While the green skin of Cynthia Erivo’s character Elphaba in “Wicked” comes as a shock to many in the land of Oz, her waist length micro braids were a pleasant surprise to viewers watching—and a deliberate choice.
If you’ll recall, back in 1997, Brandy Norwood brought another iconic character Cinderella to life with braids of her own. That portrayal inspired countless Black girls as it marked the first time Disney had a Black princess and subconsciously put out the message that Black girls with braids could be the most beautiful and desired, too. Fast forward to 2023, Halle Bailey stayed true to her roots while portraying Ariel in Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” by wearing red locs instead regular straight hair. This further cemented the idea that Black girls, in all their natural wonder and beauty, were worthy of being princesses and heralded as royalty.
So it’s no wonder why when Erivo was brought on to bring her legendary character Elphaba to life, her first decision was to follow in the same footsteps of Norwood and Bailey and trade in the long black tresses for waist-length, black micro braids.
Speaking to The Root on the red carpet at the 2024 Critics Choice Association of Black Cinema and Television on Monday about that decision and joining the likes of the aforementioned women in pushing out positive, authentic representation, Erivo said:
I’m really proud of it. It was one of the things I asked for before we began. I was allowed to sort of be a part of the creation of what she looked like and that was one of the things I asked for was the micro braids. Because I just knew that it made sense for her.
There’s obviously the aesthetic of what Elphaba looks like on the stage and I knew I wanted to keep the length but I wanted something that felt authentic and micro braids felt like exactly what I wanted. So to be a part of that long line of illustrious, wonderful women who have their own natural hair, I’m very, very pleased.
Later, when she took the stage to accept the Actress Award-Film, she added onto to her earlier sentiments saying that bringing Elphaba to life was the “gift of a lifetime” and hoped that other little Black, queer girls could believe that they can fly and accomplish great feats too.