Cynthia Erivo | WatchedThis
Cynthia Erivo
Acting
Biography
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.
Filmography Movies
Acting
Luther: The Fallen Sun
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.
Blink Speed
A young woman plagued by a rare and mysterious savant ability after a near-death experience. Her new skill may also be the key to unlocking the truth behind her fractured memory and past.
Prima Facie
Tessa Ensler, a brilliant young U.K. attorney, having risen from working-class roots to become a rising star of the London bar, is formidable in her defence of men accused of sexual assault. But just as her career seems to be taking off, she has to make a decision which will put her love of the law in conflict with her personal need to fight for justice.
Wicked: For Good
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.
Drift
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.
Cynthia Erivo: Legendary Voices at the Proms
Multi-award-winning star of stage and screen Cynthia Erivo takes the Proms by storm as she sings the great American songbook of the 1950s and '60s. Backed by the BBC Concert Orchestra, she celebrates the legendary female voices that have shown her the way—artists such as Nina Simone, Shirley Bassey, Billie Holiday, Etta James, and Gladys Knight. From showtunes to pop, from soul to French chanson, Erivo delivers big, iconic anthems of love, loss, and transformation. Andi Oliver presents from the Royal Albert Hall in London, and is joined by special guests Clarke Peters and Ayanna Witter-Johnson.
Cynthia Erivo & Friends: A New Year's Eve Celebration
Cynthia Erivo, enchanting star of the stage and screen, invites you to ring in the New Year with her magnificent friends Ben Platt and Joaquina Kalukango as they bring their powerful voices and favorite songs to the Kennedy Center stage.
Defying Gravity: The Curtain Rises on Wicked
A behind-the-scenes look at the highly-anticipated film Wicked, featuring interviews with the cast and crew.
The Boss Baby: Get That Baby!
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.
Widows
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.
Production
Drift
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.
Grandpa Was an Emperor
The documentary follows Yeshi Kassa, great-granddaughter of Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, as she embarks on a personal quest to discover what happened to her closest relatives during the coup of 1974. While Yeshi and her older sister were thousands of miles away in a British boarding school, her great-grandfather was deposed by a revolution, setting off a harrowing chain of events that would put her parents and siblings in grave danger. For the very first time, the royal family examines the events that led to the collapse of a 3,000-year-old dynasty and reflects on how, against all odds, they were able to survive this turbulent time in Ethiopian history.
Steel
Chronicles a self-made woman’s rise to power. It centers on Madeline Crowe, a fiercely ambitious arms dealer who seizes control of her own destiny in a high-octane and dangerous profession dominated by her male colleagues.
Blink Speed
A young woman plagued by a rare and mysterious savant ability after a near-death experience. Her new skill may also be the key to unlocking the truth behind her fractured memory and past.
Prima Facie
Tessa Ensler, a brilliant young U.K. attorney, having risen from working-class roots to become a rising star of the London bar, is formidable in her defence of men accused of sexual assault. But just as her career seems to be taking off, she has to make a decision which will put her love of the law in conflict with her personal need to fight for justice.
Saturation Point
Dr. Jasmine Marks leads a search and rescue mission into ‘The Zone’, a section of rainforest along the equator with a climate inhospitable to intelligent life. As she pushes further into the wilderness, Marks discovers the Zone is far deadlier than initially believed and not all forms of intelligent life are necessarily human…
Carrier
Raylene is a truck driver who accepts an off-the-books assignment with no idea what's inside. She soon learns her mysterious cargo is a threat to the world and becomes the target of various forces aiming to destroy or control the cargo.
Harriet
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.
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