The Arrival Of Erivo

She’s already conquered the Broadway stage – now British actress Cynthia Erivo is set to take Hollywood by storm. Lucy Pavia meets a star in the making.

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Only 27 people in the world can claim to have to have won an Emmy, a Tony and a Grammy award. Run a finger down the list and you’ll find grandees like Bette Midler, Lily Tomlin and Dick Van Dyke. But you’ll also find a 31-year-old British woman from south London called Cynthia Erivo.

Haven’t heard of her yet? That’s all about to change. Erivo made her astounding Hollywood debut last month in Drew Goddard’s neo-noir thriller Bad Times At The El Royale. Though Dakota Johnson, John Hamm and Jeff Bridges were among the cast, critics agreed it was newcomer Erivo who ran away with the movie as session singer Darlene Sweet. This month, she’ll appear as single mother Belle in Steve McQueen’s brilliant new heist drama Widows – a slick adaptation of an 80s TV show transferred to modern-day Chicago. Plus, a few days before we speak, she’s confirmed as the actress who will play slave-turned-abolitionist Harriet Tubman in a hotly tipped upcoming biopic, Harriet.