We are days away from part one of the highly anticipated musical movie adaptation of Wicked, which makes it a great time to get to know the film’s cast, specifically the new Wicked Witch of The West, Cynthia Erivo. What follows are four must-know facts about the actress, including her adorable matching tattoo with co-star Ariana Grande. Read on to find out what tattoo they got, how it honors the late Judy Garland and more.
These songs helped her win the role of Elphaba
There is no shortage of songs in the Wicked musical, so it’s no surprise that Erivo had to sing as part of her Elphaba auditions.
“I had to sing all the big ones [for the audition]: ‘Defying Gravity,’ ‘The Wizard and I,’ all of that,” the actress said in 2022.
She also admitted in that interview that one song holds a special place in her heart.
“‘For Good,’ when we get to do that, I think that will be a very special moment for us [Erivo and Ariana Grande].
She’s private about her love life
Ervio often posts about her thoughts, feelings and various outings on all of her social media, but there is one part of her life that she prefers to keep private: her romantic relationships.
“I’m very tight-lipped with my relationships because I don’t think that my relationship is for anyone else but me,” Erivo said in 2024. “I spend so much of my life sharing everything— whether it’s my work or my soul or my life in speeches. I think I give enough of myself that I’m allowed to keep something for me.”
Erivo has also been very open and honest about being queer, saying, “People make assumptions. No one’s ever really assumed that I’m straight! I don’t think anyone thinks of me as a person who has relationships that aren’t platonic! So I’ve never needed to even really discuss anything about my sexuality at all.”
Currently, Erivo isn’t in a public relationship.
Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande got matching ‘Wicked’ tattoos
After filming for Wicked wrapped, Erivo and Ariana Grande decided to commemorate the occasion by getting not one, but two matching tattoos.
The first was a poppy on the outside of their hands, likely in reference to the scene in the original Wizard of Oz where Dorothy (Judy Garland) lies down in a field of them.
Secondly, Erivo and Grande got the words “For Good” tattooed on the inside of their palms, which is a direct callout to the duet Glinda and Elphaba sing in Wicked. How cute is that!
She is one award away from an EGOT
While Erivo might be relatively new to the movie scene, she is no stranger to the spotlight. The singer and actress has 14 wins and 60 nominations, including an Emmy, a Grammy and a Tony.
Her Emmy is for her 2017 appearance on the Today show, where she performed with the rest of The Color Purple’s cast. Her Grammy also came in 2017 in the Best Musical Theater Album category, again for her work in The Color Purple. Finally, she also won a Tony Award in 2016 for her work in that musical.
If the actress ever wins an Oscar, that would make her an EGOT winner. Only 21 people throughout history have held that honor.
Erivo was nominated for two Oscars for her 2020 film Harriet and here’s hoping she gets nominated for her work in Wicked.
