Cynthia Erivo is an Oscar away from an ego. Until then, she can add another award under her belt: Kirk Douglas Award for Excellence in film.
Erivo will receive the 18th annual Kirk Douglas Award from the Santa Barbara International Film Festival during a December 4 ceremony at Ritz-Carlton Bacara. This feature serves as a collection for year-long SBIFF training programs.
Kirk Douglas Award for Excellence in Film is a career performance award awarded individuals who devote their lives to both on and off-camera cinematic contributions. Former recipients include Dame Judi Dench, Jane Fonda, Harrison Ford, Ryan Gosling, Will Ferrell, Martin Scorsese and Michelle Yeoh. Both Kirk Douglas and Michael Douglas have received the award, where Kirk was the first recipient in 2006.
Kirk died at the age of 103 In February 2020, which made Erivo the fourth recipient since his passing.
“Cynthia Erivo is an individual talent whose depth, scope and fearless commitment to her craft embodies the spirit of excellence that my father advocated throughout her life,” Michael said in a statement. “It is perfectly appropriate that she gets the Kirk Douglas Award, which celebrates bold artistry and lasting impact in film.”
Erivo already has a famous career and picks up Emmy, Grammy and Tony wins in quick succession after her Broadway debut as Celie in “The Color Purple.” Erivo won a Tony 2016 for best leading actress in a musical for the role before picking up an Emmy for outstanding musical performance in a day program and a Grammy for best musical theater album in 2017. The following year she made her big screen debut, and appears in both Steve McQueen’s “Widows” and Drewows ” Shown in both Steve McQueen’s “Widows” and Drew Goddards “Bad Times on the El-Roy debut, and appears in a 2010.
The singer/actress may be about to secure “O” in her ego. Erivo is already three nominated at the Academy Awards. In 2019, she got both best actress (to portray Harriet Tubman) and best original song (for “stand up”) nominations for the movie “Harriet.” In 2024, she picked up another nomination of best actress, this time to play Elphaba Thropp (later known as Wicked Witch of the West) in “Wicked.” She will repeat this role during 2025’s ”Wicked: For good. “
Erivo is currently looking for outstanding guest actress in a comedy series of 2025 Emmys. She showed up in the “Poker Face” season 2 “The Game is a Foot” such as Kazinsky Quintuplets Amber, Bebe, CECE, Delia and Felicity (which were foreign to the others). If she wins, it will be her first Primetime Emmy and adds her previous day Emmy Award.
The 41st SBIFF will go from February 4 to February 14, 2026. Erivo will receive his award at a ceremony on December 4.
