prison to finish the job by any means necessary.

Luther: The Fallen Sun

2023

Children of Blood and Bone poster
NR

In the world of Orïsha, a young woman goes on a quest to reclaim the magic that was violently stolen from her people. She and her brother ally with the daughter and son of the king to fight back against his brutal rule.

Children of Blood and Bone

2027

Defying Gravity: The Curtain Rises on Wicked poster
7.5

A behind-the-scenes look at the highly-anticipated film Wicked, featuring interviews with the cast and crew.

Defying Gravity: The Curtain Rises on Wicked

2024

Needle in a Timestack poster
5.3

Nick and Janine live in bliss until her ex warps time to try to tear them apart by using Nick's old girlfriend. As Nick's memories and reality disappear, he must decide what he's willing to sacrifice to save -- or let go of -- everything he loves.

Needle in a Timestack

2021

Harriet poster
7.3

The extraordinary tale of Harriet Tubman's escape from slavery and transformation into one of America's greatest heroes. Her courage, ingenuity and tenacity freed hundreds of slaves and changed the course of history.

Harriet

2019

The Boss Baby: Get That Baby! poster
6.3

Think you've got what it takes to be the boss? This interactive special puts your skills to the test and matches you up with one of 16 jobs at Baby Corp.

The Boss Baby: Get That Baby!

2020

Wicked: For Good - A Sneak Peek poster
10.0

In an exclusive sneak peek, Angela Bishop heads down the yellow brick road to the land of Oz with the Wicked for Good cast, who spill some tea before the movie lands in cinemas on November 20.

Wicked: For Good - A Sneak Peek

2025

Wicked: One Wonderful Night poster
8.2

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande lead a one-time-only, two-hour special featuring electrifying performances alongside their Wicked: For Good co-stars for a night of reimagined musical arrangements, cast interviews, behind-the-scenes moments, exclusive surprises, and a sneak peek at Wicked: For Good.

Wicked: One Wonderful Night

2025

Shoshana Bean and Friends: An Evening of Broadway poster
NR

You are invited to join recording artist and Broadway star Shoshana Bean and her cast of friends for a musical evening of Broadway tunes.

Shoshana Bean and Friends: An Evening of Broadway

2020

Making Wicked: For Good poster
NR

Return to Oz for a fantastic behind-the-scenes journey with this expansive look inside the characters, choreography, and creativity that make up the movie's unforgettable world.

Making Wicked: For Good

2025

Making Wicked poster
8.0

Return to Oz for a fantastic behind-the-scenes journey with this expansive look inside the characters, choreography, and creativity that make up the movie's unforgettable world.

Making Wicked

2024

Bad Fairies poster
NR

An original musical comedy that follows a delightfully subversive gang of fairies as they shake up their magical world.

Bad Fairies

2027

Drift poster
6.1

After fleeing civil war in Liberia, a formerly-privileged refugee is barely scraping by in her new life in Greece when she strikes up an unexpected friendship with a rootless tour guide.

Drift

2024

Forbidden poster
8.2

A musical set in the North-American city of Nacirema Falls, in the country of Nacirema, which black LGBT people rule, promoting and conducting white racism and "straightphobia". When Nolan Renner falls in love with a waitress at a diner, he gets into trouble.

Forbidden

2018

No artwork available
NR

Exiled from his native South Africa, South African jazz legend Hugh Masekela is pulled between two worlds. In the late 1980s, the Anti-Apartheid Movement, led by his mentor and fierce Anti-Apartheid advocate Archbishop Trevor Huddleston, launches a boycott against Hugh’s friend Paul Simon over his township music-inspired album 'Graceland', accusing Simon of violating the United Nations’ Cultural Boycott. Miriam ‘Mama Africa’ Makeba joins forces with Masekela — who sees music as a powerful weapon in the struggle — to create the Graceland band, a supergroup designed to bring South Africa’s voice to the world.

The Road Home

Stayin' Alive: A Grammy Salute to the Music of the Bee Gees poster
7.6

A star-studded tribute concert celebrating the iconic pop trio's impressive career.

Stayin' Alive: A Grammy Salute to the Music of the Bee Gees

2017

School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play poster
10.0

Paulina, the reigning queen bee at Ghana’s most exclusive boarding school, has her sights set on the Miss Universe pageant. But the arrival of Ericka, a new student with undeniable talent and beauty, captures the attention of the pageant recruiter—and Paulina’s hive-minded friends.

School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play

2019

Variety’s Power of Women London poster
NR

Variety’s Power of Women held its inaugural U.K. edition on June 3, 2026, at the Chancery Rosewood in London. Presented in partnership with Lifetime, the event celebrated five high-profile honorees who were each featured on individual covers of a special accompanying issue.

Variety’s Power of Women London

2026

Behind the camera