Cynthia Onyedinmanasu Chinasaokwu Erivo (born 8 January 1987) is an English actress, singer, and songwriter.
She is known for her performance as Celie in the Broadway revival of The Color Purple, for which she won the 2016 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical, the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album, and the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Musical Performance in a Daytime Program, the latter two she shared with the rest of the cast.
Erivo ventured into films in 2018, with roles in the heist film Widows and the thriller Bad Times at the El Royale. In 2019, she portrayed abolitionist Harriet Tubman in the biopic Harriet, for which she earned nominations for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
The third installment of National Geographic’s “Genius” anthology series, subtitled “Aretha” for its subject Aretha Franklin, has been delayed due to the novel coronavirus halting production.
Originally, “Genius: Aretha” was set to premiere on Memorial Day, but the limited series starring Cynthia Erivo in the titular role was still in production when concerns about the pandemic caused shutdowns across the country.
With production still suspended, the network sent out a statement saying that “it has become clear that the series will not be completed in time for our previously announced Memorial Day airdate.” Although the new premiere date is still to be announced, this likely means the show will also be unable to compete in the 72nd Annual
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