The Biography

Cynthia Chinasaokwu Onyedinmanasu Amarachukwu Owezuke Echimino Erivo (born January 8, 1987) is a British actress and singer who first gained recognition for her lead role as Celie in the Broadway revival of The Color Purple, earning a Tony Award, a Grammy Award, and a Daytime Emmy Award. She transitioned to film with Bad Times at the El Royale (2018) and Widows (2018) before portraying Harriet Tubman in Harriet (2019), a performance that earned her nominations at the Academy Awards, Golden Globes, and Screen Actors Guild Awards. She also co-wrote and performed the film’s song Stand Up, which received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song. On television, Erivo starred in The Outsider (2020) and portrayed Aretha Franklin in Genius: Aretha (2021), receiving nominations at the Primetime Emmy Awards, Golden Globes, and Screen Actors Guild Awards. In 2024, she starred as Elphaba in Wicked, the film adaptation of the stage musical, earning awards nominations at the Academy Awards and BAFTA Awards.