Cynthia Erivo, photographed exclusively for Empire in New York on 4 September 2024.
MARK SELIGERR
`There was no yellow brick road laid out for to follow.
Instead, the British-Nigerian has found her own way, from a show-stealing solo in her south London primary’s nativity play (‘Silent Night’; not a dry eye in the house), to a multi-hyphenate, multi-award-winning career, spanning stage, screen and latterly, the recording studio. This month, 37-year-old Erivo stars as Elphaba, aka the Wicked Witch of the West, alongside Ariana Grande, Jeff Goldblum and Michelle Yeoh, in the big-screen adaptation of Wicked, the Wizard Of Oz spin-off and hit Broadway musical. It’s a role she feels she’s “innately understood” even before being offered it, from experiencing the musical, and there have been plenty more sing-along adventures en route to this dream-come-true.