Cynthia Erivo helps fund the next generation of performers with a USC drama scholarship and a companion film bursary at Oxford

Success on stage and screen often depends on the people who open doors at the right moment. Cynthia Erivo knows that well, and now she is opening them for others. The Tony Award winner and Academy Award nominee has lent her name and her voice to a new scholarship for a drama student at the University of Southern California School of Dramatic Arts, unveiled at an event in Oxford. A companion film award was announced for students at the University of Oxford. Here’s who funded the scholarship, who received it, and what Erivo told the next generation.Cynthia Erivo Scholarship, what the University of Southern California School of Dramatic Arts unveiledThe University of Southern California School of Dramatic Arts announced the Cynthia Erivo Scholarship in May 2026, describing it as an award established to support a student at the school, which has prepared generations of theatre artists in one of the world's major entertainment hubs. According to the school's announcement, the scholarship honours one of the most celebrated performers of her generation, a Tony Award winner and Academy Award nominee known for transformative roles and increasingly for advocating equity and opportunity in Hollywood. The school says that mix of artistry and advocacy is what the award aims to celebrate and inspire. Dean Emily Roxworthy told the school's community in the announcement that Erivo represents the craft, fearless storytelling, and sense of responsibility the school hopes to cultivate, adding that opportunity is a starting point rather than a finish line.Cynthia Erivo, Doctor Stacy L. Smith, and the inaugural Icon Award 2026The scholarship was unveiled on May 5, 2026, at an event at the University of Oxford, in the Sohmen Concert Hall of the Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities. The school's announcement says Erivo joined Dr Stacy L. Smith of the University of Southern California Annenberg Inclusion Initiative for a wide-ranging conversation about storytelling, creativity, and the future of entertainment. At the same event, Erivo received the inaugural Icon Award from the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, and Dean Roxworthy travelled to Oxford to mark the occasion. Smith, who has spent decades documenting barriers facing underrepresented voices in the industry, told the audience that Erivo's work, advocacy, and ethos are resonant and necessary today, and called her commitment to supporting the next generation of filmmakers extraordinary. For attendees, the evening linked an acclaimed career with a practical gesture of support.The Adobe Foundation, Jason and Yvonne Huff Lee, and a companion Film Bursary at OxfordAccording to the announcement, the scholarship is designed to support multihyphenate students pursuing careers across film, theatre, and the creative industries, meaning students who work in several roles at once. It is funded by the Adobe Foundation, Jason and Yvonne Huff Lee, the University of Southern California School of Dramatic Arts, and the University of Southern California Annenberg Inclusion Initiative. Such a mix of corporate, individual, and institutional backing shows how scholarships of this kind often depend on several partners working together. The school also announced a companion award, the Cynthia Erivo Film Bursary, for students at the University of Oxford, created in partnership with the Schwarzman Centre. A bursary is a financial award that supports a student's studies, so the two honours together extend Erivo's name and support across both sides of the Atlantic, from California to Oxford.Meet Brooklyn Norrington, the Master of Fine Arts in Acting student who received the 2026 scholarshipThe scholarship's recipient is Brooklyn Norrington, a rising third-year Master of Fine Arts in Acting student at the University of Southern California School of Dramatic Arts, according to the announcement. This season, Norrington has appeared in two campus productions: the new play Don't Feed the Pigeons, directed by David Warshofsky at the Dick Wolf Drama Centre's Sanctuary Theatre, and Twelfth Night, directed by Kate Burton and Paul Urcioli at the Bing Theatre. Norrington travelled to Oxford for the announcement, accompanied by her parents, and received the 2026 Cynthia Erivo Scholarship Award from Erivo and Dean Roxworthy at the event. For aspiring actors reading this story, the profile is a useful reminder that scholarship recipients are working performers already building credits, and that financial support can help them keep training while they do so.Cynthia Erivo's message to students, be purposeful, be ready for the yeses, and never copy someone elseErivo's own path shaped her commitment. According to the school's announcement, she told the audience at the Schwarzman Centre that her training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art was not without difficulties, and that those experiences became the foundation for serving that school as an alumna. She said she wanted to ensure no one else had that experience, and that she did not want her involvement to be nominal, "I wanted to be purposeful." She also said she wants those who come after her to be supported as they should be. Her advice for students was practical, be ready for the yeses, because the noes are easy while the yeses demand readiness. She closed with a reminder to students that each of them is made singularly and should not try to become someone else.Get the latest Bollywood & Entertainment News, and more. Download the TOI app.Give your child the gift of confidence! Claim your exclusive TOI Masterclass spot today!