While Cynthia Erivo’s road to Wicked has been decades in the making, her starring role as Elphaba on the big screen feels pre-ordained. With her with her outsized artistry and embrace of the intersections of her identity as a Black queer woman, she was also destined to be Out’s Icon of the Year and cover star.
The London-born actor and musical artist has worked steadily since winning the Tony for The Color Purple in 2016 in films including Harriet (2019) and on TV in Genius: Aretha (2021). She released her debut album Ch. 1 Vs. 1 in 2021.
Erivo immersed herself in Wicked’s music years before she took herself on a birthday date at 25 to see the Stephen Schwartz musical in the West End — a pivotal moment, she says.
Now she stars as the misunderstood, verdant witch Elphaba in John Chu’s film adaptation of the beloved musical, which she says, “intrinsically wants to be a queer canon.” When she accepted the Human Rights Campaign’s National Equality Award earlier this year, she spoke openly about loving her queer identity. With Elphaba, her art and identity are a supernova assured to inspire others.
“People haven't seen it yet, and I’m still getting young Black girls messaging me about the braids in their hair and the nails that they see, and they never saw themselves as an Elphaba or felt like an Elphaba. To be able to just open the door a little wider for everyone feels really special,” Erivo says. @cynthiaerivo
