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.
Zendaya, Whoopi Goldberg and Michaela Coel Honored at Essence’s Black Women in Hollywood Awards
hollywoodreporter.comIn a typical Oscar week, Essence's Black Women in Hollywood Awards is a star-studded, tears-and-laughter packed, invitation-only luncheon celebrating the industry's Black female talent.
This year, Essence’s 14th time hosting the event, called for a more pandemic friendly, virtual approach, albeit one that still packed plenty of emotion. "Obviously there aren’t hundreds of people in the room with us," said Laverne Cox, who hosted the show that honored Zendaya, Whoopi Goldberg, Cynthia Erivo, Michaela Coel and Andra Day. "It’s a global pandemic, people." The theme of this year’s awards show, which was taped on a soundstage in Hollywood on April 3 and streamed on Essence.com on April 22, was "Mastering Our Stories." "So many of us, especially.
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