The Oscar nominations were just announced, and British-Nigerian actress, Cynthia Erivo bagged two nods. She appeared in ‘Best Actress’ for her performance in Harriet, where she played Harriet Tubman, an iconic political activist, freedom fighter and a slave abolitionist.
She’s also nominated in the ‘Best Original Song’ category for co-writing the movie’s soundtrack, “Stand Up”. Both nominations make Erivo only the second woman ever to be nominated for ‘Best Actress’ and ‘Best Original Song’ for the same movie — the first being Lady Gaga for A Star Is Born.
Erivo is not new to receiving awards love. Back in 2017, her Broadway debut as Celine in The Colour Purple earned her a Tony (‘Best Leading Actress in a Musical’), a Grammy (‘Best Musical Theatre Album’) and an Emmy (‘Outstanding Musical Performance in a Daytime Program’).
For her role as Harriet Tubman, Erivo has been nominated for a Golden Globe, a Screen Actor’s Guild and many more. If she wins in the ‘Best Actress’ category of the Oscars, she would become the second black woman in history to do so. The first person was Halle Berry in 2001.
Also, if she wins in the song category alone, then Erivo would become the youngest person to win an EGOT (a combination of all four major American entertainment awards — an Emmy, an Oscar, a Grammy and a Tony), as she is just 33 years old.
Nigerians are winning, and we are glad to see it.
