Cynthia Erivo's Workouts Are Just As Badass As Her Acting Skills

From Women's Health

• Cynthia Erivo, 33, is nominated for an Academy Award for her starring role as Harriet Tubman in Harriet.

• The British actress made a name for herself on Broadway in Color Purple and won a Tony, Emmy, and Grammy for her performance.

• Cynthia says she is addicting to working out and regularly shares her The Dogpound sweat sessions on Instagram.

Cynthia Erivo is ready to stand up. Come Sunday night and the Academy Awards, keep an eye on the British actress. You won't be able to miss her, she's up for two Oscars for her role as Harriet Tubman in Harriet and for the original song "Stand Up." Whether or not she wins, Cynthia will take the stage to sing.

If Cynthia does nab one of the golden statues, she will join the elite ranks of EGOT winners. Here's what to know about the award-winning actress and singer.

Cynthia starting acting at age 11.

The British star got started young doing theater in London. Then, she strayed from the stage and worked in reality TV. She went on to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, per Playbill.

Cynthia won a Grammy and a Tony for her performances in The Color Purple.

She took on the role of Celie in The Color Purple in London. When the production came to Broadway, she came too and wowed audiences on her way to a Tony and a Grammy.

Listen to her song "I'm Here" and you'll hear exactly why.

Then, she won a daytime Emmy too.

She performed on Today with her fellow Color Purple cast and they all took home the award for their guest appearance. They won Best Musical Performance in a Daytime Program, a new category.

Do the math, and she's one award away from an EGOT. These four little letters add up to a major, and very rare, accomplishment for an entertainer. EGOT stands for Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony, and only 15 entertainers are part of this prestigious winners circle so far.

Harriet's not her first movie role.

She starred opposite Viola Davis in Widows in 2018. Cynthia's also known for her portrayal of singer Darlene Sweet in the thriller Bad Times at the El Royale. She sang live on set.

In 2020, Cynthia also has two movies in post-production, per IMDB. She will appear in Needle in a Timestack and play Hildy in Chaos Walking.

Cynthia shares her hardcore workouts on the 'gram.

If you've scrolled through her Instagram, you'll find at least one of her sweat sessions along with a motivating caption. She is an absolute powerhouse and often shows off her strength at The Dogpound, a personal training gym with locations in New York City and Los Angeles.

She wrote in one post: "I wanted everyone to know that even when it looks easy it’s not, so be encouraged to try something new try something challenging and defeat a fear." If you want more #fitspo, you can tune into her stories for daily workouts. Peep the clip below to see her insane jumprope skills.

Fitness is more than physical for Cynthia. "I don’t think that working out is just a physical thing, I think it really is about how you feel," she told Bon Appetit. "You release serotonin when you work out, so I think I may be slightly addicted to the feeling. The Dogpound is a great place. They try out new workouts on me because they know I can handle it."

She powers all her workouts with a vegan diet.

Cynthia switched to a vegan diet about seven years ago. She explained why she made the switch in an interview in Bon Appetit. "I don't eat red meat very often anyway because my body can’t process it," she told the publication. "I don’t have dairy because I’m a singer and, quite frankly, I don’t want to mess around with my vocal chords and how those behave, and dairy is an allergen for me. I was cutting so many things out of my diet for health reasons—my body was letting me know that it wasn’t right for me—it ended up that being vegan was the most correct way for me to treat my body."

Cynthia travels with convenient foods—seaweed chips, edamame chips, tea, peanut butter, avocados—always on hand. "I always take my supplements with me because they’re easy to carry," she told the publication. "I always make a meal for the flight I’m going to be on that day and carry it in a thermos. I always have nuts and apples. If I’m in a hotel, I always ask them to make sure have a kettle and a fridge."

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