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.
Strictly Come Dancing guest judge Cynthia Erivo won the hearts of viewers when she made a moving gesture in Saturday night's live show.
The musicals legend, who has stood in this week for Craig Revel Horwood, launched into sign language to comment on Rose Ayling-Ellis and Giovanni Pernice's Frozen routine.
After communicating with sign language for Rose, who is the BBC dance show's first deaf contestant, she said: "You're joyful, beautiful. READ MORE: Strictly fans go wild as Motsi Mabuse asks for invite to Rose and Giovanni's 'wedding' "That was so much fun to watch and you managed to get all the characterisation and the mood and the feeling all in one. "Gorgeous, thank you." Viewers were moved by the gesture after Rose caused a surge in
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