Cynthia Erivo is opening up about being estranged from her father.
“I don’t know what my life would be like if he was still around, and I can’t say whether it would be better or worse,” Erivo, 38, said during her Harper’s Bazaar interview published on Tuesday, October 28. “Better not to find out. I’ve never daydreamed about that, because it’s not going to happen. And the life that I have, I am so happy in it.”
Erivo’s interview shared in the November 2025 issue comes ahead of her memoir, Simply More: A Book for Anyone Who Has Been Told They’re Too Much, set to be released on Tuesday, November 18.
She discussed her family dynamics in the book, like being raised by her mom, Edith, in London. The Wicked star’s father left her and her sister when she was 16 and “disowned” them, according to the Harper’s Bazaar interview.
Universal Pictures Wicked changed Us for good, and the second half is sure to do the same. The first of the two-part Wicked movie adaptation, released in November 2024, brought the beloved Broadway show to life on the big screen. Starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande as Elphaba and Glinda, respectively, the story chronicled the […]
Erivo has previously discussed their strained relationship in a 2021 interview, sharing that the last time they saw each other was at a cousin’s wedding more than a decade ago.
“This is me admitting that there are things that he’s missed and I’m sad that he’s missed them,” she told Glossary magazine at the time, discussing the song “You’re Not Here,” which was written about their strained relationship.
“There are things that he’s going to miss and I’m sad that he’s going to miss them,” she added. “There is a part of me that wishes I could have my dad in my life. But there’s also a part of me that’s actually very comfortable because I’ve written this, knowing that he’s not going to be a part of my life at all.”
Erivo said at the time that she has no issue being “vulnerable” and sharing the story about her family publicly.
“I don’t know if I could have written anything that wasn’t honest,” Erivo admitted. “I want people to know that it is OK to talk about those things. I want them to find solace and comfort in my music. The goal has only ever been to be truthful.”
Coming into 2024, it was a safe bet that the adaptation of Wicked was going to be one of the biggest films of the year. It’s based upon one of the most popular Broadway musicals ever, and it’s a prequel to The Wizard of Oz, a perennial favorite across several generations. But Wicked outperformed all […]
The same is to be said for her upcoming memoir.
“I have felt so supported through all of the wonderful and new things I’ve been able to share, and I thought to myself, maybe I can help someone else move through some of the things that they have going on in their lives,” Erivo wrote on Instagram in June, when announcing her memoir. “So this book is to help anyone who wants to become even more of the person they are meant to become.”
The title, she explained to Harper’s Bazaar, came from the speech Erivo gave while accepting the GLAAD Media Award in May.
“In their quiet solitude, that’s still a measure of rebellion and still deserves a little light,” she told the magazine. “What I wrote about was [that] those of us who are in the light, who are walking around with our lanterns shining bright, should just change the direction of the lanterns and shine it back on people who don’t know where their path is yet.”
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