Cynthia Erivo Empowering Moment (Photo Credit – Instagram)
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Cynthia Erivo is no stranger to bold transformations, but shaving her head for Wicked: Part One became one of her most personal and freeing changes yet. The Oscar-nominated actress recently opened up about the emotional moment during an appearance at the Canva Create event at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
Cynthia Erivo opened up about the emotional moment she saw herself bald for the first time. After shedding Elphaba’s signature green makeup and staring at her reflection, Erivo admitted to feeling exposed and vulnerable. The actress described the experience as strangely empowering, as she admitted being a fan of her bald look.
“I remember feeling so open and vulnerable when there was nothing there. I saw my face in the mirror with no hair at all. I thought I’d really like that. I like how open that is, I like how much of a black canvas it is, and I like that there’s nothing but my eyes,” the actress stated, as retrieved via PEOPLE.
The actress revealed that her decision to embrace shorter hair wasn’t entirely new. Long before stepping into the shoes — and green skin — of Elphaba, she had already started experimenting with shorter styles. She recalled her younger days, wearing colourful braids and playing with bold hairstyles. But during her time at drama school, something shifted. She realized she wanted people to truly see her without any distractions caused by hair.
Erivo shared, “So when I went to drama school, something happened … when we were graduating. I thought, ‘Oh, I want people to see my face,’ and at that point, I had a lot of hair, thick and long, and I thought, ‘I want to see what it’s like to have short hair.’ ” Erivo further recalled how her hairdresser hesitated to cut her long hair, worried she’d regret losing the length. But Erivo didn’t waver, she returned two days later and had it all chopped off.
Reflecting on her career during the event, Erivo shared that it’s always about the character, not just the project. Whether she feels empathetically connected to the role or not. The actress admitted leaning into the challenges of understanding each person she portrays. And with Elphaba, the same process pushed her in new ways, both professionally and personally — leaving her not just transformed, but more confident in her own skin.
