From her background to her unique sense of style to her comments about Black Americans, theGrio highlights some of Cynthia Erivo’s notable moments.
With the impending release of “Wicked,” it’s fair to say Cynthia Erivo is on fire right now.
The film adaptation of the Broadway musical (itself adapted from a bestselling novel based on another novel) is poised to make a $175 million-plus global opening this weekend, and Erivo’s production company just inked a major deal.
Universal Pictures has entered a “first-look” deal with her production company, Edith’s Daughter, Deadline reported.
“Having spent the last 3 years collaborating with Donna Langley, Peter Cramer and the team at Universal on ‘Wicked,’ I’ve experienced first-hand the love and fearlessness with which they tell stories and uplift storytellers,” said Erivo. “I’m absolutely overjoyed to take this next step in our partnership with our first look deal. This is not just a milestone for my production company but a testament to the power of storytelling and the importance of diverse voices in film. I can’t wait to bring our visions to life and share them with the world!”
However, some may be only discovering the 37-year-old from Stockwell, London (where she was born to Nigerian immigrant parents) — or might be foggy about her background and career up to this point. There’s a lot to love when it comes to the Emmy, Grammy, and Tony winner — and even more to understand under the surface. Below, we’ve gathered a few things you need to know about Erivo, including some very relatable ones.
She is a Broadway sensation
Before Erivo became a star on the silver screen, she was making a name for herself on the stage. The actress’s breakout role was as Celie in the Broadway musical adaptation of “The Color Purple.” From 2015 to 2017, she gave critically acclaimed groundbreaking performances, earning the 2016 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical and the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.
She has played several iconic Black figures
Aretha Franklin, Harriet Tubman, and Recy Taylor are all Black American historical figures immortalized onscreen by Erivo, who has portrayed them all in films. Shortly after her run on Broadway in 2017, Erivo played Taylor in the film “The Rape of Recy Taylor.” She followed that up with a turn as Tubman in the 2019 film “Harriet.”
In 2021, Erivo played Franklin in National Geographic’s anthology series “Genius: Aretha.” While critics praised her portrayal, Franklin’s family felt differently about the project, claiming they were never consulted and even felt “disrespected” by the production team.
She’s a queer icon
Earlier this year, Erivo received the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Schrader Award for her talents and advocacy for the queer community as a self-identified member.
“Claiming my queerness in public — and particularly, in the public eye — has meant taking a risk in order to claim my freedom,” she said in her acceptance speech about coming out as queer later in life. “It seems that, all over, we are keen on seeing the world in black-and-white rather than embracing the difficult (but beautiful) complexities of our humanity.”
While never explicitly confirmed, Erivo has also long been considered one-half of a rather powerful Black Hollywood power couple, as she is often spotted at red-carpet events alongside fellow industry heavyweight Lena Waithe.
She has a unique sense of style
From shaving her eyebrows to her signature long and ornate nails, Erivo is known for her bold, sense of style. Her uniqueness even factored into her makeup for “Wicked.” The makeup artist used stencils to draw on her eyebrows while adding freckles. Meanwhile, a special shade of green face and body makeup was devised to make Erivo’s melanated skin “pop” onscreen, a hue since dubbed “Cynthia Green,” the film’s makeup artist told People magazine. Notably, despite the hours-long application process required daily over months of filming, she also said Erivo “never, ever, ever once complained, ever.”
She doesn’t suffer fools
This week, social media has been abuzz with reactions to actor/podcast host Dax Shepard’s invasive question regarding Erivo’s signature elaborate manicures — specifically, how she navigates them while using the bathroom. When footage of her interview with Shepard hit the internet, many were quick to call out his inappropriateness in asking her how she wiped while wearing ultra-long bejeweled nails.
“My answer is: Nobody uses just their fingers to wipe their backside. You use tissue, correct? And you wipe,” she calmly responded.
Erivo further expressed her annoyance around the question; one she had fielded before.
“I get it, I’m annoyed by it. Like, come on, guys,” she said. “I get it, but I’m a functioning adult and I’ve never walked around smelling like… you know.”
Folks weighing in found the question rude, gross, and invasive. It’s also, as Erivo noted, unoriginal. In response to the now-viral exchange, some have responded by demonstrating how they adapt these very human processes to long nails — and, shocker, it’s pretty much the same process we’ve all been doing since potty training. It’s really not that complicated.
She has some questionable tweets in her search history
In 2018, when it was announced that Erivo would play Harriet Tubman in the “Harriet” biopic, seemingly problematic comments the British actress had made many years before about Black American language inevitably resurfaced. As previously reported by theGrio, it compounded existing questions about the decision to cast the Britain-born Erivo to portray a historic African-American hero, given what some perceived to be a disdain for African American culture.
“As for the tweets, taken out of context without giving me the room to tell you what it meant — and it wasn’t mocking anyone really,” she explained at the time, Complex reported. “It wasn’t for [an insulting] purpose at all. It was to celebrate a song I had [written] when I was 16.”
Speaking further about the controversy during an event at the Toronto International Film Festival, she said, “I would never…I’ve never spoken negatively about people because I don’t want that; I don’t want that energy from me to others.”
She continued, “I don’t believe that serves us at all; I don’t believe it serves a purpose other than bringing negativity into my life and your life and I just don’t want that.”
She may have some “tension” with “The Color Purple” movie musical team
For reasons unknown, Erivo claims she wasn’t invited to a special “friends and family” screening of “The Color Purple” movie musical that included others from her Broadway cast. It is a little odd that the Tony-winning star of the revival didn’t make the guest list. When asked about the apparent rebuff during an interview and whether it reflected her initial consideration for the role of Celie in the film adaptation, Erivo suggested it wasn’t an issue she could discuss.
Nevertheless, she’s willing to admit when she’s wrong
Erivo may have ruffled feathers in the past for dubious comments or her unrelenting passion for her craft, but at the end of the day, she can admit when she is wrong. During the lead-up to “Wicked’s” release, fan-doctored art surfaced that edited the film’s poster to look more like the original Broadway Playbill, covering Erivo’s direct gaze with the brim of her witch’s hat. The actress initially took great offense, but later admitted she may have overreacted.
“I think for me, it was just like a human moment…” she later explained. “I probably should have called my friends, but it’s fine.”
Ultimately, she’s a consummate professional
Say what you will, but Cynthia Erivo is a force and a talent. She’s also someone who reportedly prioritizes the greater good of a team over her personal glory. During a recent appearance on “The Cutting Room Floor” podcast, she described her process of getting into harmony with her “Wicked” co-star Ariana Grande, and how the two worked together to create a unified sound rather than leaning into any diva-like behavior to try to outshine each other.
For instance, while she and Grande have very different voices, Erivo noted that what they have in common is far more important.
“What we have in common, I think, [is] the way we hear music, so we can hear each other,” she explained. “And the beauty of being able to sing with someone who can also hear is that you’re following each other, back and forth. We can find ways to make our textures and our tones make sense together, and that’s really hard to do with people.”
Erivo added, “It also means that you found someone who’s totally unselfish because they’re committed to making sure they work with you, and that’s the most amazing thing to be a part of. When you find a person who is committed to making a sound together [there’s] no ego.”
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