Wicked star Cynthia Erivo says MBE an honour ‘I never thought would happen’

Wicked actress Cynthia Erivo has said being made an MBE is an “honour” she never thought would happen.

The movie star and singer has been made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the New Year Honours list for services to music and drama.

The 38-year-old told the Press Association: “To be given this recognition to celebrate the work that I love to do within the arts, specifically music and drama, is an honour I could never have thought would happen.

“I hope it shows that I care deeply about the work and will continue to do so to the best of my abilities.”

Erivo is not yet 40 but has already won a Grammy, Daytime Emmy and Tony, meaning she is an Oscar away from EGOT status – a rare feat achieved by few actors and singers in the entertainment industry.

Cynthia Erivo arriving at the Oscars in 2017 (Ian West/PA)PA Archive/PA Images - Ian West

The West End and Broadway star was born on January 8 1987 in Stockwell, London, and trained at the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in acting in 2010.

Her first big break came in a production of The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg in 2011 before she secured the lead role of Deloris Van Cartier in the UK tour of Sister Act.

In 2014 she starred in X Factor-inspired musical I Can’t Sing, which was written by comic Harry Hill and told the story of a young woman, played by Erivo, who finds fame on the talent show.

By the early to mid-2010s she had several theatre credits to her name, but it was not until her portrayal of Celie in The Colour Purple that Erivo established herself as a major player in the theatre world.

Erivo had a stint in The Colour Purple at London’s Menier Chocolate Factory in July 2013 and in 2016 she won a Tony Award for best actress in a leading role following her debut in the Broadway revival.

Following her Tony win, Erivo, as one of the three principal soloists on The Colour Purple record, collected the Grammy award for best musical theatre album in early 2017 and, along with the cast of The Colour Purple, took home the Daytime Emmy for outstanding musical performance in a daytime programme.

The year after she made her big screen debut in two films, crime movie Widows and neo-noir mystery thriller Bad Times At The El Royale.

Cynthia Erivo attending the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Benefit Gala 2025 (Matt Crossick/PA)PA Archive/PA Images - Matt Crossick

Erivo also made a mark with her portrayals of historical figures, most notably as Harriet Tubman in an eponymous 2019 biopic that depicted Tubman’s escape from slavery and transformation into an American heroine.

The role saw Erivo nominated for a Golden Globe and Sag Award, with the star also receiving the breakthrough performance award at the 31st annual Palm Springs International Film Festival’s Film Awards Gala in 2020.

Four years later she played prolific singer Aretha Franklin in the anthology series Genius: MLK/X, which focused on the formative years of US civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr and human rights activist Malcolm X.

The 2020s saw Erivo nominated for many more awards, including Oscars nods for Harriet and Wicked and three Grammy nominations.

The 2020 Oscars came after the trending hashtag #OscarsSoWhite and Erivo said it was “saddening” that she was the only person of colour to be nominated in an acting category that year, labelling the ceremony’s lack of diversity “a real eye-opener”.

Her other notable roles include Odette Raine in the film Luther: The Fallen Sun and Holly Gibney in US TV series The Outsider.

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande at the European premiere of Wicked: For Good in London in November (Jonathan Brady/PA)PA Wire/PA Images - Jonathan Brady

It was in 2024, during the press tour for Wicked, that Erivo shot to mega stardom.

The movie star played green witch Elphaba in a two-part film version of the hit Broadway and West End musical, also starring pop star Ariana Grande in the role of Glinda.

Erivo told US chat show The View she was drawn to the role as she could relate to feeling like an outsider and “not fitting in”.

She said: “When I first saw it a good few years ago, I felt like I recognised something in the character, the feeling of being on the outside, being a bit different, not fitting in.”

At the 2025 Oscars, Erivo and Grande, who were both nominated for awards, performed the song Defying Gravity from the hit musical.

Also in 2025 Erivo hosted the Tony Awards and played Jesus in a major Hollywood Bowl production of Jesus Christ Superstar.

In 2026, she will play Dracula in an adaptation of the gothic Bram Stoker novel at the Noel Coward Theatre.

She was recently nominated for an award at the Golden Globes and is expected to be Oscar nominated for her role in the second Wicked movie, For Good.