WATCH: The Legacy Of Cynthia Erivo Tribute

Cynthia Erivo Cultural Icon Award.

Transcript

00:00With a voice that pierces the soul, Cynthia Erivo transports audiences into mesmerizing

00:10realms of brilliance.

00:11Whether she's commanding the Broadway stage, delivering soul-stirring performances on screen,

00:16or writing and performing Oscar-nominated songs like Stand Up from Harriet, Cynthia

00:21consistently pushes the boundaries of artistic expression.

00:26Her transformative performances have earned her the highest of accolades across multiple

00:30industries, including a Tony Award, a Grammy Award, and a Daytime Emmy Award, placing her

00:37and Oscar away from the coveted EGOT status.

00:41I love being able to act and play these characters and be a vessel for another person's story.

00:45I love being able to connect both of those dots and use music and words as an emotional

00:52highway.

00:54The awards are beautiful, happy cherries on top of a really full working system.

01:03Her portrayal of Elphaba in Wicked showcases not only her vocal talents, but also her physical

01:09commitment as she performed her own stunts.

01:12I tend to pick roles that give me the chance to work really hard to get at the center of

01:18who they are.

01:20This undaunted dedication earned her a second Academy Award nomination for Best Actress,

01:26making her only the second Black actress after Viola Davis to achieve multiple nominations

01:31in this category.

01:32The thing that I hope that Black women and Black girls take away, you don't necessarily

01:37have to wait for someone to see who you are to be celebrated and step into what you think

01:43might be your destiny.

01:45In her newly attained title of Vice President of her alma mater, the Royal Academy of Dramatic

01:49Art, Cynthia is molding tomorrow's visionaries to fulfill their own destinies.

01:55I love meeting the new students, so I'm looking forward to hopefully being able to pay for

02:01people to go to school.

02:03Cynthia is doing much more than breaking barriers on screen and in her community.

02:07She's cementing her place as one of the most transformative and unstoppable forces in entertainment

02:13history.

02:14If you keep showing up, if you keep being who you are, eventually no one can really

02:18question it.