Cynthia Erivo

Here’s something truly “Wicked” for Black History month: this past September, Simon Spotlight, imprint of Simon & Schuster, released “Cynthia Erivo” by Elizabeth Dennis and Hunter M. Green, with illustrations by Ruth Burrows. It’s one of the imprint’s “Spotlight On” series of books filled with inspiration for young readers.

The first page asks the young reader, “How can YOU shine like Cynthia?”

That’s a tall order for sure. The star of “The Color Purple” and “Wicked” was born in London in 1987 to Nigerian immigrants. She had planned for a career in music psychology, then left college to enroll in the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. At age 11 she began stage performance, starred in a production of “Romeo and Juliet” at 15 and appeared in several commercials. She had a dream.

When she got to the Royal Academy, she felt, as the book states, “alone and different, but she didn’t let that get her down.” The accompanying illustration shows a group of multicultural students socializing, as Erivo sits alone in the front. “Remember, it’s okay to not fit in,” the authors write, urging kids to find their starring roles, whether that be on stage or in their lives.

We know what Erivo found. In 2011, she was cast as Deloris Van Cartier, the lead character in the U.K. tour of “Sister Act,” a role Whoopi Goldberg originated in the 1992 film.

Goldberg also played the role of Celie Harris in the 1985 film “The Color Purple,” and in 2013, Erivo followed in her footsteps to assume that role for a London production. She was the only cast member to travel to Broadway for the same role (Jennifer Hudson had the lead), and she won a Tony Award for Best Actress.

That revival at Broadway’s Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre began on Dec. 10, 2015, had 449 regular performances and closed on Jan. 8, 2017, to tour nationally that fall. Directed by John Doyle, the cast included 2016 Tony nominee Danielle Brooks as Sofia, Tony winner Jennifer Holliday as Shug Avery, Isaiah Johnson as Mister and Kyle Scatliffe as Harpo. The producers included Oprah Winfrey.

“The Color Purple” is of course another story of overcoming challenges in life. Based on the novel by Alice Walker, Celie, through love, triumphs over adversity through inner strength and finding her own voice.

In 2019, Erivo starred with Leslie Odom Jr. in Kasi Lemmons’ film “Harriet,” about the legacy of Harriet Tubman. She co-wrote the movie’s title song, “Stand Up,” with Joshuah Brian Campbell, whom she chose after seeing him sing his original song “Sing Out, March On” in the 2018 Harvard commencement ceremony honoring Georgia congressman John Lewis. They won “Best Original Song” at the Hollywood Music in Media Awards. Erivo and the song were both nominated for two Academy Awards and two Golden Globes; the film received 10 NAACP nominations and African American Film Critics Association and Society of Composers & Lyricists Award wins.

“While the clouds roll back and the stars fill the night / that’s when I’m gonna stand up, take my people with me / together we are going to a brand-new home, far across the river / can you hear freedom calling?” Erivo sings. Also featuring Janelle Monáe, Joe Alwyn and Jennifer Nettles, the film depicted Tubman’s escape from slavery and years spent freeing others via the Underground Railroad.

Of course, most recently Erivo starred as Elphaba opposite Ariana Grande’s Glinda in the 2024 and 2025 two-part Universal Pictures’ film adaptation of the hit musical “Wicked” by director Jon M. Chu. “Wicked” part one opened at number one at the global box office and became the highest grossing movie at the domestic box office that was based on a Broadway musical.

“And if I’m flying solo / at least I’m flying free / to those who’d ground me / take a message back from me / tell them how I am / defying gravity / and soon I’ll match them in renown / and nobody in all of Oz / no wizard that there is or was / is ever gonna bring me down!” Erivo sings in “Defying Gravity.”

“Some identify with Elphaba’s desire to do what is right, even if it means she will be labeled the enemy,” ScreenRant’s Angel Shaw published in November 2024. “Others see her declaration that she will fly free as a reflection of a hard-earned decision to be precisely who you were born to be, regardless of how society may criticize. Elphaba’s words send a message to members of the LQBTQ+ community, the disabled community, immigrants, underdogs or anyone else who fits within the category of ‘other.’”

Erivo has received Golden Globe, SAG, Critics’ Choice, NAACP, BAFTA, and Academy Award nominations. In 2021, she published her children’s book, “Remember to Dream, Ebere,” in which a young girl’s mother encourages her to dream and follow her imagination.

In 2021, Erivo portrayed Aretha Franklin in National Geographic’s Emmy-winning series “Genius: Aretha,” about the life of the Queen of Soul. Locally, she received Harvard’s Hasty Pudding’s theater group’s 75th Woman of the Year Pudding Pot award. On a reliably frigid February day last year, the Oscar nominee took part in the Harvard Square parade and a singing contest.

Today, Erivo is honorary vice president for her alma mater, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, the school where she felt alone and different, and didn’t fit in.

“Celebrate your individuality,” Dennis and Green write in the Simon & Schuster children’s book. “Take your chance to FLY. Live your truth. Always share your light.”

The book ends as it opens, with a question: “What makes YOU shine like Cynthia?”