Cynthia Erivo: Ch. 1 vs. 1 2021

Erivo made her Broadway debut reprising her starring role as 'Celie' in the critically acclaimed revival of "The Color Purple." She first played the role in 2013 at London's Menier Chocolate Factory and her performance on Broadway earned her several awards, including the Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical, a Grammy award as a principal soloist on original cast recording of "The Color Purple" (Best Musical Theater Album), a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Musical Performance in a Daytime Program, the Drama Desk Award, Theatre World, and Outer Critics Circle Awards.

In 2019, Erivo starred as Harriet Tubman in the biopic Harriet. Her performance earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, and she got a second one for Best Original Song for "Stand Up," which she co-wrote for the film with Joshuah Brian Campbell. She next appeared in the HBO crime miniseries The Outsider and played Aretha Franklin on the National Geographic anthology series Genius.