Cynthia Erivo may have defied gravity, but she has never defied expectations. The Wicked star was recognized for her contribution to the dramatic and musical arts with a special royal honor at Windsor Castle on Tuesday. Prince William presented Erivo with a medal, making her a Member of the Order of the British Empire. The MBE is one of the UK’s highest civil and military honors, awarded for outstanding contributions in a range of fields including the arts, science, public service, and charitable work.
“To be given this recognition to celebrate the work that I love to do within the arts, specifically music and drama, is an honor I could never have thought would happen,” Erivo said in a statement last year. “I hope it shows that I care deeply about the work and will continue to do so to the best of my abilities.” Erivo was among the British stars on the royals’ New Years honors list, which also included Idris Elba, who serves as an ambassador for King Charles’s charity, The King’s Trust. Comedian Matt Lucas, a former co-host of The Great British Baking Show, was also honored on Tuesday.
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Erivo at Windsor Castle on Tuesday.
This week’s ceremony was Prince William’s fifth investiture of 2026 and the 20th conducted by the royal family this year. King Charles has presided over three investitures himself this calendar year, while his sister Princess Anne has conducted 12.
Born in London in 1987, Erivo is among the most decorated British performers of her generation. She is one of the few artists to have received nominations across all four major American entertainment awards—Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony—having won all but the Oscar. She made her Broadway debut in the revival of The Color Purple in 2015, winning the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical and a Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album. The cast also won a Daytime Emmy Award in 2017 for Outstanding Musical Performance in a Daytime Program for their performance on the Today show.
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Cynthia Erivo with her first Tony in the press room in 2016.
She earned Academy Award nominations for Best Actress for her portrayals of Harriet Tubman in Harriet (2019) and Elphaba in Wicked (2024), as well as a nomination for Best Original Song for “Stand Up” from the former. Her rendition of “Defying Gravity” with Ariana Grande from the Wicked soundtrack earned her a second Grammy. On television, she portrayed Aretha Franklin in National Geographic’s Genius: Aretha in 2021, earning her a Primetime Emmy nomination.
Rachel King (she/her) is a news writer at Town & Country. Before joining T&C, she spent nearly a decade as an editor at Fortune. Her work covering travel and lifestyle has appeared in Forbes, Observer, Robb Report, Cruise Critic, and Cool Hunting, among others. Originally from San Francisco, she lives in New York with her wife, their daughter, and a precocious labradoodle. Follow her on Instagram at @rk.passport.
