Who Is Cynthia Erivo?

By (author) Hubbard Crystal; By (author) Who HQ; Illustrated by Copeland Gregory
Short description/annotation:
How did a young girl born in South London grow up to be a Tony and Grammy Award winning star? Find out in this Who HQ Now biography about Cynthia Erivo and her exciting career from The Colour Purple on Broadway to starring as Elphaba in the Wicked movie!
Description:
Cynthia Erivo fell in love with performing when she was only five years old and sang ''Silent Night'' as a solo in a school Christmas play. When she grew up, she trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art before beginning her career as a professional actress and singer. Cynthia made her Broadway debut in 2015 as Celie Harris in The Colour Purple. This performance earned her the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. In 2017, she won her first Grammy Award for the cast album of The Colour Purple. Cynthia went on to play Harriet Tubman in the blockbuster film Harriet in 2019. This movie earned Cynthia her first Academy Award nomination as a lead actress. In 2024, Cythia will star as Elphaba in the blockbuster movie muscial Wicked.
Biographical note:
Crystal Hubbard has penned picture books, contemporary and historical romance novels, and short stories. She is the author of Who Is LeBron James? and Who Was John Lewis? from the Who HQ series.
Excerpt:
Who Is Cynthia Erivo?
 
EGOT winners are rare in the entertainment industry. EGOT stands for Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony—the four biggest entertainment awards that can be won in the United States. Elton John, Viola Davis, Jennifer Hudson, and Whoopi Goldberg are four of the nineteen performing artists who have won all four awards. It can take decades in the arts to become an EGOT winner, but in only eight years, Cynthia Erivo has made it three-fourths of the way there.

Emmy Awards honor great television performances and all of the people who make TV possible. Grammy Awards are given for great accomplishments in the recording industry. The film industry gives Oscars to the people voted the best at their part in making a movie, from the actors on the screen to the people who dress them and design the sets. The Tony Award is similar to the Oscar, but it goes to those who are the best in theatrical productions—-like plays and musicals— on Broadway in New York City.

From the moment she arrived in the United States, handpicked to perform in her first Broadway musical as the lead character, to her first starring role in a Hollywood blockbuster, Cynthia has proven she is one of the most talented performers in the world. She has won three of the most coveted awards in professional entertainment and twice been nominated for the fourth.

Cynthia is a small woman with a big voice and an even bigger presence. She stands out with her shaved head and bold fashion sense. Unafraid of the hard work it takes to make a dream come true, Cynthia is proving to be one of the world’s most original and fastest--rising talents.
 
Chapter 1
Born to Perform
 
Cynthia Onyedinmanasu Chinasaokwu Erivo was born on January 8, 1987, in Stockwell, South London, in England. Her parents had immigrated to the United Kingdom from Nigeria. Her mother, Edith, was twenty-four years old when they moved.

Edith remembers Cynthia humming around the house when she was only eighteen months old. In a baby book she kept, Edith wrote that she believed Cynthia would become a singer when she grew up because she sang even when she was eating. Edith was a nurse, and by the time Cynthia was two years old, she would copy her mother’s actions. In Cynthia’s baby book, Edith wrote that she thought Cynthia might become a doctor as well as a singer.

Looking back when she was older, Cynthia realized that her behavior as a child was the first indication that she wanted t