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.
Halle Berry Calls Out Academy For Still Being Only Black Best Actress Winner
justjared.comHalle Berry made history in 2001 when she won the Best Actress Oscar for her role in Monster’s Ball. The now 58-year-old actress was the first Black actress to win the top actress prize at the annual awards ceremony, after being only the seventh nominated.
Since her historic win, seven more Black actresses have been nominated for Best Actress In a Leading Role at the Academy Awards, but none have won.
In a new interview, Halle said she is saddened every year and calls out the Academy for there still not being another Black Best Actress winner. Keep reading to find out more… “I’m still eternally miffed that no Black woman has come behind me for that best actress Oscar, I’m continually saddened by that year after year,” she told Marie Claire. “And it’s certainly not because there has been nobody deserving.” Halle noted that the last two Black nominees, Andra Day and Viola Davis were very deserving of winning the Best Actress in a Leading Role Oscar for their roles in The United States vs Billie Holiday and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, respectively.
Previously, she also lauded Cynthia Erivo (in Harriet) and Ruth Negga (in Loving) as delivering Oscar-worthy performances.
Read more on justjared.com
