Cynthia Erivo

Cynthia Erivo stands five feet, four inches tall. That physical height fools anyone who has never seen her take the stage and hit an impossible note. Her parents moved to London from Nigeria, and she grew up in Stockwell, a neighborhood that doesn't hand anything to those trying to make it in the arts.

She studied psychology in London before enrolling at RADA to train as an actress. It was not an easy path.

In 2013 she starred in the musical version of The Color Purple at the Menier Chocolate Factory in London. Nobody expected the production to cross the Atlantic, but in 2015 she took the role of Celie to Broadway. She won the Tony for Best Actress at a ceremony where her voice silenced the entire Radio City Music Hall.

And the gamble paid off.

From Stockwell to Conquering Broadway

That New York victory in 2016 opened the doors to an industry that is often closed off to newcomers from the UK. She didn't limit herself to singing. In 2018, she filmed Widows under Steve McQueen's direction and Bad Times at the El Royale with Drew Goddard. Two very different roles that forced critics to look beyond her powerhouse voice.

But the project that changed her status was Harriet in 2019. Playing Harriet Tubman meant carrying a historical responsibility that often crushes less seasoned performers. Erivo not only acted but also composed the film's main song.

That decision earned her two Oscar nominations on the same night. Only a select few have ever managed something similar in the history of the Academy Awards. She didn't take home the statuette, but her name was etched into the planners of the major studios in Los Angeles.

Television was also a productive refuge.

In 2020, she played Holly Gibney in the series The Outsider, based on the novel by Stephen King. She swapped her usual style for a restrained, almost robotic one that left fans who knew her only for her soaring vocals on stage taken aback.

The Price of Green Makeup

Filming Wicked in 2024 was a grueling logistical and physical challenge. Becoming Elphaba's green skin required hours of pigment application to her face every morning before shooting could begin. And filming dragged on for months at the Sky studios in the United Kingdom.

Because Erivo insisted on singing live during filming. This technique demands lung capacity that few actors can sustain through twelve-hour days under intense stage lights.

And the effort paid off technically.

In 2024 critics noted that her vocal performance relied on no studio post-production tricks. Her stage training allowed her to hold long notes while being suspended in the air by harnesses several meters off the ground.

The first installment of this musical adaptation cost approximately $145 million.