Cynthia Erivo has made her emerald encrusted debut as one of Hollywood’s hottest stars with the highly anticipated released of Wicked.
The actress, 37, who has long been renowned in the theatre world, has blown critics away with her performance as the lead character, Elphaba, in the movie adaptation of the award-winning musical which is coming to theatres this Friday.
But it would seem that her success was written in the stars, as the thespian – who grew up in Stockwell, South London – says her mother had predicted her fame when she was just 18 months old.
From childhood performances at Nativity plays to stints on British TV shows including Channel 4‘s Chewing Gum and ITV‘s Mr Selfridge – as well as a trailblazing 14-year career on the stage – Cynthia appears to have officially cemented herself as one of the greats.
Now the star is a fast-favourite of critics who are wowed by the first installation of the Wicked cinematic masterpiece, is besties with Ariana Grande – and is understood to be in a romantic relationship with producer Lena Waithe.
Cynthia grew up with her mother – who was born in Nigeria – and younger sister, and expressed that being around only women has cemented her self-confidence from a young age.
‘Often the world tells us [Black women] that we aren’t able to do certain things but when all you know is other women doing everything they want to, you realise, yeah I can too,’ she told Harper’s Bazaar in 2021.
‘My mum has a nice house and a car – I can get a nice house and a car. She’s got the job that she wants, I can get the job I want too.
‘At no point did my mum say, “You have to be a doctor”.’
Cynthia’s mother claimed she ‘sang before she spoke’, the actress told the outlet. The parent had also reportedly had such faith in her daughter’s abilities, that she wrote she would become a singer and actress in her baby book.
Her parents separated when she was young, and by the time she was 16, Cynthia’s father disowned her and her sister.
‘He told me that he was out of our lives. And I sort of had to relay the message to everyone,’ she revealed in an interview with NPR three years ago.
‘I didn’t see it coming. Although, I – in hindsight, I probably should have seen it coming. But I didn’t see it coming because, you know, what 16-year-old would? At the time, I was heartbroken because it was in public when it happened as well. So it was just, like, not fun.
‘But, yeah, it was deeply disappointing, deeply heartbreaking. And I think I felt bad for having to have to bring that information back to my house, to my mom and my sister.
‘And I remember it was in the middle of a school day, so I still had to go through school. That was not fun.’
Cynthia has chronicled the experience in a ballad she penned, You’re Not Here, with the emotive lyrics saying: ‘I wish you knew the person I am/ The way I hold my heart in my hands / The way I sing like it’s the air that I breathe.’
‘There is a part of me that wishes I could have my dad in my life,’ she told The Glossary.
‘But there’s also a part of me that’s actually very comfortable because I’ve written this, knowing that he’s not going to be a part of my life at all.’
Following her childhood singing in church and attending La Retraite Roman Catholic Girls’ School, Cynthia ended up at the prestigious RADA – alumni of which include Michael Gambon and Imelda Staunton – after dropping out of her music psychology degree at the University of East London.
Next came cameos in television series, interwoven with theatre work. One of Cynthia’s standout roles was The Color Purple – where she portrayed the lead Celie Harris Johnson – for which she received a Tony.
The production also saw her win an Emmy for Outstanding Musical Performance in a Daytime Program and a Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album.
She has also played roles in Sister Act and The Last Five Years. Cynthia has also starred in the series Genius as musical legend Aretha Franklin, and in Luther: The Fallen Sun, which is based on the hit show.
She was also the lead in Harriet – a biopic about American abolitionist Harriet Tubman.
Cynthia has also worked on book writing projects and set up her own production company – dubbed Edith’s Daughter – in honour of her mother.
When it comes to her personal life, as well as basking in a very public new friendship with her Wicked co-star Ariana Grande, Cynthia is famously pals with another rising British star – Michaela Cole.
Cynthia’s first ever TV appearance was in her show, Chewing Gum. The pair have been friends since the early 2000s.
The actress has spoken about identifying as queer and bisexual, opening up about her identity in British Vogue, two years ago.
‘My closest friends have known this of me for a long time. I feel like I knew it when I was around 15 but didn’t know what to call it,’ she explained.
I didn’t have the vocabulary for it. I knew I was attracted to both men and women. I was attracted to people.
‘I’d have a crush on this person or that person but didn’t know how to put it in words.’
She is understood to be dating American actress and writer Lena Waithe, 40, who has been pictured at press events for Wicked.
The pair first met at the 2018 Met Gala, but Lena was with film executive Alana Mayo at the time.
Lena and Alana got married in 2019, but got divorced after two months of tying the knot.
In 2020, rumours swirled that Cynthia and Lena were together, and are understood to have been together ever since.
Speaking to Variety about presenting Cynthia with an award at the Pal Springs Film Festival in the January of that year, the actress said: ‘Who else would you want to present an award to? Other than Cynthia Erivo?
‘I was so excited to meet her at the Met and we’ve just been vibing ever since!’
Though they have never confirmed anything, the duo have for years now been called a ‘couple’ and Cynthia has even dedicated a post to Lena’s birthday on social media.
Cynthia is offering her acting and singing chops in Wicked – and over the past nine months, fans of the musical have been drip-fed teasers, inundated with merchandise and watched in awe as she and Ariana have donned show-stopping pink and green gowns on red carpets over the world.
But despite all this, the film roll-out has been littered with a series of embarrassing gaffes that even the best PR team couldn’t magically make go away.
Last month, Cynthia found herself embroiled in controversy when she slammed an ‘offensive’ fan-made poster, which was made to closely resemble the theatre production’s original branding.
The star’s impassioned post was met with confusion from fans and subsequently resulted in Cynthia having to backtrack on her comments.
Speaking on the red carpet at the CFDA Awards afterwards, she laughed off her reaction while insisting it ‘wasn’t necessarily a clapback.’
‘I think I’m really protective of the role,’ she told Entertainment Tonight.
‘I’m passionate about it, and I know that the fans are passionate about it.’
Cynthia went on to add to the publication that it was ‘a human moment of wanting to protect Elphaba,’ adding: ‘I probably should’ve called my friends, but it’s fine.’
She and Ariana have also issued apologies for all the tears they’ve been shedding as they talk about their friendship and the film amid the press junket.
‘We’ve cried 500 times today. And honestly, this is a PSA. So sorry guys,’ Grande, 31, could be heard saying in a give-and-take with Erivo in a video shared by E! News.
‘It is what it is,’ her British-born co-star added. ‘There’s just nothing we can do about it.’
Ariana jumped back in: ‘I can’t imagine, and you know what? If you’re going to comment saying how annoying it is, I’ll say it first,’ she said sitting next to Erivo for an interview. ‘I said it first. I’m annoyed. I’m tired. My tear ducts… I’m tired, emotionally tired.’
‘We’ve come through a massive, massive thing and we’ve really stuck together,’ Cynthia explained.
‘Yeah, the stuff you don’t see is the most special stuff, Ariana added while the two ladies sounded like old friends or a married couple.
They would apologise again when Cynthia and Ariana, who play Elphaba Thropp/Wicked Witch Of The West and Glinda The Good Witch Of The North, respectively, attended the Los Angeles premiere on Saturday.
‘We’re sorry. It just happens. It happens. We can’t help it. We’re trying our best, but there’s a lot of emotional things that happen and we’re just going with it,’ Cynthia told ET.
‘Yeah, you need to understand. It’s been like three years, people!’ Ariana pleads. ‘Why does emotional availability scare you so?’
The duo have become ardent friends over the shooting process.
Earlier this month, Ariana revealed that she and the cast of Wicked were in floods of tears every single day while working on the movie.
According to Ariana, Wicked was an emotional labor of love and she and her fellow costars were not afraid of crying on the set.
Speaking on the Sentimental Men podcast, Ariana said: ‘Me, everyone, we all cried every day.’
‘Everyone cried. It was really beautiful.’
‘We both felt such a tremendous responsibility to honor these women and to pour our hearts, our souls, our tears – so many different pairs of lashes,’ Ariana said in April, according to Variety. ‘I’m really grateful for this journey that we’ve taken together.’
Meanwhile, early reviews for the highly-anticipated film adaptation of Broadway’s Wicked are trickling in.
The epic fantasy film, based on the 1995 book by Gregory Maguire that was later turned into a three-time Tony Award winning Broadway musical in 2003, will hit theaters on November 22.
Directed by Jon M. Chu with an eye-popping budget of $145million, Wicked is split into two feature-length films, with the final chapter slated for November 2025.
Critics are already calling Wicked: Part One a ‘masterpiece’ that ‘pops and enchants on the big screen’ as audiences are welcomed to the fantastical world of Oz.
The film’s leads Grande and Erivo, who play witches Glinda and Elphaba, respectively, are receiving high praise for their jaw-dropping vocals and onscreen chemistry.
Film & TV journalist Scott Menzel boldly called it the ‘very best big screen adaptations of a Broadway musical ever.’
‘Wicked is a cinematic spectacle that serves as one of the very best big screen adaptations of a Broadway musical ever. Jon M. Chu perfectly captures the magic of the Broadway show while adding in some of his own unique flourishes to the source material,’ Menzel tweeted Wednesday.
‘Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo completely knock it out of the park as Elphaba and Glinda. Jonathan Bailey is also quite phenomenal in the film. Wicked lives up to the hype and often succeeds it.’
Menzel also teased that fans of the Broadway musical ‘are going to absolutely lose their minds over’ one particular scene.
‘Wicked is hands down one of the year’s best films,’ Menzel concluded.
Variety’s Jazz Tangcay said that Wicked is ‘much more than we could have ever expected’ and that director Chu, Erivo and Grande ‘gifted us a musical masterpiece.’
Tangcay continued: ‘Ariana & Cynthia will blow you away. The production design and costumes are a visual spectacle.’
Film critic Katcy Stephen, also from Variety, admitted that they were initially ‘pessimistical’ but were happy to report that Wicked is ‘a masterpiece.’
‘Ariana Grande makes Glinda sparkle: she milks every moment with gusto, humor and hair flips,’ Stephen tweeted.
‘Jon M. Chu added so much new life to the story that I can see why it needed to be 2 parts! Well worth the 20-year wait.’
Erin Stecker of IndieWire celebrated Wicked as ‘the best musical-to-movie adaptation’ since Chicago (2002) starring Renee Zellweger and Mamma Mia (2008) starring Meryl Streep.
