Who Is Cynthia Erivo?

Who Was . . . ? Series

by Crystal Hubbard, Who HQ

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 Color Purple on Broadway to starring as Elphaba in the Wicked movie!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 Color 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 Color 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.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Childrens

56 pages, Paperback

Published October 15, 2024

Reviews

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who is Cynthia Erivo?

I Picked Up This Book Because: Curiosity.

Media Type: Audiobook
Source: CC Public Library
Dates Read: 1/28/25
Stars: 4 Stars
Narrator(s): Ashley J Hobbs


The Story:
An impressive career from an impressive talent.

[Gabriel Mero · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was interesting learning about Cynthia.

[Hailey Vittrup · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly, if this didn’t contain the usual Who HQ agenda, including topics that are inappropriate and/ or agenda motivated in a children’s book, it would have been 5 stars. It was disrespectful, honestly, for the author to include something in the timeline that was overtly politically biased that had nothing to do with the book’s topic. This book was written at a time when the first Wicked movie with Cynthia had not yet been released, so it mentioned the film, but not to the extent that a more recent book would have. I am not a Wicked fan, but no one can deny how amazing Cynthia’s singing voice is. I kind of assume that this book will be updated later on to speak more about her most famous role.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not especially interesting. While this person has done a lot, it is a lot of the same thing.
If she were not a person of color, she would not have had a book written about her.
Unless you have a specific interest in this person, don’t bother.

[TreeFlower · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was pretty much a book of facts about Cynthia Erivo. Who her parents were, where she’s from, how she’s been singing since she was in diapers. I liked learning about her and her accomplishments in life. I hope to read a more in depth book about her in the future.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mentions she supports GLAAD but completely omits her sexuality and her marriage which would be fine if the layout of every single other who is/who was book didn’t include several pages about the main characters relationships.

[norah melden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who is Cynthia Erivo? MY HERO

[Bubu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved learning more about Cynthia 💚 This was a quick but insightful read, perfect for fans of this talented and inspiring artist.

[Susan's Sweat Smells Like Literature · Rating 3 out of 5]

I admire Erivo and her accomplishments in acting and music. However, I do not like the 50 page format of the Who was series. Crammed full of facts, her story had no room to breathe.

[Noah Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was pretty interesting, it was interesting to hear about her and her life.

[irini · Rating 4 out of 5]

i actually knew nothing about cynthia erivo besides everything i know from wicked and the press tour so it was really nice to read this, especially leading up to the release of wicked: for good