Cynthia Erivo

Some Lesser Known Facts About Cynthia Erivo

• Cynthia Erivo’s parents were Nigerian immigrants.

• When the Nigerian Civil War started, Cynthia’s mother, Edith, was only 15. Though she was not officially a refugee, she and her family had to leave their home and move from place to place to stay safe.

• Cynthia’s parents moved to the UK in their early twenties but separated when she was very young. After that, she and her younger sister were raised by their mother.

  

• When Cynthia was 16, her father cut ties with them, and she has had no contact with him since.

• When Cynthia was a child, she acted in playwright Bertolt Brecht’s play ‘The Caucasian Chalk Circle.’

• In 2003, she appeared on the television show ‘Trust Me, I’m a Teenager,’ which aired on Channel 4.

  

• In 2004, Cynthia started studying music psychology at the University of East London. However, after a year, she switched to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), where she pursued a bachelor’s degree in acting.

• Her performance as ‘Leila’ in the play ‘I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky’ (2010), performed at the Theatre Royal Stratford East in London, was highly appreciated by the audience.

  

• Cynthia played the role of ‘Celie Harris Johnson’ in the play ‘The Color Purple’ (2013), which was performed at the Menier Chocolate Factory in London.

  

• Cynthia met British actor Dean John-Wilson while working on the play ‘Sister Act’ in 2013. They soon began dating and made several public appearances. Their relationship, however, ended in 2017, but they never shared the reason.

• Erivo has performed in many other plays such as ‘Dessa Rose’ (2014) at Trafalgar Theatre in London, ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ (2015) at Everyman Theatre in Liverpool, ‘The Last Five Years’ (2016) at The Town Hall in New York, and ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ (2025) at Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.

  

• In 2016, Cynthia appeared as ‘Alberta Hunter’ in PBS and ITV’s series ‘Mr Selfridge.’ That same year, she played the role of ‘Mel’ in the television series ‘The Tunnel,’ which aired on Canal+.

• Cynthia met actor and musician Mario Martinez in 2016. Martinez was interested in Cynthia even while she was dating Dean John-Wilson. In 2017, Cynthia began dating Mario. They were together for about two years, but they split in 2019.

• In 2018, she played the role of ‘Darlene Sweet’ in the film ‘Bad Times at the El Royale.’
  

• Cynthia lent her voice to the character ‘Turtleneck Superstar CEO Baby’ in Netflix’s animated series ‘The Boss Baby: Back in Business’ (2018).

  

• In 2019, Erivo lent her voice to the character ‘Raylene Watts’ in the podcast ‘Carrier.’ She also worked as a producer for the podcast series.

  

• She has worked as a voice artist for a few other podcasts including ‘The Two Princes’ (2019), ‘Hank the Cowdog’ (2020), and ‘1984’ (2024).

  

• In August 2020, Cynthia founded a production company which she named ‘Edith’s Daughter’ as a tribute to her mother.

• Cynthia and Lena Waithe, an actor and film producer, started dating in 2020. They met at the 2018 Met Gala and were later seen together at many events.

  

• In 2021, she worked as an executive producer for the podcast ‘Grandpa Was an Emperor.’

  

• Cynthia appeared as ‘Hildy’ in an action-thriller film titled ‘Chaos Walking’ in 2021. That same year, she played the role of ‘Janine Mikkelsen’ in the romantic science fiction film ‘Needle in a Timestack.’

  

• In 2021, she appeared as a guest judge on VH1’s reality show ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ and BBC One’s dance contest show ‘Strictly Come Dancing.’

  

• Cynthia has appeared in many other films such as ‘Pinocchio’ (2022), ‘Luther: The Fallen Sun’ (2023), and ‘Wicked’ (2024).

• She has lent her voice to various characters in animated series like ‘Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock’ (2022), ‘Roar’ (2022), ‘Star Wars: Visions’ (2023), ‘Strange Planet’ (2023), and ‘Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur’ (2024).

  

• In 2023, Cynthia played the role of ‘Jacqueline’ in the drama film ‘Drift.’ She also worked as a producer for the film.

  

• Cynthia Erivo consumes alcohol occasionally.

• She often smokes cigarettes.

  

• Cynthia is an avid animal lover and has two pet dogs, Caleb Erivo and Gigi.

  

• She is a fitness enthusiast and often hits the gym.

  

Cynthia Erivo as ‘Alberta Hunter’ in the series ‘Mr Selfridge’ (2016)

Cynthia Erivo (as Elphaba Thropp) and Ariana Grande (as Galinda Upland ‘Glinda’) in the film ‘Wicked’ (2024)