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.
‘Harriet’ Filmmaker Kasi Lemmons to Write, Direct World War II Drama ‘The Shadow King’
variety.comBy Dave McNary Film Reporter “Harriet” director Kasi Lemmons has come on board to write and direct World War II drama “The Shadow King,” set during Benito Mussolini’s 1935 invasion of Ethiopia.
The Atlas Entertainment project is based on Maaza Mengiste’s historical fiction novel, set during the first real conflict of World War II and spotlighting the Ethiopian women soldiers who were left out of the historical record.
The project will be produced by Charles Roven and Richard Suckle and executive produced by Stephanie Haymes-Roven and Curt Kanemoto, who will oversee the project for Atlas Entertainment. “Harriet” garnered an Academy Award nomination for Cynthia Erivo for her portrayal of slave-turned-abolitionist Harriet Tubman.
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