CYNTHIA ERIVO IS ARETHAFRANKLIN IN HIGHLY ANTICIPATED NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PICTURE, 'GENIUS: ARETHA'

(The Slice): Oscar nominated Actress Cynthia Erivo is a woman with respect to both give and gain. For her lead role in the musical The Color Purple she won a Tony Award, a Drama Desk Award and a Daytime Emmy Award. Aretha Franklin saw that performance, met Erivo backstage to compliment her -- singing a line from one of the lead numbers -- and remembered her when she saw her at the Kennedy Center Honors.

Later Erivo was most lauded for her singing and acting ability in "Harriet." To prepare for her latest, Erivo told Rolling Stone she studied Aretha Franklin's documentary "Amazing Grace": "Watching Amazing Grace was eye-opening for me, because it’s so strange — when she’s singing “Amazing Grace,” she looks like she’s going to take flight. It’s coming through her. And then she opens her eyes, and something disappears. I felt a sadness. Something left her for a second, and it only comes back when she’s in the music, singing."

Will the London-born talent prove herself once again in another iconic role? Watch her portray the late Queen of Soul in "Genius: Aretha" presented by the National Geographic Channel at 9/8 Central.