Cynthia Erivo Is Building a 'Wicked' Net Worth

Cynthia Erivo has long been a household name among theatergoers, but now she's a household name among moviegoers across the globe, too. As a result, the Wicked star—who plays Elphaba in the film adaptation—is likely to see her net worth skyrocket in years to come.

In some ways, her meteoric rise seems fated. "I knew I wanted to be an actress [as a kid]," she told Elle in November 2024. "I knew I wanted to be a singer. I knew I wanted to be successful. Those are the things that were very clear to me."

Still, she couldn't have imagined all this, she continued.

"It’s wonderful, not just because of the things that it comes with, but because I got to do it as me," she said. "To be at this point and to feel very much like myself, and to be also open to whatever growth may come, feels really wonderful."

Keep reading to find out how Cynthia Erivo got her start and what she's earned along the way.

Related: How to Stream 'Wicked'

How did Cynthia Erivo get famous?

Erivo's stage career started in London, where she honed her craft in shows like I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky, Sister Act and, most notably, The Color Purple, in which she played the lead role of Celie in an Off-West End production. The Color Purple would ultimately be her ticket across the pond: She reprised the role in a 2015 production at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre in New York City, where she made her Broadway debut and earned a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical.

Her theatrical success established, Erivo next began flexing her acting chops in the world of movies, starring in films like Widows with Viola Davis and Carrie Coon, and Harriet, in which she portrayed the revolutionary Harriet Tubman. She also took on TV roles, including a part in Michaela Coel’s Chewing Gum and a two-episode arc in Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson’s comedy Broad City.

Now, Erivo is playing one of most coveted roles in musical theater on the big screen.

🤩 📺 SIGN UP for Parade's Daily newsletter & get the scoop on the latest TV news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox 🤩🎥

What is Cynthia Erivo's net worth in 2024?

According to Celebrity Net Worth, Cynthia Erivo is worth an estimated $3 million. That figure may seem low considering she's starring in Wicked, which is set to be one of the biggest movies of 2024, but it's likely to spike given the movie’s already impressive box-office success.

That said, the business of Hollywood is a particularly fickle one, and women (particularly women of color) are often paid far less than their acting colleagues—something Erivo has been vocal about. “It’s really bloody hard, that’s my experience,” she said at TheWrap’s Welcome to Power Women Summit 2021, “It’s really bloody hard, it’s always a fight, you spend so much time explaining why you’re worth the money that you’re worth.”

Related: 'Wizard of Oz' Easter Eggs in the 'Wicked' Movie That Aren't in the Broadway Musical

How much money does Cynthia Erivo make per Broadway show?

The pay range for a Broadway actor can range from around $50K to $220K per year. Given Erivo’s status as Broadway royalty, she likely lands on the higher end of that scale.

How much money does Cynthia Erivo make from music?

In 2021, Erivo released her first solo album, Ch. 1 Vs. 1, a project that, according to a promotional interview with Variety, drew inspiration from artists like Kate Bush, Aretha Franklin and the Eurythmics. It's common knowledge that artists don’t profit much off of album sales anymore—they make only about 10-to-20 percent of the profit and a fraction of a cent per stream on apps like Spotify. So with Ch. 1 Vs. 1 peaking at only 77 on the charts, it’s reasonable to guess that Erivo made somewhere in the tens of thousands for her endeavor into solo artistry.

But maybe there's more profit in her future? In September 2024, she revealed in an interview with Vanity Fair that she wasn't entirely happy with her first album—and that she has new music on the way.

"The last time I made an album, we were in the pandemic, so we were basically doing it over Zoom,” she said. “I was trying to put something together that had to come from me—and I was with the wrong people.”

What TV shows and movies has Cynthia Erivo been in?

Cynthia Erivo TV Shows

• Chewing Gum (2015)

• Mr. Selfridge (2016)

• The Tunnel (2016)

• Broad City (2017-2019)

• The Boss Baby: Back in Business (2018)

• Anthem: Homunculus (2019)

• Sunny Day (2019)

• The Outsider (2020)

• James and the Giant Peach with Taika and Friends (2020)

• Genius (2021)

• Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock (2022)

• Roar (2022)

• Star Wars: Visions (2023)

• Blue's Clues & You! (2023)

• Strange Planet (2023)

• Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur (2024)

Cynthia Erivo Movies

• Widows (2018)

• Bad Times at the El Royale (2018)

• Harriet (2019)

• Chaos Walking (2021)

• Needle in a Timestack (2021)

• Disney's Pinocchio (2022)

• Drift (2023)

• Luther: The Fallen Sun (2023)

• Wicked (2024)

Acting isn’t the only job Erivo has her sights set on. In a 2015 interview with Backstage, she expressed her desire to produce and create opportunities for others.

“For me, the next thing is to be able to be a person that creates material not just for myself, but for other people to be in,” she said. “I want to create platforms for people to showcase them. I want to be able to make space for other women of color.”

How much did Cynthia Erivo make for  Wicked?

Erivo's Wicked salary has not been made public, but according to the Hollywood gossip site Showbiz Galore and as reported by MSN, the star made around $1 to $2 million for the role. Take that unsubstantiated rumor with a grain of salt, though.

How much money does Cynthia Erivo make per concert?

Cynthia is known for her powerhouse vocals, so it’s no surprise that booking her for a singing engagement comes at a substantial cost. According to celebritytalent.net (a trusted service for connecting celebrities with people looking to book talent), Erivo’s booking rate ranges from $150K-$299K per show. When you’ve got pipes like that, you deserve to be compensated!

How much did Cynthia Erivo make for The Color Purple?

It's unknown how much Erivo made for this production, but it paid off in a big way regardless. The production, which was Erivo’s Broadway debut, earned her a Tony award and a spot for herself on  the figurative Mount Rushmore of stage royalty. “It was something that changed my life from the very beginning,” she told Playbill in a 2015 interview. “It's helping me grow as an actress. It's helping me grow as a person in this business, in this career. I feel like it will never be as it was again. I feel strange, but there's this feeling that something has moved forward…” And she was right.

Does Cynthia Erivo have an EGOT?

Not yet! But she's close. She has a Tony, Emmy and Grammy under her belt for her involvement with The Color Purple. The Grammy was for best musical theater album and the Emmy was a Daytime Emmy Award for her performance on the Today show with her The Color Purple cast-mates. Given the Oscar buzz she’s already generating for Wicked, the EGOT seems within Erivo’s reach.

Related: 'Wicked' Leaves 'Part Two' With Impossibly Large Shoes To Fill: Review