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Cynthia Erivo has revealed how Jada Pinkett Smith has helped her navigate fame. The actress, 38, shot to worldwide acclaim last year after starring in Wicked, and she’s just opened up about getting wisdom from her famous friends during a cover interview with Harper’s Bazaar. And fellow actress Jada, 54, told the magazine she sees Cynthia as a “dear sister”. “I’ve been checking in on her a lot,” Jada said. “A lot of times, it’s difficult if you haven’t been through something like that, being popped into stardom in a certain manner.” The article, by Jazmine Hughes, reads: “Being a woman in Hollywood is hard enough, but being a queer Black woman? Heavy-duty. “Smith helps remind Erivo of what’s important: ‘Really nourishing the truth within you, and recognizing the beauty and the power that you possess, and, you know, not looking to others to buoy you up in a certain manner, because that’s a big trap.’” The interview also says Cynthia gets other advice from Oprah Winfrey, Gayle King, Debbie Allen and Whoopi Goldberg. Soon, Wicked: For Good will be in cinemas - and Cynthia spoke about her relationship with her character, Wicked Witch Elphaba. “What I love is having had the chance to play her when she has to figure out what she is and play her again when she knows,” she said. Cynthia added: “If it’s the only thing I put into this world, that everyone’s individual beauty is worth seeing and experiencing, and you don’t have to change it for anyone else other than yourself, then I’m happy.” The actress also said people should feel free to change their appearance, but only if it’s for themselves. “If you want to change and you want to get a new nose, you want to get new lips, fine,” she said. “If that’s good for you, then that’s good for you — as long as it’s for you.” Earlier this month, Cynthia was among the 100 people selected as 2025’s most influential figures in fashion. She joined the coveted Business of Fashion’s BoF 500, an annual index of people who are shaping and influencing the global fashion industry. As well as her role in Wicked, Cynthia is also known for playing Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin in the series Genius: Aretha, for which she was Emmy nominated, and abolitionist Harriet Tubman in Harriet.
